WHAT’S IN A NAME REDUX
INTRO
I’ve talked about this in 2013 and as recently as 2018 and again in 2020. I thought it worth revisiting again since it’s come up multiple times not only on the Facebook forums but in a book I’m currently reading.
While I am going to repeat info I’ve conveyed before, I’ve been inspired to add to that. There’s stuff I failed to mention before when it comes to naming your characters. Without further adieu, let’s get going.
WHERE TO START?
It may seem like an easy task to come up with character names, whether they’re fictional or real (and you generally have to use fictional names to protect the innocent or avoid lawsuits) (more on this later). You can pull the names out of a hat, out of the air, or mix and match them from a baby name book if you want. Maybe you can pull them randomly out of the phone book. Some well-known authors even run contests to publish fan names in their novels. As new writers, you probably don’t have a fan base for that purpose, so you’ll have to rely on other means.
Most of us, I imagine, pull them out of the air, probably inspired, like me, from random people and events around us at the time. Maybe they’re from something that happened in our past.
The inspiration for the name (not the actual character) Joseph “Detach” Datchuk, the main character in my Gold series, came from a guy I knew in elementary school.
On the other hand, in that same series, I pulled Mildred Pierce out of the air. It wasn’t until almost nine years later that I learned she was the name of a very famous character in a novel from the 40’s that I’d never heard of. That was purely coincidental.
Meleena, from my fantasy series is completely made up. I’d never heard of anyone with that name when I discovered a disc jockey on Sirius XM radio with a similar, but different spelled version of that name.
NO BEARING ON REALITY
I must make one thing very clear. These character names, even if inspired by real people, have no bearing on the real people! One has nothing to do with the other. The kid I got the name Detach from in no way resembles the character in my novel in either appearance or personality. The same for Mildred Pierce, or any other character I’ve named, so far at least. Maybe someday, when a fan that wants to be in one of my books, they’ll get a little piece of their appearance or personality added to a character. Not much, but maybe a tiny bit, as a tribute.
I could go on and on. For you, sometimes you just hit it right and sometimes without realizing it, you nail some famous or infamous name and don’t know until someone tells you about it. As for Mildred Pierce, she’s a sidekick in the Gold series and I’m very fond of her. I have no intention of changing her name. I may throw in a comment about the famous novel but maybe not. There are probably hundreds of women named Mildred Pierce, so I don’t see changing it. It’s not like her character is named Angelina Jolie. That would be too unique to get away with.
FANTASY NAMES – PITFALLS
An issue with making up names, especially in fantasy (but not exclusively) and science fiction worlds (world building) are similar sounding names. During a recent Facebook forum, this exact subject came up. My response was part of the following, but a shortened version. Below is the original long version.
The subject of similar sounding names came up in Meleena’s Adventures – Gods Of The Blue Mountains. The main character is, of course, Meleena. That name is totally unique. In this first sequel, she’s hanging with a female Elf I’ve been calling Alinda. One of my critiquing friends pointed out that Meleena and Alinda sounded too much alike. I referred to my handy-dandy Meleena’s Adventures encyclopedia. I hadn’t alphabetized it yet, which prompted some much needed housekeeping. I have sections for names, places, creatures and things. It was enough of a sidetrack just to get through reordering the names. With that done, I went through every character name, one-by-one, from both books. Since then, I’ve added more from the third book as well. Since Alinda and Meleena did sound a lot alike, I had to find something unique, something that didn’t sound like any of the other common character names. It wasn’t long before I settled on Niin. There’s no other name like it. Where did I come up with it? I pulled it out of the air. I could’ve spent all day doing the same with random names, but that was honestly the first one that popped into my head. No indecision, no agony or worrying. Guess I just got lucky.
When you’re creating names for your story, similarity must be a consideration. Sound-alike names tend to confuse the reader. After a while, readers may not be able to distinguish between characters and that’ll weaken the impact of your prose. Each name should be different and distinctive. Alphabetizing my encyclopedia, which I should’ve done long before this point, helped me see the big picture. It’s especially important in fantasy world building, where I have to make up names. I can’t be using Karl and Joe and Fred.
In a conventional novel, you don’t want your common characters to all be named Ted and Fred and Jed. Or Jan and Fran and Nan. That would drive a reader nuts, and it wouldn’t be long before they’d lose track of who’s who.
There should be a distinct difference between names.
COMING UP WITH THESE NAMES
Where do I come up with these quirky fantasy names in the first place?
Maybe that goes with my fascination with foreign languages. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been keen on foreign tongues. Then, as an adult, I lived overseas and was exposed to multiple foreign languages. I got used to alternative tongues, accents, spelling and such. Making up my own words and names is no big deal. In fact, I’ve seen that in plenty of other fantasy authors. I can’t vouch for how easy they came up with the names, but they do.
Over the years, on multiple threads on the Facebook fantasy site, many people have polled the forum for ideas for names. While that’s one way, to me, these names should come from you, the writer, not from others. If someone else gives you the name, then it’s their idea, not yours. You don’t completely own it. Of course, if you take their name, modify it to make it your own, you could say you came up with it, but I, personally, wouldn’t want that. That’s just me.
However, you have to do whatever works for you, and if polling others is the method that gets you there, go for it.
EASY TO PRONOUNCE
The final thought on made-up names is to make them easy to pronounce. Don’t create tongue twisters that need pronunciation guides. Words with lots of punctuation, or with “French” or Gaelic spellings that don’t correspond to how they’re pronounced in English isn’t a good idea either. Okay, maybe a little, but only one or two…maybe. Give the name, how it’s pronounced, and leave it at that. Don’t have a whole bunch of names like that, or the reader is going to skip over them and blank out your “finely crafted artistic expressions.” I know I would. In fact, I often just make up my own pronunciation, regardless of what the author says.
Sometimes getting hung up on a pronunciation can be a distraction. It’s a great way to jerk a person out of the story.
WHAT ABOUT REAL-WORLD PEOPLE IN AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OR NON-FICTION STORY?
When you’re writing an autobiography or real-world historical story, things can get tricky. If your story requires you to use real people, you must be aware of possible lawsuits and slander and the whole gamut of real issues. Even using someone’s name supposedly in an innocent fashion can lead to major heartache if the person doesn’t want their name in print. It’s a lot more difficult to vet something like that. In some cases, it might be better to substitute fictitious names rather than deal with all the legal implications.
SUMMARY
Whatever the case, naming characters can be fun or a real headache, depending on how you want to approach the issue.
Happy writing!
HOW WRITING IS A PASSION AND NOT A HOBBY
I keep seeing questions on the Facebook forums about “motivation”, “how do you do it”, “how can you keep up the momentum”, bla bla bla.
I have a feeling these new writers are not approaching writing the right way.
WHY DO WE WRITE?
The question you have to ask yourself is why you’re writing in the first place.
Is it a hobby like stamp collecting or a particular sport?
Is it a hobby like astronomy or woodworking?
Is it a hobby like knitting or sewing?
Is it just something you wanted to try and now find yourself bogged down?
Or, like me, is it a passion, something you just have to do, regardless?
WHY WRITING DOESN’T WORK AS A HOBBY
A hobby is supposed to be fun. That means you put as much effort into it as needed for some kind of reward.
Writing, especially if you’re new to it, is a lot of work with (sometimes) little reward, depending on what you’re expecting.
Time versus reward can be fleeting at best, unless lightning strikes.
Now ask yourself, how often have you been struck by lightning?
If you’re looking for a casual interest, something that keeps you going but expecting results right away, writing is not for you.
WRITING AS A PASSION
When writing is a passion, it’s long term. The reward is the creating, the writing itself.
Expect to come across countless obstacles and challenges. It’s part of the process.
Love writing but not the rest, like receiving critiques, editing, lack of sales?
Better look at it as a hobby and not a passion.
If writing is a passion, the entire process is fun. You don’t care if you get published, though that would be nice. You don’t mind critiques, good or bad. You learn from your mistakes. You relish creating something at least you can enjoy.
I started writing because I needed an artistic outlet besides music and woodworking. I didn’t write to get published, I wrote to create something and enjoy the process. Then, while doing that, I didn’t neglect trying to get published, it just wasn’t my main goal.
Today, I’m published but I’d still be creating stories, regardless. It’s just what I do. I write almost every day. It might be a chapter in my latest WIP, it might be a review (I review everything), it might be a weekly article like this one. It might be a random short story based on an immediate inspiration.
I write because I love it. I don’t need motivation, I don’t get stuck, I don’t lose interest because I don’t have enough (or any) sales. Hell, it took me 20 years and 689 rejections to get published the first time. I’m pretty sure I’ll still want to write, regardless.
YOUR GOAL
If you got into writing just to get published, expect a very hard road and waning interest.
If you got into writing to create the greatest story ever told, why? What makes your story greater than anyone else’s?
If you’re taking the mercenary route, just doing it to make money, prepare to be frustrated right away unless you learn to love technical writing.
MY GOAL
My goal is to write. I love the entire process except the marketing. Okay, even I have my limits, and marketing sucks.
My goal is to create through writing.
Getting published is important in a sense, but secondary to why I’m doing this in the first place. I’m going to keep writing no matter what. If it all sits on the hard drive languishing, oh well. If I’m able to get some of it in print, all that much more rewarding, but if not, I’m not discouraged, I just keep on.
SUMMARY
If you’re constantly doubting yourself, wondering why you’re doing it, looking for motivation, then as I’ve said before, take up knitting or tennis. If you’re doing this because you love the process, keep writing!
MONSTER MOVIES TAUGHT ME HOW NOT TO WRITE
For anyone that knows me, they know I love my icky bug (monster) movies. In fact, in this day and age I’m mining Amazon Prime for all the old classic and not so classic icky bugs. After watching so many, it’s not hard to figure out the sometimes irritating cliches.
INSPIRATION VERSUS COPY
While many of these movies have inspired me, that’s not quite how I wanted to write my own icky bug. It’s like when I write fantasy, I don’t look to Lord Of The Rings for style. The same with adventure/thrillers, in that I don’t copy Clive Cussler or James Rollins.
I have my own voice and stories inspired by others and my own imagination.
I certainly am not out to copy them.
THE CLICHES
Right out the gate, I must say that to me, EVERYTHING is a cliché. It doesn’t matter what you think up, someone, somewhere has done it before.
Does that stop me?
Hardly. I write my own stories in my own voice. VOICE is what makes them unique, not what’s been done before.
What are the icky bug cliches?
#1 Gratuitous naked chicks that have nothing to do with the plot.
#2 The girl or girls that have sex are the first to die.
#3 The minority is always the first or second to die, whether there are any naked chicks or not.
#4 The mayor (or evil rich guy) will always refuse to stop the festival despite the growing danger.
#5 They liberally drop the F-bomb.
#6 High body count (okay, I use this one).
#7 The perpetual “what if” ending where the monster isn’t really dead.
#8 There’s always a romance with young actors.
WHAT I DO
I don’t write my icky bug with most, if any of those cliches except the high body count. That’s a must for me, at least with what I’ve come up with so far.
A lot of people consider icky bug fringe, or lowbrow writing.
Stephen King isn’t the only one that can write icky bug.
My stories are still an adventure with an icky bug theme. I don’t use most of the cliches except my older work had a lot of f-bombs. As for the “what if” ending? Maybe if I feel a real need to perpetuate that. However, so far, I’ve only used it once. I’m not a fan of gratuitous nudity or sex that has nothing to do with the plot. The minorities or girl that has sex are not necessarily going to die at all.
The biggest thing is that many icky bug stories (as in books) bog down in characterization (something the movies can’t really do without making them all four hours long). I’m no fan of that. They’re (movies) light on characterization. I’m all for that. If I don’t like to slog through endless characterization, why should I write it? I feel no compulsion to overdo life stories. I’m there for the fun of it all.
BOOKS RARELY REFLECT THE MOVIES
The movies have a little over an hour or maybe two to get across the story, so being bogged down in characterization is not going to cut it, or people will be walking out of the theater. They want to see something happen. In a book, we, as authors have more time to flesh things out. However, I’m more of a to-the-point kind of guy so I keep the literary bent to a minimum. I like the brevity of icky bug movies, I just don’t want to use every cliché, trope, or whatever you want to call it.
Nope, icky bug movies are not the way to write a book.
SUMMARY
As a writer, you can do anything you want. It’s up to you.
While I love good icky bug movies, I don’t reflect the same things in my writing. It doesn’t need to be redone on paper.
Happy writing!
TRIGGER WARNINGS
The subject of trigger warnings came up on one of my Facebook forums and I discussed it a bit on my weekend posts. I want to go more into detail now.
WHAT IS A TRIGGER WARNING?
In writing, a trigger warning is something, especially something shocking that can cause emotional distress in someone. The issue is not only what is shocking, but who might be affected by it.
Examples of trigger warning subjects might include:
Rape
Incest
Gore
Anything sexual
Certain violent acts
A TREND
It’s been a trend, especially in romance books, or so I’ve heard. Since I don’t read romance, I have no way to vouch for that.
However, in our more socially sensitive world, there are those that feel trigger warnings are needed to avoid freaking people out or causing a lawsuit. It’s becoming more and more of a trend, just like the “parental advisory” stickers that used to be on music albums. If you ever watch a movie online, they usually have an advisory at the beginning, in small type at the top of the screen, “sex, violence, smoking, nudity, bla bla bla.”
For many, that’s an attraction. Some authors may take advantage of that, just like some bands would make sure to have the parental advisory sticker on their album just to get people to buy it.
WHAT’S REALLY A TRIGGER?
To me, and I’m not everyone, but still…
Just about anything and everything can be a trigger warning to someone. There’s no way to predict what might be offensive or distressing to anyone because everyone is different, not only in demeanor, but life experiences.
It would not behoove a former military man with PTST to read a violent novel about war, or a particular war. A woman who’s been raped is probably not wanting to read a book with rape in it. Someone who’s been assaulted may be triggered but any violent act, especially if it mirrors their own experience.
The way I look at it, to cover every possibility, I’d need a companion book just to list them all.
I think it’s better for an adult reader to look at the subject matter or genre, and glean their own potential triggers from that. The synopsis on the back can also give a huge clue.
Adding potential trigger warnings is impractical because we as authors can’t possibly predict what might set off someone. Spilling salt on a kitchen table might trigger someone, mowing a lawn another, walking down a cracked sidewalk someone else.
SUMMARY
If you want to add trigger warnings just to get someone to read your book, go for it! If bands can do it with a parental advisory, TV do it with advisory lists, why not?
For the rest of us, it’s just an unnecessary and vague burden.
Give the readers enough intelligence that they can figure it out on their own.
Happy writing!
EVERYBODY DIES AGAIN
This will be the fifth time I’ve covered endings in one form or the other.
Subjects have ranged from Endings in 2018, to Crappy Endings (2012) and then Crappy Endings Revisited (2017), and finally Everybody Dies, again in 2018. The ending can have a huge impact on my enjoyment of the story, and it’s the same for a lot of other people.
The reason I bring it up this time is several books I’ve read recently where what I thought was the hero dies and the “real” hero is someone else. These novels were both icky bug. Sure, the genre can be practically synonymous with crappy endings where everybody dies. Just to make sure (and one reason I don’t read e-books), I always peek at the last few pages to see if the main character (MC) survives. While this is usually a good way to tell, sometimes those last few pages, especially with a quick scan and by not actually reading it in detail, can fool you, which happened to me.
The day I originally wrote this version, I’d almost reached the end of the book. The way the author set things up, the gang, including the MC, have to die. I was already pissed. There was about a ten percent chance they might’ve survived, but the way the story went, if they did, it wouldn’t be good. As it turns out, they didn’t. I was pissed, and my review showed it with one star.
That leads me to the main gist of today’s discussion, which I’m passionate about.
Motivation to read.
WHY DO YOU READ?
This is the real reason that determines what type of endings one is able to tolerate. Since this discussion primarily focuses on fiction, why do you read?
We’re not talking about non-fiction because it has a pre-determined, and inarguable conclusion. You can’t change history or real subject matter unless it’s opinion or a philosophical discussion.
However, with fiction, it’s entirely up to the author to decide how the book ends. In that regard, you, as the reader, decide why you’re reading.
PURE ENTERTAINMENT
When you read for pure entertainment, it’s all a matter of taste. The ending may or may not matter, depending on your personality. It can be a happy or a bummer ending.
JUST SOMETHING TO DO
Same as pure entertainment. It can go either way.
NO PARTICULAR GOAL IN MIND
Same as the other two.
OPEN TO ANYTHING
I could’ve lumped the previous three and this category together, but broke them down for illustrative purposes. Like the other categories, open to anything means the reader doesn’t mind happy or bummer endings. They don’t feel ripped off when the hero dies.
ESCAPE FROM REALITY
Here’s where things get a bit more complicated. I’m in this category. My whole purpose of reading fiction is to escape the real world. Unlike any of the other categories, which of course, include bits of the rest in there as well, my main goal of reading is to escape reality. I don’t want anything to do with the real world, and especially now in 2023 with our COVID mess a not too distant memory as well as mass shootings. I want a happy ending. If the ending’s a bummer where the hero (or everyone) dies, I automatically hate the book. If I want reality, I’ll watch the news, get a college textbook, or a non-fiction book. When I read fiction, I read explicitly for a happy ending! That’s the whole point.
I don’t want to learn any life lessons, I don’t want to get emotionally jerked around. I don’t want to get philosophized up the yin yang about this and that. If some or all of those things are thrown into the mix, fine, as long as the story ends on a high note. That high note had better not be bittersweet, where the hero dies, or where there’s any kind of bummer. I don’t want to hear “well, it’s like real life.”
Real life is 2023. Real life right now is stuff like mass shootings!
I know very well what real life is like. I’ve certainly lived long enough to experience all that, and still see enough of it all around me every day. The last thing I want to do is read about it in a damn book! I’m trying to escape all of that!
A large number of people escaping from reality feel the same way.
ENFORCE NEGATIVE VIEW OF THE WORLD
This is where the negative or bummer endings really come into play. The Debbie Downer group love bummer endings. They love the big twist at the end where not only the hero dies, but everything turns to crap. They love to be shocked.
When the author turns the whole story on its head, the negative people love it. It enforces their negative view of the world. That’s why certain authors, infamous for doing this, sell a lot of books. While they have plenty of haters, they also have substantial followings.
There’s the group of people that are bored with happy. They specifically want reality in their fiction because they’re sick of happy and “unrealistic” endings. That’s not real life. They cannot stand the fantasy of happy, or simply like to switch it out once in a while.
There’s a big audience that loves to grovel in their misery.
So, if you want to grovel in your misery, suck it up and see life for what it really is, then I guess “everybody dies” is for you.
SUMMARY
It all boils down to why you’re picking up the book in the first place. That turns around to you, as a writer, and what your goal is, and what type of audience you’re trying to attract.
Sure, everybody dies in real life. However, what’s the purpose of writing fiction anyway? It’s a chance to escape all of that for a little while. At least to me. Do I mean, nobody dies? Of course not. All I mean is that someone needs to survive. Someone you can invest in and root for needs to survive so there’s a positive payoff, a reason to close the book with a big smile on your face, not a scowl or a tear.
If you want to write the big twist and a bummer ending, a shocking ending, you’re going to draw a certain crowd. However, if you write a positive ending rather than shock value, you’re going to draw a much larger audience.
You can mix it up, but once you shock an audience, it may be hard to earn their trust back. Some won’t care, but for those that prefer a happy ending, you may lose readers. It’s hard to tell. Either way, you’re always going to have an audience.
It’s up to you.
Think of yourself as a reader and then as a writer. Sure, you have to follow your muse, but you also have to think of your potential audience and your reputation. Once you go down a certain path, it may be difficult to recover the trust.
Happy writing, and I don’t say that lightly!
THE EASY READ AGAIN
I’ve been preaching this for years at Fred Central and I just experienced it again not only in a recent book, but from a couple of Facebook posts.
The easy read is all about making your book the best product imaginable, producing the best format for your readers, creating the easiest way to get your story out to the public. In other words, creating the easiest read for your readers.
That brings up the question as to how? Or, more importantly why?
Do you care?
WHY DO IT?
As I’ve pointed out before, some authors don’t care to make things easy. They want you, the reader, to come up to their level, not the other way around. They want to “edumacate” you, teach you something, bring you up to a higher level with their prose, style, and format.
They want to break the mold.
Nothing wrong with that if they can find an audience, which many do.
On the other hand, there are those authors who just want to get their stories across, whatever that might be. They aren’t out to force readers to bend to their will. They aren’t out to try and mold people into their image of a particular kind of reader.
They want to communicate with as many people as possible, plain and simple.
Nothing wrong with that either.
There are those authors that like to throw a mix in there, by keeping it simple, yet adding in a little more complexity without going overboard in either grammar, style, or format.
Nothing wrong with that either. There’ll always be an audience.
WHICH APPROACH ARE YOU?
Since most of you reading this are not likely best-selling authors yet…I have to be realistic here…you’re struggling to make your mark in a huge market filled with countless writers and authors. You want to reach as many readers as possible. Therefore, I personally recommend the “simpler is better” approach.
There’s the philosophy that since you’re not exactly setting the world on fire yet, why not go for broke and take the highbrow route? It wouldn’t matter if you alienate most of your readers with complex prose in some off-the-wall format because you’re not selling many books anyway, right? Maybe, someday, your style will catch on. I say, if that’s what you want to do, go for it.
On the other hand, if you’re in that same boat, but want to sell more books, and are willing to make a more readable story, try the easier-to-read approach and see where you go.
HOW I APPROACH IT
This is mainly for those of you that are new, but it can apply to anyone.
My philosophy, from day one, has been the same.
Long before I was ever a writer, I was a reader. Sixty plus years now, not to age myself!
In all that time, I’ve read a LOT of books…thousands. I’ve suffered through every style and format imaginable. I’m not just the average schmuck with a high school degree and only technical training for a background. I have several graduate degrees behind me, so I’m above average “edumukated.” In other words, I’ve been around the block. I’ve also had twenty-eight years plus as a writer. Since the late nineties, I began reviewing books on Amazon, though a lot of them have since disappeared due to age or obsolescence.
This resume is not meant to brag or tout anything special about me except to state that I’ve been exposed to a lot of writing and reading, including plenty of college textbooks and intellectual tomes.
My reading interest, despite all that college, still remains with fiction, which many consider “lowbrow.” It will be for the foreseeable future.
Since I’ve been exposed to so many different writing styles, I know what works for me and what doesn’t. I’m not everyone, but at the same time, I’ve been around long enough to have punished myself with stuff I haven’t really been comfortable with until I finally realized why I wasn’t comfortable with it. That revelation came about when I started writing in the mid-nineties. It became even more pronounced as I became a better and more proficient writer.
Despite that rather lengthy resume, I still must say that I’m not everyone. What I have at least proven to myself is that despite anomalies, a lot of the stuff I like best ends up being on the best seller lists. Sure, many of what I call anomalies end up as best sellers as well, but some tend to polarize a lot more readers than the easer-to-read styles.
Why?
THE WAY I SEE IT
It boils down to the easy read.
Some authors get slammed for “dumbing down” their work to the “base level” and pandering to the lowest common denominator.
Oh yeah?
So, that means that when an author writes an easy read that everyone can enjoy, it’s supposed to suck? It sucks because it’s not “challenging” or “intellectually stimulating” enough to satisfy the highbrows?
Without naming names, I’ll give you examples of what I’m talking about.
The easier books don’t throw the dictionary at the reader.
The easier books aren’t filled with endless characterization.
The easier books don’t jerk at the heartstrings with some complex deep meanings or political or philosophical candyrock psychedelic profundities.
The easier books aren’t written in some odd format like no punctuation or 150K words with only three chapters.
The easier books aren’t written in multiple tenses or points of view switching from first to third to first every chapter.
The easier books don’t have blatant taboo subject matter for shock value.
SUMMARY
The shame of it all is that there are thousands upon thousands of great stories out there. It’s all in the manner of telling (or showing) them that’s the issue.
Then there are plenty of lousy stories as well. Many of them, unfortunately, get published. I’ve read a few. My reviews reflect the good and the bad.
Do you prefer to tell your great story in a way that is accessible to everyone, or to few?
That’s the choice you have to make.
Happy writing!
REAL WORLD INSPIRATION
As writers, we observe. This can be from the actions of certain people, to everyday events and especially unusual events. Anything and everything could be the key to a scene in your story.
UNUSUAL/RARE EVENTS
These can be anything from a disaster to someone getting married. In my case, as soon as I heard a hurricane may be hitting Southern California, which would in turn bring possible rain to my home in Las Vegas, well…if it really happens (it did), I hope it does no damage and everyone ends up safe. The media builds it up, of course, as in “if it bleeds it leads.” Since it portends potential disaster, I hope the media is let down with just a whimper of a storm. As it turned out, it was bad in some places, but at my house, the ground barely got wet and there was one random gust of wind. Then again, as a writer, disaster and extremes make for great story fodder whether directly experienced or seen from afar. Just the potential is good enough, especially if nothing comes to pass. In stories, well…inspiration for mayhem ensues.
CRIME
There’s no shortage of crime to choose from, and plenty of inspiration can come from real-world events from your hometown to worldwide. Crime is so rampant you can look just about anywhere and find it. The more creative inspirations come from the weird and unusual crimes, and to me, especially ones that fail. Stupid is, stupid does, right? Great fodder for inspiration.
FINANCIAL
It doesn’t take much of a stretch to find financial events, from good to extremely bad. It’s in the news every day. Does your character/s suffer from some extremely bad financial event? Fodder for your pages.
ENTERTAINMENT
While many writers use it, as a new writer, you may not think of entertainment as an inspiration, but yeah, there’s plenty there. From a successful movie to a musical disaster. How many of you manage to plug your favorite (or even not so favorite) bands, movies, TV in your stories. There’s no shortage of real-world inspiration in entertainment.
TRIPS
Trips (and I don’t mean the LSD kind!), can be great real-world inspiration. From a family vacation to an exotic place where nothing out of the ordinary happens, to a complete disaster. Any and all provide great fodder for your stories. I often get inspiration from Disneyland, for example, or a recent trip to San Francisco, or this May to Madrid, Spain. I can add those to my list. How about you?
FAMILY
For most everyone, family provides plenty of drama as well as good times. How many of you incorporate this into your characters? Where do you think we writers get background and character development from?
HOME
It doesn’t take much to find inspiration in home. Whether it be a needed roof replacement, to a fire, earthquake, flood, or just sitting around watching TV. There’s no shortage of things to use in your story.
WORK
While you should, of course, make sure you don’t reflect something negative about your personal job (unless it’s in a previous one), there are plenty of ways to adapt work situations into something in your story. From spats between employees, to accidents, to the drudgery, there’s plenty to choose from.
HEALTH
Some writers incorporate real-world health issues, whether their own, family or someone they know into their characters or plot. People get sick, and inspiration is not hard to find.
SUMMARY
I could go on and on with my list but you should get the gist of it. Real-world is the fodder for inspiration in countless ways.
Use that to your advantage.
Happy writing!
THE MEDIA RELEASE
If you happen to be with a big publisher, this is all handled in house. I’m not sure if the author has any hand in actually writing a media release, but with self-published or small publishers, you have to do the heavy lifting as far as content.
The publisher will usually have a pre-set format, and what they ask of you is to fill in the content.
DIFFICULT?
It’s said that writing blurbs or summaries are way harder than the actual book. That can be true, especially if you’re quite verbose, or just don’t have a clue how to compress an entire novel into a single paragraph without saying too much or too little.
The same could be said for an author bio.
It doesn’t have to be, but it can be a significant hurdle for many.
WHAT’S IN A MEDIA RELEASE?
The best way is to give an example of mine.
The header will contain the book info:
NewLink Publishing (A division of Mystic Publishers, inc.) MEDIA RELEASE Spanish Gold Written by Fred Rayworth Release Date: 12/01/2020 Size & Format: 6×9 Trade 332 pages / $16.99 usd ISBN: 978-1-948266-68-0 /Trade Paper ISBN: 978-1-948266-69-7 /E-Pub
It includes the title, publisher, date published, format & page count, price, and finally the ISBN numbers. This is critical info for anyone you send it to, whether book stores or libraries.
Next a bit about the book and why you wrote it. This is where you pitch the book and specify why someone would want to read it.
In Spanish Gold, the second book of Fred Rayworth’s Gold Series, the discovery of a centuries-old journal written by a Spanish monk sends Detach and his team on another quest. On a chase that takes the main character, Detach, and his crew to England, then Azores, and finally to Spain, they follow this twisted trail filled with hazards that test the expertise of their skills. Each new clue uncovered sends Detach and his team closer to the hidden treasure, but, can they escape the death stalking them to discover their prize? After writing Lusitania Gold, I knew I wanted to do a series with Detach and the gang. Part of doing a series is, of course, different plots and locales. Since I served twenty-four years in the Air Force and had the luck to be stationed in some exotic locales, I used them as a setting for my books. My favorite place, Spain, made a perfect setting for Spanish Gold. With an insider’s knowledge of the country, I’ve been able to give a more realistic setting and breathe more life into Detach’s latest adventure.
Finally, the author bio:
About the Author
Fred Rayworth served twenty-four years in the Air Force and his service stationed him in some exotic locales overseas. One of his favorite posts was Spain. His knowledge of the Spanish countryside made a perfect setting for Spanish Gold. With an insider’s knowledge of the country, far beyond the “three hour tour” one might normally get, he found himself able to create a more realistic setting and breathe more life into Detach’s latest adventure. He lived in Spain for a decade which gave him the ability to add believable details to the story, allowing him to follow his dream of writing an adventure setting in Spain. Most of all, his goal is for people to have a good time. He wants his readers to experience an easy, enjoyable read on every page, and close the book with a smile on their faces. He hopes that his stories spark an interest in visiting the locales he writes about. As in his first book, Lusitania Gold, any reader who is a fan of Clive Cussler, Preston & Child or others of that genre, should enjoy reading Spanish Gold.
Last but not least, the publisher info including the web site and maybe a phone number.
For ordering and availability contact: info@newlinkpublishing.com 702-564-6388 / 866-869-7842 NewLink Publishing A division of Mystic Publishers Inc. 614 Mosswood Dr. Henderson, NV 89002. About NewLink Publishing: Founded in 2014 as a division of Mystic Publishing Inc., NewLink Publishing is proud to produce quality books for the international market in the areas of Science Fiction, Paranormal, Fantasy. and Horror.
Of course, the formatting will look a bit different on the actual product but I couldn’t display that from the .pdf file. NOTE: This final media release should be in .pdf format.
SUMMARY
As I’ve said about other parts of writing that may seem hard, this isn’t rocket science, but it does take a bit of work.
Happy writing!
MIXING GENRES
James Rollins once told me that mixing genres is no big deal. He does it all the time and I’d like to address that.
BEGINNINGS
We just had our second science fiction panel at the local library and the subject, of course, was how you use science or science fiction in your work.
We had a variety of genres represented, with my two published genres, fantasy and adventure/thriller not directly science fiction.
Because a genre is one thing, does that mean you’re not “allowed” to use something from another?
BREAKING THE RULES
Some writers talk about breaking the rules, like it’s a mantra for throwing out all writing and grammar conventions so they don’t have to make a coherent story.
When I think of breaking the rules, it’s more like using something science fiction in an adventure story. How about using steampunk in fantasy? How about using romance in a western?
There’s nothing stopping you from mixing in a little bit of something else for the purpose of the story. It’s done all the time. In fact, it’s done so much it’s hardly breaking the rules.
PURISTS
There are, of course, purists who either don’t like a mix of genres, or simply stick to the plan. There are thousands if not millions of books out there that stick to their genre.
Then again, there are just as many books that are a mix.
Does that mean if you mix things, you’ll lose half your audience?
I can tell you from personal experience, your audience generally doesn’t mind if you mix things. They’re also not going to call you out for sticking to the plan. No matter what you write, if it’s good, most people are going to love it.
A HEALTHY MIX
A healthy mix of genres can be everything from a touch to half the book. There’s no limit to how you mix things.
The key to any of this is that it has to make sense. Period.
You can’t have a western and mix in some science fiction unless there’s a reason for it. The movie Cowboys and Aliens is a good example.
On the other hand, if the mix is so out of place it stops the reader from going on, well…
SUMMARY
There’s nothing wrong with mixing genres. The key is that it must make sense.
Happy writing!
MULTI-AUTHOR BOOK SIGNING
To many, like me, marketing is the worst part of publishing a book. I love every aspect of the process except the marketing. Then again, there are times when the marketing part has its benefits, such as with successful book signing events.
THE MULTI-AUTHOR EVENT
The multi-author event is just what it sounds like. Instead of being about your book only, you sit in a room with several authors. The way it usually works is that each of you gets a chance to present your book, then the floor may be open to questions, or just go directly to sales.
It could also be a multi-author book event where you set up and usually share a table with another author. It’s up to you to hawk your book as people walk by.
VARIETY
The book signing could be all one genre only, but the likelihood is that you may be the only one representing your genre. This can be advantageous or not, depending on the crowd and how the signing was publicized.
There are likely to be a bunch, if not all the authors where you personally have no interest in their book. It could be the subject matter, or it could be the writing style.
While I always keep an eye out for local (which is usually the case for me) authors and love to support them if they meet my criteria, I also will not just buy a book to support anyone.
Variety is great in that your subject may be the one the audience is interested in, yet you could also be the one that nobody is interested in!
THE PRESENTATION
An example of the presentation is the moderator introduces you, then gives you the floor. This is where you may correct or add onto what that moderator said, but if you sent them the bio, it should be correct unless they misinterpreted it, or you simply forgot to mention something.
You may talk about yourself, the book and maybe even read a small part.
Given the limited time, you need to be precise and give the highest impact. In my case, I talk about the how’s and whys of the book then read a short snippet, almost always randomly chosen. Why random? Because every one of my chapters has a beginning, middle and end, plus they tend to be relatively short. I can pick just about any of them but usually go for somewhere in the middle of the book so as not to give away too much, yet illustrate a scene with something compelling.
If you get up there and drone on and on about something, you’re going to bore the audience.
SPEAK UP!
More than likely this event will not be miked up, so you have to speak loud. Make sure you’re active and positive and can project to the back row. This may take some effort for many because you’re not used to speaking up to a large (or even small room).
Even then, don’t be surprised to note those with glazed eyes. It may not be so much you, but they may have no interest in your subject matter. After all, this is a variety group so not everyone will like everything!
THE SALES
Always make sure to have a specific price for each of your books, whether you bring one novel or an entire series. At most of these things, authors will only charge a nominal fee, usually enough to cover what the book cost them. Older ones can go even cheaper, especially if they don’t move as well. You can go ahead and charge full cover price, but unless you have a huge crowd after your book, it’s good marketing to give a discount.
PERSONALITIES
You can run across a wide variety of people and reactions to your book. It can range from interest to snide and sarcastic. It can range from a simple smile to “advice” on how you can make your already published book better.
You never know what you’re going to get, so be prepared to be nice, no matter what!
SUMMARY
While marketing can be horrible, when you do get out for personal signings, they can be from a dud to a lot of fun. It’s what you make of them.
To me, one sale is a success. No sale means I got to network with other authors. There’s no “lose” in either scenario.
Happy writing!
The Worlds Of Fred Rayworth 