Saturday, January 28, 2012

Book Review: Sword in the Stars by Wayne Thomas Batson

 So... this is my first review, basically, so this will be a very experimental post. So bear with me.

Back cover summary: Haunted by memories of a violent past, Alastair Coldhollow wagers his life on the hope that a sword will appear in the stars and the foretold Halfainin, the Pathwalker, would come. Meanwhile, tensions simmer between Anglinore and the murderous Gorrack Nation, threatening war on a cataclysmic scale. The fate of all could rest on an abandoned child and the decisions of those who desperately seek to identify him. (Sword in the Stars is the first release in The Dark Sea Annals series.)

 Now, that sounds suitable epic with a grand scope, and what-not, but it doesn't capture Alastair's inner conflict. He's seeking, like all of his, for something we can't find in our world. Forgiveness, and being free from our past. He's also trying to figure out his relationship with Abbagael, the female main character.

 This book is about him, and how he changes and matures. But it's also a set-up for the rest of the series. He's not a perfect hero (Nor should heroes be perfect. It's annoying) by any means. He has doubts, guilt, and an addiction. He rages. He makes selfish decisions in the name of being selfless. But in the end, he does what's right.
The rest of the characters were similar. None were perfect, and all had motivations of their own. They were all memorable, and different than the others.

Pros: It is a well-written fantasy that focuses on the characters, doesn't have anything objectionable, and for those who like Christian symbolism, it's there.
The world building is also fantastic. It's  rings of Middle-Earth, but doesn't actually copy any of it. It's much different. There are seven races, all different. Different kingdoms, of course. The story also focused on the characters, and didn't go up in a helicopter to follow the course of a river like LotR.

Content wise, it's clean. The only exception might possibly be some blood, and violence if you're sensitive about that.

Cons:
It didn't have the sacrifice that truly great books have, but it is the first book of a series. It also doesn't expand on everything in detail.

I am fully satisfied with this book, and I strongly recommend it. It's sweet. So, I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Woe is me! A Morality Tale

 So, if you don't like tragic stories, don't read this post. It's full of tragedy and sadness. Joy, and crushing despair. And it's all true. I'll give you the not as bad news first.
Rejected! No, this isn't a story of personal heartbreak of mine, just a rejection email from a publisher. It was actually pretty nice, not having to wonder any longer. I got personalized feedback on the short story. The tension was good, the pacing was good, but there wasn't enough backstory to become emotionally engaged in the characters. All true. All I'd have to do is expand on their characters and the backstory, then Presto! But it was not to be so.

I lost my flashdrive.

Read that again, and you'll know just about everything else I'm going to say in this post.
All my writings, gone. Vanished. Including one of the best pieces of writing I've ever done that I was almost ready to send to Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show. All my started novels. Gone. So that's what I've been doing most of today. Looking for it. No luck so far. But on the plus side, my room's a lot cleaner.
But, yeah. Always back up your stories somewhere where they can't be lost. Like GMail. Or a private GoogleDocs. Or something.

So, farewell on this one. I'm off to continue tearing my room apart, salvaging whatever pieces of them I have on the internet (Most of them, except the one I really need).

Saturday, January 7, 2012

What if...

Okay, I'm reading through K.M. Weiland's book Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success and I'm finding it very helpful.  (Check out her blog for writers at http://wordplay-kmweiland.blogspot.com/) Yes, I was a panster, but it just wasn't working for me. So, I got this one for Kindle.
 I also got it, because a new project I'm working on easily has the potential to be absolutely brilliant, and I want to be able to give the magnificence it deserves.
 So I'm in the chapter on premise sentences, and there's a section on asking the famous question "What if?" to generate new ideas and possibilities for the story. She used her novel Behold the Dawn as an example.
I use these because I can see pencil on the pages. Old school, I know
I took it a step further, and asked What if... and then on the next line in my notebook, I asked another question that led from the previous question, for half a page. This isn't a small notebook either.
The process helped come up with a whole lot of new ideas compared to what I started with. It's fast, fairly easy (For me), and shows whole new paths the story can go.

I'll do an example here. Let's do something fairly generic.

What if there were aliens in outer space? Now we have the question that sends us on our path of discovery, but it's the answer that will give us conflict and plot.
What if those aliens wanted to conquer Earth? More of a specific idea, than anything that can help us, but it suggests conflict.
Wait, what if there was another group of aliens fighting to defend Earth? Now the pot is boiling. Why are the two fighting over Earth? What makes Earth special? Why does the one want to conquer it? Why does the other want to defend Earth? How long have they been fighting?
What if Earth holds a very important secret? What's the secret? Who put it there? Why Earth? What makes it so important that war would be fought over it?
What if someone from Earth discovers the secret? Now we have a main character. Now, how does the keeper of the secret respond to the secret, and the responsibility that comes with it? What does he/she do with it? What forces the protagonist into the conflict between the alien forces? What inner conflict does he/she have to face to succeed? What's the goal? Who is the protagonist?
What if the villains find out and seek to capture the secret holder or someone close? Now we have the antagonists actively seeking to thwart the hero, which leads to more questions. How do they do it? Who is the person kidnapped? What can you do unexpected?

 Getting the picture of this method? It forces you think about your idea in more specific terms than usual, and reveals new pathways.

 Can you think of any answers or other questions? Will you use this for one of your projects?

Remember, always ask the question "What if?".


Tuesday, January 3, 2012

New Year's Resolutions

 Late again, I know. I hadn't actually planned on making one, but KathrineROID convinced me over on her blog Scribbling on the Computer to write it anyways. So I agreed, for accountability is good. Granted, it won't be anywhere near as long as hers.

 First, I'm going to try and write 500 words a day. It doesn't matter as much what I write, just as long as I write. You might get flooded with blog posts now. I'm also doing it because writing skills is a muscle, and inspiration comes while writing.

  I'm also going to try and do either a minimum of 15 push-ups, or a minimum of 30 push-ups a day. Or maybe work up to 30. Why? To build arm strength and general fitness. Why 30? It's the most I've managed to do in a single minute.

Thirdly, I'm going to attempt to finish the first draft of The Dying Words of Dick Elden, Galactic Gumshoe by the end of the year. The reason is that I have yet to finish a draft of a novel. A shame, I know. And an annoyance.

 Oh, I'll also be working on something titled Secret Project 001, something that has me more excited about writing fantasy since I finished reading LotR for the first time.


So, what are your resolutions?