Writing Historical Fiction Archives - Page 8 of 33

Killing Your Darlings 2 – Open Book Blog Hop #451

November 18, 2024 By Captain Maiel

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #451

Have you ever regretted killing off a character?
Or not killing one off?

Welcome back to another Open Book Blog Hop! The authors included in this ongoing series wish to thank you for your reads. Even more so, we appreciate that you share our writings with friends. If you’re new to the series, welcome aboard. The authors engage and impress weekly. Prepare to become a regular reader.

Sometimes, I think we authors may be on the psychopathy spectrum. I say that tongue in cheek, observing the reality of this disorder in a small percent that is real among our cohort. Let’s keep this light, though. Things are far too heavy in reality, as they are. A bit of escape is a good thing. A small rest, if you will.

steampunk design of clock and gears in the clouds with a skull sepia tones — ^DarkSouls1

Killing your characters is part of the field, in my genre anyway. I write about history and dark fantasy. Of course there is death! Often, a character’s development hinges upon death and massive change. Thus, it makes it necessary to kill and maim. That doesn’t mean that I relish the writing of the suffering. I think back to Kathleen Turner portraying one of us on the big screen and weeping during her beautifully romantic ending in the first few minutes of the film. We laugh and we cry right along with you.

If there is no emotional stake in it for us, then I’d wager there isn’t for the reader. Writing my work, especially the trilogy, was often retraumatizing, as a great deal of what I have experienced went into the writing. What we do isn’t as easy as folks like to portray that (film or social media). There is certainly joy and there is also sorrow. We are connected to the work deeply.

For many authors, killing off a character can be traumatizing. Not every character that we realize must go is one we wish to let go of. Still, the job has to be done. We manage to work through it. Other times, it isn’t such a problem. If the character has pulled all the weight they can and we weren’t much connected to begin with, then they go without much remorse (I recommend a writer revisit these guys and gals and see if you can fold those actions into someone else, and reduce the footprint of characters. This is a necessary form of brevity we have to consider).

On that vein, I’d say that I regret more not killing one off. I should have taken the advice I just gave! It’s difficult to see the necessity of reducing the number of characters in play in one story until you’ve drafted a few iterations. Then, there is so much to double check, it often gets lost in the middle. A great editor will often mention this probability, if you’re over populated. So, if we still forget to work that check, don’t beat yourself to death on it. Write it on your list of pre-edit considerations. Try to get to it.

When taking out a character that is more major takes a lot of consideration. It must make sense and be necessary. Do not just kill them off. A reader will detect this and there’s no fixing it once published. This is why I prefer not to do so, especially if there is a built attachment. It doesn’t add the dramatic effect I want to see in my writing. Abusing the emotions of your readers for the sake of an unnecessary impact is kind of a dick move.

You’ll notice that in my work, the unreconcilable characters are the ones who get it. This means, there is no redemption for them in the space of the novel. They will continue to cause problems, and the other characters need to move past that experience, as do the readers. So, it makes sense, as mentioned above. There are no regrets, even if I reconsider the timing or arc. Villains, by the way, should get their ends. People need that catharsis. We escape into media to experience the things we desire. Reality is always out there to experience realness, and it’s often not that fun!

Before you hop over to the other authors responses through their links below, subscribe to my newsletter to have the hop delivered each Friday via email. See you back here next time! Click here to read the previous article from 2016.

The Introvert – Open Book Blog Hop #450

November 11, 2024 By Captain Maiel

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #450

Share a place you go to for inspiration.

Is there a way to bring you to my thoughtful place? Writing books is my attempt to bring people into the world of things that I see and think on the inside. I’m an introvert. From dreaming to daydreaming, or maybe just musing, the inside of my head is where you’ll often find me pull inspiration from. Did you know that the majority of my books came from dreams? I may have mentioned it a few times on the blog already, but it always is worth mentioning again. The fact that that happens fascinates me.

A large leather bound book lies open with a superimposed sleeping women in clouds laying on the pages. It's a soft black and white photo with some bluing in the clouds.

A lot of authors go to the library or a beautiful spot that really recharges their desire to write. Putting on some tunes that make me feel that swelling in my heart, that wistful (maybe sentimental feelings) and taking some time to stare at the wall is all I need. Slow down. Take account. Think.

I’m an introvert. So this detail about my work process makes a lot of sense. That said, many introverts have actual places they go, too. I prefer intangible spaces. I’m far less likely to run into uncomfortable situations and intrusions.

For instance, one other place that I immerse myself to find inspiration is, while writing historical fiction, the research material I need to get a grip on the period and events. Something as simple as fabrics and builds of clothing can give me tons to work with. These simple aspects really help characterization and design. You’ve heard the old adage that clothes make the man.

Floor plans for buildings and event details likewise feed my introvert brain. That said, all of it returns to the fact that I go inward for inspiration. To me, writing a novel is like putting a puzzle together. A lot of quiet thinking and assessment of the pieces takes place. Eventually, when you’ve gotten it together, you see the big picture. It goes form being a wrapper on a box to reality.

To be totally honest, while I don’t have a physical space to run to, going into my own head has been a real treat. I think I’ve decorated it very nicely and I’ve spent a great deal of time trying to expand it. I’m grateful to my family and friends who have helped me to do so along the way, as well as colleagues and mentors. After all, we are the sum total of our experiences. I think that this speaks to the experiences I have had in life.

In this same vein, when you understand an introvert is quickly and easily exhausted by social interaction, you get why one might avoid a physical go to space. I can’t write when tired from expending all my energy on others. It affects my depression and anxiety terribly. You have no idea how entitled some people feel to your time and effort for their own ends. That lights a fire under anxiety. Then, when they also think you’re rude for setting boundaries and will start fights about it, or make things uncomfortable for you long term by painting you in a certain light with others–sigh. That’s the pressure they apply to get your energy and compliance. It’s abuse. No, it isn’t fair or ok. But, they feel it’s entirely fine. Holding your ground can be tiring, too. However, I won’t give up on my personal boundaries. They are necessary, and the person without them is the actual problem.

The Trailokya Trilogy, Samsara, planet, grid

Although depression, CPTSD, anxiety, and neurospiciness can be a hindrance to getting the job done when mixed with an introvert mind, it can also give unique perspectives on ideas. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows inside. That’s ok. The dim and dark corners sometimes have the greatest details to offer. I can’t write horror without understanding scary! I also can’t write fantasy and science fiction without imagining the edges of the known and beyond.

I’ve found in more recent times that the rise of AI has helped me take inner visions to the outside world, and serves as a great tandem for writing. Illustrations, as you know, are a great way to get inside an author’s head. However, my drawing style isn’t conducive to the work I write. I draw simple cartoon line art. Cutesy things aren’t going to serve me at all in this capacity. Although I love my Zo Duck series, it is far different from the things I write. So making art is also a place I go for inspiration.

Sometimes, inspiration is just having the energy to do the work.

Click on the links below to find out where the other authors on this hop go to find their inspiration. Don’t forget to subscribe before you leave so the hop arrives in your inbox on Fridays! See you next time.

Having the Blues – Open Book Blog Hop #446

October 7, 2024 By Captain Maiel

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #446

Do you favor certain color schemes for your book covers?

Favorite colors and favorite songs often change with time. Not everyone starts out a blues fan. Some folks, however, do stay with a theme during their life. When I was younger, the reds caught my eye the most. The redder my hair got, the less I could pull off wearing those tones. It was a bit much! Yet, I remember, really loving the color of my brother’s bedroom rug: bright blue. I was kind of jealous, to be honest.

To start, let’s take a look at my covers and see if we can spot the commonality…

^{My current spread of book covers.}

As you can see, the majority of my covers are dark in tone, heavy on the blues. I guess that started with Blue Honor. Even the first cover, which I created alone, is dark blue outside the central horse image and gold lettering. It was very literature library in context. That look is intentional to recall the idea of classic literary drama. In my mind, military fiction and dark fantasy require artwork that reflects the dark content.

Constant themes I may cover are hard choices with unknown results, strife and struggle, war in general. All the nightmarish things. Horror, after all, is best when it is something that haunts you. The villains feared today differ from monsters our ancestors shuddered at. Even my daughter, at her small age, fails to find Pumpkin Head (1988) a horrific thing as originally billed by the GenX film. Most horror in existence fails, likewise, to affect my sleep. Like my kid, only those terrible things that can actually happen create a fear response.

For instance, Michael Myers is still pretty on par for frightening. Think about the rash of mass murders in the US committed by troubled young men. Serial killers are very real things. When it crosses into the realm of he’s not stoppable by a bullet, though, I lose that concern. He becomes no more than a Frankenstein’s monster. I really enjoy the social media videos of Michael of Decatur. It’s a good laugh! In kind, the Hellraiser (1987) films, also, don’t pose much more than a dark comedy.

This tracks into my own work, as I am heavily inspired by the horror genre as well as fantasy. I think my covers have a great deal in common with horror story covers and film posters. The blues reiterate to the would be reader that the story within is dark, likely a thriller, covering tough topics. War and war time is never an easy thing to cover. From the entrenched opinions to the violence, there’s much to cause the reader distress. Imagine writing them, revisiting things you may have experienced and sharing those harrowing feelings. Sure, it makes it more real, accessible, whatever, but it is something with which you really need to choose engagement. Color scheme can help to provide a footnote.

a map lies on the table with books and writing implements, as a person takes notes. Photo by Oxona on Unsplash

For instance, you’ll notice that my trilogy gets progressively brighter, but it is still ranging in the gloaming by the last book. Unknowns reign. The results may be just the start of further conflict. In addition, some folks may notice the rainbows and read coding that relates to their lives from that. Color schemes may not seem intentional. Just keep in mind that planning that cover takes a conversation with the designer including the synopsis of the story. There’s approvals to be given. The author (and their publisher if one is traditional) will go through a long process of applying the right cover.

It’s no accident to choose the blues. Somber tales do best wrapped in their somber covers, serving as a tell for the would be reader. I can’t imagine the poster for the Exorcist (1973) being successful if it were yellow or baby blue, or even a lovely pink. That black and white night with a single street light certainly does the trick!

It’s my hope that my covers express the theories and ideas contained in the pages in such a way that folks checking out the books are drawn to them for the right reasons. I took off the gloves on my trilogy and held no punches. The others go into details of war realities and society that will make readers shudder. If they’re ready, they’ll flip back those dark blues and start the story.

Just like in film, cover colors serve a purpose. Let’s check out the other authors to see how they feel about their own covers and color schemes. Were they going for whimsy and comfort, or deep intrigue? Click on their links below to see where they’re at on this topic. Don’t forget to subscribe and get this hop delivered to your inbox each week. A new question is answered by our team of authors from the other side of your beloved books. See you next time!

Publicity Hoopla – Open Book Blog Hop #443

September 16, 2024 By Captain Maiel

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #443

Many of us are frustrated by publicity. It’s our least favorite
part of writing. But what’s your favorite part of publicity?

Authors, when they do pursue higher education, often don’t consider the marketing component, like publicity. In an author’s best interest, this track of study should likely take up space as a minor focus. While you don’t need to major in business, marketing, or communications to be a writer, it will only help your pursuits of gaining the public’s attention. In the end, that is the point of writing it all down and turning it into a book.

wish for it, hope for it, dream of it, but by all means do it. — Photo by S O C I A L . C U T on Unsplash

Did you know that marketing starts with your agent, management, or publisher pitches? When you write those query letters, you’ll be selling you and your work to representation. You need their buy in to get beyond the locked gates of the publishing houses. There is an expected order to follow. Just writing a great book and having your copy in perfect order won’t be enough.

However you pitch your work to media managing entities will play into how you pitch the finished product to the public. Before you ever get finished, you should have a sense of who will love your book and why. You’ll have a logline and a blurb to use. These items will come up continuously while publicizing (marketing) your work.

The fact that this is hard work should be no secret. Finding the right words, and being a minimalist about it, isn’t as easy as it sounds. In fact, I think any writer who is great at this could make a killing offering their services to other writers for writing their loglines and blurbs. They wouldn’t even have to charge all that much. A free copy to review and a few hundred per book. Obviously, no guarantees!

That is the crux of why this stuff is so hard. There are zero guarantees, regardless of how good you are at writing, writing copy, queries, blurbs, or loglines. Zero. The public is a fickle mistress. Still, there are those with an amazing gift for knowing how to determine the pulse of audiences. It’s like being fantastic at Tarot readings, but unable to read yourself. It is what it is.

Not all aspects of publicity are hard and frustrating. In my opinion, I love the interaction with people. I know that sounds weird, because people can be so exhausting for me. Between being an introvert and having PTSD, Depression, and Anxiety–you can bet that I tire big time. That said, it is energizing in the moment to have positive interactions and feedback from a crowd. Events can really lift your heart and pour back the love you’ve been giving out. It’s a lot of fun!

Sure signings and the like can be stressful, especially when you have to speak publicly. There will be great people to meet out there and sharing your work with them reinvigorates your hopes. In addition, this helps you hone your skills in the area and test out that which you’ve learned. Don’t get stagnant here. Pay attention to what is working and how that changes over time.

A second favorite aspect of publicity for me is the artsy stuff. Creating art around my work gets me super charged. This includes designing postcards, business cards, posters, and other materials used to promote the books. I adore making art and sharing this with potential readers. It’s a way for me to take something that has existed only in the confines of my brain’s movie screen and let others have a look.

open book blog hop, a young woman with dark hair, wearing a black top, chews on the end of a pen. She's writing something in a journal resting on a white picnic table.

The stuff that I write has often come from some pretty epic dreams. I wish I could take people on that ride, but since we cannot project those things onto a screen for them to view, or drag them into the literal dream space to show them, we settle for words and art that barely touches the reality. While that sounds like it is frustrating, it isn’t. Yes, the images may fall short, but so much can really encapsulate the visions. I’m grateful for my abilities in this area. I could always be a better artist, but what I am able to produce where I am at is pretty exciting.

So between meeting great people and sharing my art, publicity isn’t so bad. Not a fan of my personal image nor my voice, or speaking in public, but because I want to share my art with others, I will deal with it. Truthfully, it does get easier the more you do this. That said, I would never tell any writer that they must do so. Sometimes, the anxiety is too overwhelming to make it worthwhile. I’m thinking of all those times my knees were knocking (literally) behind the lecturn.

Be sure to check out the parts of publicity that the other authors like to engage in by clicking on their links below. Subscribe to my newsletter by dropping your email into the box and I’ll send you this hop each Friday to keep up with us! See you next time.

Late Realization – Open Book Blog Hop #439

August 19, 2024 By Captain Maiel

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #439

Have you ever regretted ‘hitting publish’ on a work realizing
you could have done more or tweak something to make it an absolute banger?

Late realization is probably one of the worst feelings you’ll experience as an author. Regardless of your due diligence, something will likely come up to make you think that you could have tweaked your work a bit to include or smooth out something that came to you post publishing. I guess, when you think about that, second editions are the place for these realizations. However, what if it is a major change?

towel day, don't panic written on the cardboard roll left with no toilet paper

Have you ever come up with an additional idea that would add so much to your work that you regret publishing before that idea came to you? Yes. Absolutely, I have. In fact, I worry that I have not covered all of the things that I could cover to set up for and make room for future stories attached to my series. There are those subtle threads that linger in series, allowing an author to set up for those subsequent ideas. I get so nervous about this that I refuse to look at them again unless absolutely pressed. What if they trigger this late realization? It’s worse than finding a typo. I feel that the miss is glaring. A reader will surely point it out.

In most cases, the idea that the reader will point out your realization to you is just fear talking. They’re not in your head making such deductions. If they are, holy heck did they read the heck out of your book and that is exciting! The better solution, in my honest opinion, is to honor the idea of creativity. If you come up with a banger of an idea, figure out how you can fit it in elsewhere. For instance, if you have a series like I do. there is room for growth and change, so long as it makes sense to the world you built.

The fact that we are creative writers should make this much less stressful than it is. When we ask this question about a late realization, the fear that we failed is at the root. Instead of not looking at your book again, look. Read it through and see if those threads, which could open up a sequel, are there. Somehow, you stumbled upon this idea, and likely your mind was rolling down that path long before it fruited in your mind. If those clues are there, then you are thinking of a new idea, and rolling toward a new work. It’s not a late realization at all!

The primary thing you need to tell yourself is that you don’t need to beat a reader over the head. If the clues reveal themselves, the trajectory is palpable, even if with you unaware, give yourself permission to move onto the next thing. Making these additions to the current work would like only be superfluous. Sometimes, we lose sight of that in our excitement for a new idea. View the realization as a rewrite or summation of what you already did (side note: that’s useful to your blurb or elevator pitch).

Additionally, if the clues and trajectory don’t exist, that late realization likely falls under the category of a new idea outside of the work you published. Perhaps, you found a seed of inspiration in the work you finished. Roll it around for a bit. Regardless, a second edition usually comes out in a few years from the first publication anyway. I did this with my second book. A few scenes came from creating the adaptation, and they really developed an important character better. They weren’t pivotal to the work. However, I really liked the scenes I created and decided to add them in the second edition.

That said, I do not want to do this with Trailokya. I want the trilogy I have written to stand as it is, except for any grammar type edits that I find I may need. If such realization manifests, I can respond to it with the understanding that the characters in the first three books did not consider or think about, or possibly know the connection. Therefore, the realization is irrelevant to the trilogy and not included. How could this realization be relevant? Sounds like a distraction, fear, or something for later to me.

Keep in mind, perspective of your characters will determine what is and isn’t relevant. The plot may never take them places your random realizations goes. While it may be a great idea, it doesn’t fit in the narrative you created (at least not seamlessly) and doesn’t make sense with what they think or do in relation to the plot. If you insert superfluous information because it was cool, that’s gonna stick out in a negative way. Save the idea for later writings. Make a note.

Reader reviews often site superfluous information as a drag to their reading experience. Although we may be over here nerding it up about something we realized, they don’t feel nearly as excited for it. It slows them down, is meaningless, or distracting. So what do you do if it’s more than a cool idea? Like I said above, make a note, fit it elsewhere if you can, or save the idea for something else. In fact, the idea may just be a golden nugget you carry for yourself. We are allowed such things!

If the late realization won’t leave you alone, write it in a separate file and save it with your manuscript. As stated about editions, you may find that if it is a short insertion, you can add it in to satisfy your writer soul. And, by the time you can do this, you’ll know for sure if it is a necessary thing. Once you’ve written it out, you’ll feel better, and it will be ready to go when you are.

Whatever you chose to do, don’t beat yourself up. Know you’re not alone. Sometimes, great ideas are late realizations. You’ll make it work or you won’t, but don’t stress out about it. Be proud you published at all. So many would-be writers never get that far. It is things like this that paralyze them.

Click on the links below to find out what a late realization has done to the other authors on the hop, or if they’ve experienced the same at all. They’ll have some great tips and strategies for dealing with the anxiety and moving forward. Don’t forget: drop your email in the subscription box so the hop arrives in your inbox on Fridays. See you next time!