The Right Way to Write

One of the unusual things about Sanchin-Ryu is that the class meets only once a week, through the local community ed. program (which helps keep the cost down). But you’re allowed to visit other classes, which I’ve tried to do on a fairly regular basis. Last week, I was at the Lansing class, where Master Barnes was working us through the basics, presenting them in a way I hadn’t seen before.

The first punch was slightly higher. The second and third extended out further. The heel-palm strike was targeted more to the center. I’ve been doing these moves for four years … but not like that.

This has been an ongoing thing with Sanchin-Ryu, the idea that there’s no single way to do a technique or a form. Throwing basic ten with a chop to the shoulder and a heel-palm to the ribs is totally valid … but so is throwing the chop to the temple and following up with a heel-palm to the eye socket.

We talked about that some last week, and this time I got a new answer. Instead of talking about how there isn’t a single right way, Master Barnes suggested that there is in fact a right way to perform a technique: the right way is the way that works, that allows you to get out of the situation alive.

I like that. And writing, to me, is the same way. The right way is the way that works, the way that allows you to most effectively tell the story you want to tell.

Which isn’t to say there are no rules. If I try to throw a kick while standing on my head, it’s going to be pretty ineffective. Stances and techniques are taught that way for a reason. But the more you study, the more you learn how to take the idea of a certain stance and apply it to different situations. An “Open L” stance might be longer or shorter depending on where you are, what you intend to do, and so on.

Writing is the same. There are certain rules and techniques that pretty much every published author I’ve met has learned to use. But as you continue to study and grow as a writer, you learn to adapt those rules, when to take risks, and so on.

And you are taking risks. If I modify the throw in one form, maybe I can do a bit more damage, but I also open myself up to a strike to the ribs. Likewise, if I adjust the techniques of storytelling, I might produce a more effective scene … but I might also jar readers out of the story.

Writing has rules, but those rules are fluid. A white belt writer breaks the rules because s/he doesn’t know any better. A black belt writer adapts those rules deliberately, to achieve specific ends.

Discussion is welcome, as always.

Kitemaster Day

Today marks the official release of Kitemaster and Other Stories, which collects six of my lighter fantasy stories, including my muppet werewolf tale, my Writers of the Future story, and more.

The first review popped up last week over at Flames Rising, where Alana Abbott describes it as, “a strong collection with several excellent pieces … This is a great entry point into Hines’s work for people who haven’t read his other series; fans of his earlier books won’t be disappointed.” Chris Gerrib over at POD People calls it “highly recommended.”

The collection includes the following stories:

Kitemaster
Untrained Melody
Blade of the Bunny
Over the Hill
Spell of the Sparrow
The Creature in Your Neighborhood

As a special bonus, I’ve also included the first chapter of Libriomancer, for those who want a preview of what I’m working on.

The book is available for $3.99 at the following sites:

Amazon | Amazon.uk | Amazon.de
Barnes & Noble
iBooks (Coming Soon)
Kobo (Coming Soon)

I’ll also be putting up a link for direct sales, probably using PayPal. I’d prefer readers to purchase through the online bookstores when possible, but I also recognize that regional restrictions mean not everyone can do so. I’ll probably have a follow-up post in about a week with the rest of the links. (You can also check the Bookstore page on my site, which I’m still working on.)

I’m not doing a print release of this one right now. I know not everyone reads electronically, but the last time it was simply too much time and work for relatively little in the way of sales/results. I may do a print edition eventually, but it’s not at the top of my To Do list.

As with Goblin Tales [Amazon | B&N | Lulu], I will be posting the occasional update to share how sales are going. I’m curious to see whether this release has any impact on sales of Goblin Tales.

My thanks to everyone who’s shared their excitement about this collection. I hope you enjoy it!

Tuckerizations and Inside Jokes

I’m about 10,000 words through the third draft of Libriomancer. The scene I wrote yesterday introduces one of Isaac’s colleagues, a fellow magic-wielding librarian. I ended up basing the character on a librarian friend of mine (with permission), one who routinely used to kick my butt at Trivial Pursuit back in grad. school.

I’ve got another character who will be based on the winner of a fundraising auction from earlier this year. That’s two Tuckerizations in one book. (Tuckerization being the practice of inserting real-life people into the book as minor characters.)

I’m also writing a protagonist who’s a SF/F fan, meaning there will be inside jokes aplenty. He quotes Star Wars at one point. He has a toy TARDIS hanging from his rear-view mirror. He makes quips that some readers might not get…

…and that’s where I run into a dilemma. Because with everything I’m doing here, it would be too easy for the book to become self-indulgent. Especially when you add in the fact that I’m bringing Smudge back for this series.

So I’m falling back on the same rule I use when writing humor:

The story comes first.

Years ago, I was reading one of Robert Asprin’s MYTH books, and there was a scene where our hero meets a green-scaled taxi driver. The driver proceeds to talk about this convention where he won the chance to be written into some author’s next book…

Bam. Just like that, I was flung out of the story. I loved the early MYTH books, and I thought it was pretty cool that Asprin had done that, but I was thinking about Robert Asprin instead of the story. It felt like he had paused the story to squeeze in this scene.

With Libriomancer, I could easily work in all sorts of details and backstory about my friend, but she’s not a primary character. It might be fun to work in that puma joke from ’98, but it wouldn’t add to the story.

On the other hand, it would be in character for Isaac, who prides himself on his brains, to mutter something about a Trivial Pursuit rematch when he sees her. It’s not that such things can’t work; they just have to fit the story.

The same holds true for Smudge, and for the inside SF/F jokes. My agent has already suggested I trim the Smudge scenes in chapter one, because while they might be appealing to me and to my goblin fans, they slow down this story. Likewise for Isaac’s Star Wars quotes, or references to other SF/F books and films.

In the end, I believe Tuckerizations, inside jokes, and humor in general should all work the same way:

  • It should fit the story.
  • It should add to the enjoyment of the story for readers who get it.
  • It should not detract from the story for readers who don’t get it.

Easier said than done, especially with the rather meta premise of Libriomancer. It’s a book about SF/F books and magic, and it would be so easy to pack it full of geek references and insider humor … but I don’t want to restrict my readership like that. So in general, if I think something will bump a reader out of the book, it’s getting cut.

What do you think? Any examples of effective or ineffective Tuckerizations or inside jokes? For the writers, what has your experience been with writing (or avoiding) them?

Good News Roundup

Yesterday turned out to be a very good day for writing news.

It began with two different, highly positive reviews of The Snow Queen’s Shadow [Amazon | B&N | Mysterious Galaxy]. Over on the DAWBooks LJ, Joshua Palmatier calls it the best book I’ve written to date, saying, “the end of the book–and ostensibly the end of the series–is perfect.” And at the Green Man Review, Michael M. Jones says the whole series has been, “consistently enjoyable, and one of the best fairy tale updates I’ve seen in many years.”

That right there would have been enough to make my day, but there was more. My agent e-mailed in the morning to let me know that my German publisher would be picking up Snow Queen. Woo hoo! (And are you listening, France?)

I wasn’t sure if this was public or not, but I figure if my agent Tweeted about it, it’s safe to share. He’s also been talking to DAW about doing a 3-in-1 omnibus edition of my goblin books, which would be most nifty. Nothing is in place yet, but when and if this deal becomes a reality, I’ll let y’all know. In the meantime, just the fact that the discussion is happening is pretty darn cool.

Apparently the universe wanted to cram a month’s worth of good news into one day, because that’s not all. I also spoke with my editor yesterday, who confirmed that Libriomancer is going to be my first hardcover original from DAW.

Basically, I view this as leveling up 🙂 I’m flattered and happy that DAW has enough confidence in me and my writing to take this book to the next level, and I can’t wait to hold the finished product.

I admit that in some ways, I liked having my stuff come out as mass market paperback originals. Or, as I’ve been known to say, “I like being cheap and easy!” On the other hand, a hardcover release should mean a bit more review attention, a potential boost in library sales, and better royalties, all of which are also good things.

I assume the new plan will be to release the hardcover in August of 2012 and do a paperback about a year later, perhaps coinciding with the second book in the series. I don’t have any details, but will share them once I do.

And then I went home and ended the evening with ice cream and the Phineas & Ferb movie.

All in all, I’d say that was a pretty good day!

Google+ Invites

I was giving away Google+ invites on Facebook this weekend, and figured I’d make the same offer here. According to the site, you should be able to go here and sign up if you’re interested.

So I now appear to have three primary social networking sites, not including the blog:

The biggest complaint and frustration I’m seeing with Google+ so far has been their handling of pseudonyms.

While their policy doesn’t directly affect me personally, I’m uncomfortable with it. I had to deal with a stalker before, years ago. We still take certain precautions even years later. This has made me a bit crankier about policies like this.

As an author, I want my name out there … but I dislike the fact that they’re forcing everyone to do so, and deleting accounts if they decide you’re using a pseudonym.

Shadesong linked to a list of people harmed by a No Pseudonyms policy, which is worth checking out and thinking about. You can send feedback to Google+ about this or other issues here.

Overall though, I’m enjoying the interface. It’s a new service, so they’re continuing to work out some bugs. I just hope they rethink their username policy as well.

First Book Friday: Karin Lowachee

Welcome back to First Book Friday, where product freshness is guaranteed! Previous entries in the series are indexed here, and the submission guidelines are there.

Karin Lowachee has been creating stories since kindergarten. Maybe earlier. Her most recent book is The Gaslight Dogs [Amazon | B&N | Mysterious Galaxy], inspired in part by her time working with and living among the Inuit in northern Canada. You can find her on Twitter and Goodreads.

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My first novel, Warchild [Amazon | B&N | Mysterious Galaxy], was published in an unorthodox way. I workshopped about two-thirds of it on the then-Del Rey Online Writing Workshop (which has since become the Online Writing Workshop), first as an experiment to see if anyone actually took to it, and then as a motivational tool to make me complete it. I received very helpful critiques, as well as a lot of interest, so that was an indication to me that perhaps this book might appeal to a general SF readership (and hopefully some editors).

Towards the end of my writing the novel, my friend CC Finlay forwarded me the information about a contest run by Warner Books for first novelists — the grand prize was a full-fledged publishing contract, and even more cool, it was being judged by Tim Powers (and Betsy Mitchell was the editor-in-chief at the time). I made a goal to finish Warchild for this contest and send it off — first a cover letter and the first 50 pages, just as you would to any agent or publisher. Weeks later they asked for the full novel, so I sent that off too. I’d made the first cut.

Over the course of a few months I heard through the grapevine that it was ‘moving up the ranks.’ Then when I was working up in the Arctic, my sister called to tell me that I had received a letter from Warner Books — I had won. It was a surreal moment, I remember exactly standing in front of the couch and she was ecstatic on the other end of the line. My reactions to things tend to be more internal; I was jumping around on the inside, but outside I was just smiling like an idiot. Then I sat down on the couch. I probably said “YEAH!” once or twice, but that was it. I was just internalizing it all, letting the reality sink in … it took awhile. I don’t think I quite believed it until I actually talked to Betsy Mitchell on the phone, and then when I had a contract in hand. I kept assuming someone was going to say they’d reconsidered and it was going to someone else. But luckily I was wrong. (I still feel this way every time a book of mine is published; the disbelief doesn’t go away, frankly.) Warner Aspect was going to publish Warchild and Tim Powers was going to blurb it. I received all of my editorial comments and contacts while living up North, and it remains one of the best, most stressful, and interesting periods of my life. I will forever associate Warchild with the Arctic.

The real work began long after the book contract, and it hasn’t stopped. The contest afforded me an opportunity to get my foot in the door, but as any writer will tell you, it’s a fight to produce work that will keep you in the room. Still, I’ll ever be grateful to Betsy Mitchell and Tim Powers for seeing something in my book, and for all the readers who responded to it in such a positive way.

Who’s Awesome?

It’s been a rather intense couple of weeks here at the blog, so today I figured I’d try something different.

This is an open post of awesomeness. Commenters are invited to share names and links of generally awesome people. Authors, artists, bloggers, or just random folks who happen to rock like a rocking thing.

Starting things off with a few suggestions of my own…

Hege Dalen and Toril Hansen – These two women rescued 40 kids during the massacre in Norway the other week. The couple made four trips back and forth, returning even after they saw the bullet holes in their boat. If that doesn’t qualify them for the List of Awesomeness, I don’t know what does.

Sheila Gilbert, Betsy Wolheim, and everyone at DAW Books – Sure, they publish my stuff, which makes me biased. But they also sent me a farting unicorn card for my birthday. How many publishers do that?

Tobias Buckell – Toby wanted a group of professional speculative fiction novelists who could share information and support one another. So he sat down and founded SF Novelists. He wanted to know how much authors make, on average, for selling their first book. So he went out and did the study. Nike should hire this dude for their “Just do it” campaign.

Your turn! Please give us a sentence or two about why the person you’re suggesting is made of awesomeness, and feel free to include a link to their site if they have one.

My Bigot-Sense is Tingling

Marvel Comics has revealed the identity of the new Ultimate Spider-Man: a half-black, half-Hispanic teen named Miles Morales.

For those of you who believe racism is dead, or that the geek community is somehow accepting and welcoming and open to all, read on…

Larry Doherty of Larry’s Comics responded with the following:

You can see more of Larry’s Tweets and comments at http://graphicpolicy.com/2011/08/01/the-comicmarket-problem/ if you’re feeling masochistic. But don’t worry. Despite his “nigga” Tweet and other comments, Larry assures us that he’s not racist, and these were simply good-natured jokes. (Why can’t you people take a joke?)

Bleeding Cool News rounded up some of the comments on the USA Today article about the new Spider-Man. Please keep in mind that these are comments that weren’t removed for being too offensive. Here are a few:

That’s just dangerous. With spider powers, just think how much stuff he could steal, if he was not so lazy.

What will he say when he runs into a criminal? “Sup Foo? Dis is MY ‘hood!”

Shame on Marvel Comics! This is not diversity; this is a disgrace! Spiderman was Peter Parker, and Peter Parker was white. Create a new character if you want to prove that Marvel Comics is “diverse”. Minorities are typically less than 18% of the population, but they seem to get nearly 100% of the history. Why should white children not have a comic book hero that they can identify with?

That’s right, Marvel comics! Where are all the white heroes? Shame on you for discriminating against us poor, underrepresented white people.

Though I admit I found, “I want to see his birth certificate” amusing.

Click here to read more, if you can stomach it.

Unfortunately, these are not isolated comments. There’s much more out there along similar lines.

Don’t tell me racism is dead. Don’t tell me people are overreacting, or that this shit is just “good-natured joking.” Don’t tell me how the geek community is so much more accepting.

And circling back to Larry’s Comics, does anyone have any recommendations for comics retailers that don’t encourage racism and general douchebaggery?

Agents as Publishers

There’s been a fair amount of discussion in writing circles about agents taking on the role of publisher, stepping in to help clients self-publish their work. When I published Goblin Tales [Amazon | B&N | Lulu], I did the majority of the work on my own, but my agent posted it for sale at Kobo and iBooks (taking their usual 15% commission on sales through those outlets).

Joshua and Eddie at JABberwocky have a post about the issue here, wherein Eddie says, “I think the decision to help an author self-publish a book, after failing to place it with a real publisher, is rooted in hubris.”

Keep in mind that JABberwocky has e-published several books already. The difference being that JABberwocky is publishing out-of-print backlist titles as opposed to releasing original work. Is that a significant difference? I think so. Does it eliminate any ethical conflicts or problems? That’s a better question.

Joshua asks about the agent’s role in the ever-evolving world of publishing. Personally, I want my agent to do several things for me:

  • Negotiate with publishers on my behalf for the best possible deal.
  • Work on those lovely foreign sales of my work.
  • Help me build a long-term and successful career.

That first point is huge, especially when agents go into self-publishing. If an agent e-publishes a client’s original work, is that really the best possible deal? Personally, if I have a book that doesn’t sell, I’d be tempted to wait a few years and come back to it. For the most part, I’m skeptical that self-publishing an original book through your agent is the best possible deal for the author.

Some of the questions I’m asking as I try to sort out the ethics and potential conflicts of interest for myself…

  • Is the agent charging an up-front fee for self-publishing, or are they working on commission?
  • Is this service limited to clients, or are they offering to self-publish the work of non-clients as well? (The latter suggests they’re moving much more into being a publisher, and I want my agent’s primary focus to be representing clients.)
  • Does the agent threaten former clients with legal action for describing the agency’s “assisted self-publishing initiative” as digital publishing? (Read this one and draw your own conclusions.)
  • Is the agent pressuring clients to use their self-publishing service? (This would push me toward “Run away” mode.)

People have asked, “Why give your agent a cut for something you could do yourself?” But that holds true for agents in general. If you’re savvy enough, you can represent yourself, negotiate your own deals, sell your own work overseas … all it takes is time and expertise.

Some of us don’t have the time. Others lack the expertise. While I enjoyed putting together Goblin Tales and Kitemaster, I want to spend most of my time writing, not publishing. That means hiring someone else to do the work.

There are services out there that will do it for you. Is it better to keep those services entirely separate from agents? Maybe … here are a few things to consider in any case.

  • If the agency is acting as publisher, is there a contract? Who’s negotiating that contract and checking to make sure your interests are protected?
  • What happens if you and your agent part ways?
  • Has the agent demonstrated that they can do this job well? (Being an author doesn’t mean you can typeset or do cover layout or the rest. Neither does being an agent.)

I think it’s an important conversation, and as always, I’d love to hear thoughts and discussion from other folks.

Firebreathing LEGO Dragon

You know what this world needs? A LEGO dragon that breathes fire. Akama1_lego has taken care of that need. Full photoset is here, or you can click the pic for more. There’s also a YouTube video of the dragon in action, if you’re interested.

Yeah, that’s all I’ve got for today. Have a great weekend, all!

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