Monday Memes - September 9, 2013

If you don't experience the world around you, then you have no business building a new world.

What is one way that you have incorporated your experiences into your story world?

Monday Memes - September 9, 2013

As we go through this month's theme of world-building, here are some encouraging memes for you to contemplate.

Does your plot contain holes? Better patch 'em up before your plot sinks, dragging you with it!

"Hooking the Reader through World Building," with S. Alex Martin

S. Alex Martin is an author of young adult soft science-fiction, a blogger of writing tips and tricks, and a rising college senior in Pittsburgh. He's written and self-published three hard sci-fi books since 2004, and is finishing the fourth draft of "Embassy," the novel he hopes will become his debut in traditional publishing. You can follow him on his website, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook.


Welcome to my first post in our newest series, "Hooking the Reader through World Building." Today I'm going to talk about some key elements to your stories' worlds and environments. So stick around and take a few notes!

#1. THE WORLD SHOULD REFLECT THE STORY.

This is the most essential part of world building. You aren't going to set a fantasy novel on a spaceship with laser cannons. You're going to have mountains and vistas and magic and dragons and ugly creatures and dark forests and castles and straw towns. Imagine if "Lord of the Rings" happened in the "Star Wars" universe.

Another aspect to consider is what can the setting do for the story? Think of your main character's goals. Is he trying to run away from something? Is there another world that is better than the one he lives in? How will he get there? Who will he meet along the way? What obstacles will he face?

Incorporate all of these elements into the setting. Marshes, mountains, rivers, graves, deserts, outer space, lack of air in a spaceship, traffic on the interstate...heck, even a flight delay. Make it work for your world.

#2. USE CONCRETE DESCRIPTIONS.

If you want your reader to visualize your world, don't start throwing abstract imagery around and assume your colorful words will paint a picture.

No. Just don't. Please. The key to effective imagery is this: simplicity. Use the words that get the job done -- and nothing more. Don't start bombarding your story with similes and metaphors. I beg you. Sure, it's okay to use one or two. They won't hurt anyone. But if you compare every river to a winding snake, or every building to an elegant monument....it's going to get old FAST. Just say it as it is, and stop.

Then sprinkle on some grander visuals -- but limit them.

As I like to say: "Don't paint. Build." It's fine to paint the main character's personal views to help emphasize what they think, but nature and cities are nature and cities. Make it easy for your reader to see the world by keeping your descriptions SIMPLE. Or, as the heading says, concrete.

#3. KEEP DISTANCES AND TERRAIN REALISTIC.

Who here can trek 1,000 miles in four days on foot? Anybody? No? Well that's a good sign. Now, have you ever read a book where characters walk impossible distances in no time at all? Or, say, cross a city in a few short minutes?

As authors, we need to be wary about relativity. Space and time play a HUGE part in world building. Unless your characters have teleports, or use magic to cross the country, prepare to dig in and figure out a way to fill in the journey.

Leave us with the sense that the characters did more than skip across the city, arm in arm a big smiles pasted on their faces. No, show us some of the jay-walking, brake lights, stop signals, crowded sidewalks, and beeping horns. The tug of the current in the river, the chill of the icy water on our skin, the weight of our waterlogged clothes, the short breaths we make as we try to stay afloat.

This stuff happens in real life, so why would it be so easy in the story?

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That concludes this week's post! Hope you're able to use these tips to develop your story worlds better and pull your readers into the next level of the story. If you liked what you saw, please share this post and leave a comment below!

Until next time,
S. Alex Martin

Why Is That So Popular - Star Wars Edition

     Hey guys. Sam here. Today I want to talk about Star Wars, and a few reasons why I think it's as popular as it is. Star Wars has probably had more fanfiction written on it than almost any other series. Now I think it's picking up some renewed interest with the planned 7th episode coming out.

    First of all, I would like to explore a few reasons why I think Star Wars is popular.

    1: It's extremely imaginative. Star Wars introduces us to a large and extremely diverse array of weapons, starships, worlds, people, and even droids. Many of these ideas have influenced other science fiction works as well. As one of the pioneers of the science fiction genre, Star Wars has had a strong impact on the way we view sci-fi today.

     2: Star Wars was filmed on the cutting edge of computer generation techniques and special effects. I think this was a strong contributing factor in its initial popularity, as it allowed viewers glimpses of other worlds which were previously unavailable to them on the movie screen.



     3: The Star Wars story includes themes that are common and yet we enjoy seeing them played out with fresh variations. We have the rebel alliance, a relatively small organized rebellion that is facing seemingly hopeless odds as it struggles against the empire, and yet they prevail in the end. We also have Luke, the young 'rookie' hero who grows to become a key factor in the rebellion.

     4: Last but not least, Star Wars was also one of the pioneers into the world of epic movie soundtracks. It's one of the first major soundtracks in which the composer used themes to illustrate the scene in the music as well as the movie itself. One of the most recognizable is the dramatic imperial theme, which can often be heard in the background when imperial soldiers are shown on-screen.

     Thanks for joining us for our Star Wars edition of Why Is That So Popular. I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to leave a comment to let us know why you think Star Wars is so popular.

Monday Memes - September 2, 2013

This month's theme here on the blog is World Building. Hook your reader by placing characters in an intriguing world. Otherwise, why would your reader care?

What story world is just itching to come out of you?

“Backstory”: Hooking the Reader through Character Building with Brian McBride

    Wasn’t Scotty’s post last week terrific? Anyway, this post is going to be really short and to the point. :)

1.      Characters Have History.

Just like in reality, characters have a background, a history. The year they were born, major events that have happened to them over time. Good days, bad days. Creating a backstory isn’t necessary, per se, but if you want to give your story that 3 dimensional effect every story should have, you should at least know what your character’s history is, even if you don’t include it in your story.

A)    Keep a notebook handy with information related to your character’s history. For example, birthday, major events (the day s/he found out s/he had cancer, the day his/her father/mother/brother/sister died, etc…), and so on.

B)    Memorize this information. You should know every little detail about your characters. This will help your writing to remain consistent. For example, if you say your MC was born in July at the beginning of the book, but then you forget and say he was born in December. In this type of event, it’s good to know your character by heart.

2.      Characters Have Relationships.

Every character has a relationship with someone. Even if the relationship is a bad one. Characters have parents, siblings, boy/girlfriends, enemies, etc… This is an important aspect to reveal in a story. Your story’s antagonist should have some sort of relationship with the MC. Not necessarily a blood relationship or a friendship. Your antagonist could only be mildly associated with your MC and would still qualify as a relationship.

    Unless your character is meant to be a figurative “hermit” build relationships between him/her and other supporting characters.

    So, there you have it! Just some tips on how to give the backstory needed to your character. :) Be sure to leave a comment with questions, or anything really. I love hearing from you!

Author Interview: Rachel Coker

Today our special guest is Rachel Coker, a Christian writer who I am a huge fan of.  She's a teenage writer and a graduate of homeschooling.  She writes, owns a photography business, runs a fashion blog with her sister (who sells handmade skirts), and is a pretty good artist, too.  I've read both of her books and let me tell you, they are amazing.  I'm not sure there's anything this girl can't do!

Why did you start writing? Did you always want to be a writer?

I actually wrote my first ever fiction story for a school assignment when I was in sixth grade! I was homeschooled, and my mom realized that year that she’d never had me do any fiction writing before. So she told me to write a short story and it just clicked for me. I’d always been a huge reader, and I guess that transferred over to my fiction writing skills! It was obvious I had a gift, and my mom immediately realized that she couldn’t help me develop my talent, so she hired a fiction writing coach to help me learn the craft of writing! After that, I just wrote all the time. I never seriously thought about being published, especially at such a young age, but God just sort of worked it all out that way!

What is your writing process? Do you write regularly or just when inspiration hits?

I am seriously the most sporadic writer you will ever meet. I will go days—weeks!—without writing at all, and then write five days in a row, five hours a day. I’m definitely just a laidback, busy teenage girl, and I write whenever I feel like writing! Some weeks, I’ll be incredibly inspired and I’ll just want to write all the time. Other weeks, I’ll have a lot going on and it’s just too hard to find the time. I find that if I don’t push myself, and just let my stories grow organically, I’m more creative and inspired.

What was your favorite book or author when you were younger? What’s your favorite now?

My favorite book growing up was Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. I loved that book so much as a child and it completely inspired me and made me want to write stories that would mean something to people. When I was in high school, I read Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell and that book was world-changing for me. I also was completely inspired by East of Eden by John Steinbeck. I’d say those are my three favorites.

What is your goal in writing and publishing these books?

I think that my primary goal in every book that I write is to bring glory to God. I want to show people what He’s taught me in my own life, and hopefully answer some questions people might have about faith and what it means to truly trust God. I also want to provide a clean story that young people can relate to. I’m only seventeen myself! It makes me really happy to think that other young people can read my stories and relate to them on a personal level, because they also know what it’s like to be a teenager. It’s a really cool connection I’m able to make with my readers.

Can you tell us about the publishing process? Was there anything in particular that surprised you or that was easier or harder than you expected?

It was surprising to me how many amazing opportunities I was given after I published my books. I always thought that I would write a book and then it would all sort of be over and I would just go back to writing. It’s crazy that I get to travel and do book signings and conduct interviews and meet people through my blog. It makes being an author ten times more fun and exciting.

Is there any part of writing you don’t like?

I hate how hard it is to get through a first draft. Everything feels so awkward and stilted and I constantly feel like I’m just pushing all the time to get it over with! I’m always wondering, “How many more pages do I have to write?” and “Is the story still progressing?” It’s actually easier for me to go through and do edits because I’m just cleaning things up. There’s less stress, and I can really focus on making the book better.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever Googled?

When I first got published, I would google myself periodically to see what results would come up! It was really funny because all the websites seemed to differ on what my age was (some said fourteen, others fifteen, some even younger) and there were all these awkward old photos of me from before I got professional pics done. I had to stop googling myself because it was just too embarrassing! ;)

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Write about what you know. If you’re a teenager, write about other teenagers. Write about what you personally struggle with—whether it’s self-confidence, confusion, anxiety about the future. If you’re writing about  something that you are personally passionate about, it will resonate with others, and you will create works that will transcend the test of time!

Readers can find me at my blog: www.rachelcoker.com. I’m also on Facebook and Twitter!