An Unpublished Novelist’s 100 Headaches of Fiction Writing

1. Brainstorming an idea
2. Creating characters
3. Plotting the story
4. Writing a first draft
5. Hating the first draft
6. Throwing out the first draft
7. Re-creating characters
8. Plotting a slightly different story
9. Writing a new, barely tolerable first draft
10. Adding new material
11. Cutting excess material
12. Rewriting for coherency
13. Editing more words than I want to think about
14. Getting critiques
15. Revising novel again
16.-29. Getting more critiques and editing until I nearly hate the story
30. Polishing up a final draft that still looks too flawed
31. Distilling a 300-page novel in an impossible 2-page synopsis
32. Writing the rest of the proposal
33. Revising the proposal
34. Getting feedback
35. Throwing out the 2-page synopsis that doesn’t work
36. Writing another it-can’t-be-done 2-page synopsis
37. Finding someone willing to look at this endless project for the umpteenth time
38. Implementing feedback
39. Finding an agent or editor to submit to
40. Researching websites and clients/catalogue
41. Composing a query letter as my brain is starting to decompose from all these headaches
42. Sending the query letter
43. Receiving a rejection letter
44. Scouring for more agents and editors
45. Researching them
46. Submitting more query letters
47. Revising the proposal to specifications
48. Receiving more rejections
49. Rewriting manuscript again
50. Revising proposal
51.-100. Repeating Headaches 39–50 until manuscript is accepted or I can’t take it any longer and I start back at Headache #1

So if writing is such a headache, why do it? Because not writing gives me an even bigger headache. :o)

Re-sensitization Step 4

The problem with evil is that evil can look very much like good.

Sometimes they're just close. Sometimes they can almost pass for identical twins, even to the discerning eye and wary heart. And to the mind dulled by desensitization—well, keeping them separate can be near impossible.

But while we may struggle to discern, God can recognize the nature of everything in less than a nanosecond. After all, He is the original Creator. He knows what is His; not even the best facsimile in the world can fool Him.

So there is good news and bad news for us. The bad news is we are not God, and we can be easily duped by a well-done copy. The good news is God has provided us a handbook for identifying His handiwork: The Bible.

As it says in Hebrews 4:12-13, “…the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to diving soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” In short, God’s truth is so precise it can tell apart two invisible and nearly synonymous things, soul and spirit.

So has desensitization caused your mind to lose its edge? Sharpen it again against the truth of God. Delve deep into Scripture daily. Stop and chew on the words. Ask questions and dig for the answers. Learn the marks of the Master.

Post-CSFF Tour: Did I get it wrong?

I’ve been doing some extra pondering this blog tour as I’ve skimmed through some of my fellow blogger’s posts. Blaggard’s Moon was very well received. In fact, it seems like I may have been the only one, at least one of a very small few, who didn’t fall in love with the book.

Why?

When I am so obviously in the minority, it always gives me pause. What did I miss? Why did I react so differently? Why didn’t I get this or that out of the book?

Sometimes my search affirms my original instincts. I’m not sure that’s the case this time. One of Rachel Starr Thomson’s posts especially made me reconsider. I know I pretty sick with stomach flu at the time I read Blaggard’s Moon. But is that the only reason I failed to connect with a story that has seemed to have impacted deeply so many?

Then I looked again at what Rachel said, and a memory was triggered of a conversation I had with my older sister about the new Chronicles of Narnia movies. While I liked both, I preferred the first over the second, whereas my sister preferred the second over the first. Why? We finally decided it had to do with our perspectives on life.

I am still young and, because of my circumstances, very sheltered, more than many of my peers. I have had to deal few problems, make hard decisions, and have acquired few regrets. Therefore, my perception of life is mostly forward, toward the future. So the stories that connect with me are stories of encouragement, that it is possible to live a godly life like Daniel without making a major screw-up like David. The heroic hero.

My older sister, on the other hand, has seen a little more life than I have, faced more decisions and has had to deal with the long-term consequences of her decisions. She looks forward while being very aware of the review mirror. She tends to favor stories of the redemptive hero—the protagonist who has made some horrible decisions with long-ranging effects but somehow is redeemed despite of those decisions and becomes the hero he ought to be. The Caspian and Apostle Peter stories.

So did I get Blaggard’s Moon wrong? I’m not sure I did—for someone in my position in life. But I live in a different place than most of the other participants on this tour. I think this is what Rachel Starr Thomson showed me. Blaggard’s Moon is a story, not with characters that no one relates to, but whose characters will resound with people like my sister looking for the assurance of that their lives can still have a positive impact—still be redeemed, if you will—despite poor decisions made.

Heroic Heroes

One of my main complaints in yesterday’s review of Blaggard’s Moon was the character connection, or rather the lack thereof. Delaney is a narrator more than a protagonist. Jenta is passive for most of the story, and Damrick, probably the true hero of the story, displays actions and attitudes that make me recoil rather than like him. In short, I missed having a heroic hero.

Yes, I know there are many kinds of protagonists in fiction, including the antihero and the unreliable narrator. But as a whole, the protagonist (the character who moves the story forward through their choices) should be fairly likeable with redeemable qualities and enough positive attributes that the reader shouldn’t feel uneasy about getting involved. This is especially true in speculative fiction, where the heroic hero is almost a requirement of the genre.

So what is a heroic hero?

First off, it is not perfection. Since no one is perfect, we fail to relate to a character who is. Rather, heroic heroes have flaws and foibles, quirks and pet peeves like the rest of us.

However, the good must outweigh the bad. Heroes can and do make mistakes. But it is the laudable qualities and right choices, especially against strong opposition, that earns our admiration and approval. A heroic hero acts in the way we would wish to under similar circumstances. This is where I felt Damrick failed. The attitudes he displayed aren’t the kind I wish to imitate.

Therefore, since it is the choices that earn our approval, the hero must be proactive. We feel compassion for a person who, like Jenta, ends up in difficult circumstances by no fault of their own. But when a character makes a good and right choice that leads to problems—ah, our sense of justice kicks in. Something we all instinctively value is now at stake, and we will cheer on the character until the wrong is righted.

Of course, this only scratches the surface of character development. Building relatable protagonists is a complex process with a wide range of tools including (but not limited to) humor, sympathy, respect for skills/talents, and universal desires. Nor will all readers connect with every character, no matter how well built.

But in a world where role models frequently aren’t worth imitating and heroes are often anything but heroic, fictional protagonists who display strength, courage, compassion, grace, mercy, and other commendable traits under fire are desperately needed and deeply craved by readers today.

Blaggard’s Moon

Title: Blaggard’s Moon

Series: Prequel to the Trophy Chase Trilogy

Author: George Bryan Polivka

Genre: Adult High-Seas Adventure

Excerpt from “Onka Din Botlay,” Chapter 1 of Blaggard’s Moon:

“On a post. In a pond.”

Delaney said the words aloud, not because anyone could hear him but because the words needed saying. He wished his small declaration could create a bit of sympathy from a crewmate, or a native, or even one of the cutthroats who had left him here. But he was alone.

It wasn’t the post to which he’d been abandoned that troubled him, though it was troubling enough. The post was worn and unsteady, about eight inches across at the top where his behind was perched, and it jutted eight feet or so up from the still water below him. His shins hugged its pocked and ragged sides; his feet were knotted at the ankles behind him for balance. Delaney was a sailor, and this was not much different than dock posts in port where he’d sat many times to take his lunch. He was young enough not to be troubled with a little pain in the backside, old enough to have felt his share of it. No, the post wasn’t the problem.

The pond from which the post jutted was not terribly troublesome either. It was a lagoon, really, less than a hundred yards across, no more than fifty yards to shore in any direction. He could swim that distance easily. He peered down through the water, past its smooth, still surface, and eyed the silver-green flash of scales, lit bright by the noonday sun.

The piranha, now, they were somewhat vexing.

A pirate contemplates a tale of romance, betrayal, and battle while waiting his own impending death.

The Craft: To spin a great yarn is no easy task.

You must be able to capture the imagination and attention within a few words of the beginning of the story; fabricate a detailed world you can see; create sympathetic heroes that are complex, believable, and motivated with that special twist which will make the reader cheer them onto the end; design villains worth hating yet who act in a way that the evil is understandable on some level; weave a plot that is intriguing and mysterious but not confusing, full of tension but properly paced with lulls and breathers; and finally bring every element and subplot together in a driving climax and satisfying resolution. And if this wasn’t enough, all this must be accomplished in a way that is lyrical, vivid, easy to read, clear and concise with a memorable voice and a smooth technique that never yanks the reader out of the storyworld, but without redundancies, head-hopping or other mechanical errors. Easy enough, right?

So is it any wonder that many books are only “fair” when it comes to the craft? Consider Blaggard’s Moon.

The beginning captures the attention, like most life-and-death situations, and intrigues us because a pirate has been sentenced to a horrific death by his own pirate crew: What could he have done to warrant all this?

But there’s a problem. These opening events are so close to the story’s end in the timeline that it requires multiple jumps back in time which occupy most of the story. The result is lost tension. We know the end to which we are headed and the immediate problem loses its immediacy.

Likewise, all the characters (both villains and heroes) are complex, believable, and motivated. But the connection is missing. To whom should I attach my emotions and staunchly cheer for? The “main” character Delaney doesn’t feature in three-quarters of the book, making him more a narrator than a protagonist. Damrick, the “hero” of the story being told, does the right things for the wrong reasons it seems, often marked by self-preservation, anger, mercilessness, and vengeance-type attitudes. Jenta, the heroine, isn’t proactive enough, being driven by the story rather driving it. And the other characters I might attach to either play a short, minor role or do the wrong things for the right reasons.

The plotting is strong, with plenty of twists and complexities as two or three layers of story play out simultaneously. And I commend Mr. Polivka in this: with all those different stories going on, time jumps and character jumps, he does a masterful job of keeping your place clear in time and space.

Nonetheless, a jump is a jump, no matter how well done, and there were so many in this story that I was often yanked out of the detailed world Mr. Polivka created so well. These simultaneous storylines also caused multiple climaxes that diffused the tension and dissolved some of the end’s satisfaction. Delaney’s story almost seemed anticlimactic.

The overall result is a story that is intriguing and complex with a delightful storyteller’s voice, but that fails to connect in the ways that give story its greatest power.

The Content: The themes winding through Blaggard’s Moon are interesting. The most prominent one is the consequences of actions/reaping what you sow, with close ties to learning to live in a way so as to die without regrets. Unfortunately, that is a tricky combination, as sometimes it can appear on the surface that the consequences of doing good is pain and evil, and therefore doing good is pointless. For as Solomon observed in Ecclesiastes 9:3, “This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: the same destiny overtakes all.”

While Mr. Polivka does a fairly good job of keeping the relationship between the two themes balanced, it casts a dark shadow across the pages, as at times it feels like evil is stronger than good and will win in the end.

Other things to note: Since this is a pirate/high-seas adventure, violence, drinking, smoking, and gambling are all found in these pages. The violence is generally given a light touch, frequently occurring off-stage, and the most graphic scenes tend to be mass, battle scenes. The other elements simply exist as facts of the world created and aren’t dwelt upon.

Summary: Blaggard’s Moon has its minus and pluses, both in craft and content. An interesting tale with a great storyteller’s voice, this novel will probably be enjoyable to most high-seas adventure fans. However, I recommend that those under thirteen and readers who tend toward a cynical view of life to avoid this book.

Rating: Craft—2, Content—3, Overall—3.1 out of 5 stars

See my review for The Legend of the Firefish and my additional thoughts on this book; or buy Blaggard's Moon.

The Return of George Bryan Polivka

The Christian Science-Fiction and Fantasy tour has come for another discussion on--what else?--Christian science-fiction and fantasy. This month's selection is Blaggard's Moon by George Bryan Polivka. The tour has previously reviewed Mr. Polivka's Legend of the Firefish (see my review and interview), and this time we're delving farther into the world of pirates, high-seas adventure, and Nearing Vast in a prequel to the Trophy Chase Trilogy.

I will be posting my full review of Blaggard's Moon tomorrow (Tuesday the 21st), with plans for a follow-up post on heroic heroes the following day. In the meantime, the blog world itself is vast, with much to read. Check out Mr. Polivka's website or posts of fellow tour members:

Brandon Barr, Jennifer Bogart , Keanan Brand
Amy Cruson, CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale, D. G. D. Davidson, Jeff Draper
April Erwin, Karina Fabian, Alex Field
Marcus Goodyear, Todd Michael Greene, Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks, Cris Jesse, Jason Joyner
Kait, Carol Keen, Mike Lynch
Magma, Margaret, Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Nissa, John W. Otte
Steve Rice, Crista Richey, James Somers
Rachel Starr Thomson, Steve Trower, Speculative Faith
Jason Waguespack, Fred Warren, Phyllis Wheeler, Jill Williamson

The Owling

Title: The Owling

Series: The Shadowside Trilogy #2

Author: Robert Elmer

Genre: Tween (10-13) sci-fi/allegory

Excerpt from Chapter 1 of The Owling:

Oriannon jerked awake, jolted by the shuttle’s sudden dive and the high-pitched whine of ion boosters. The unseen hand of several Gs squeezed her squarely back in the padded seat, and she gasped for breath.

Where were they?

Off course, without a doubt, and certainly not heading home. The fifteen-year-old managed a glance out a tiny side viewport, though her eyeballs hurt to focus and her stomach rebelled at the sudden drop. Outside, space appeared cold, dark, and colorless—not the dense, bright violet atmosphere she would have expected to see above irrigated farms and the well-watered surface of Corista, her home planet.

Just across the aisle, her father unstrapped from his grav seat with a grunt, gathered his gold-trimmed ceremonial robe, and struggled down the narrow aisle of the shuttle toward the pilot’s compartment. Several passengers screamed as they banked once more, sharply, and the engines whined even more loudly. He seemed to ignore the panic; he put his head down and tumbled the last few feet to the flight deck.

An elder’s daughter seeks for a way to help her Owling friends amidst political and global upheaval.

The Craft: Clean, easy to follow, The Owling provides a fast-paced story of suspense and political intrigue.

What more can I say than that? The characters are varied and complex, the heroes of the kind that make you root for them all the way—even when they err. Descriptions are vivid enough to provide clarity without slowing the pace. Twists and turns keep the reader guessing, with enough predictability to prevent them from being knocked clear out of orbit. The allegory element is handled so that it flavors the story without bogging it down.

The Content: While The Owling doesn’t match the Bible event for event (a good thing in my opinion), it does a great job of capturing the anxiety, confusion, and impatience that must have belonged to the first believers as they waited for the Holy Spirit. And since this is a story first and an allegory second, many other themes are woven in—such as the problems of deception and of trying to do things your way in your time instead of waiting on God.

Summary: Good writing, good content—what more can you ask for? This is a delightful and insightful story appropriate for all ages.

Rating: Craft—4, Content—4, Overall—4.0 stars out of 5

See my reviews for Trion Rising (book 1) and Beyond Corista (book 3) or order the series here.

Resensitization Step 3

Old habits die hard.

Anyone who has tried to break one knows exactly hard it is, whether it’s related to hygiene, food, exercise, or work. Habits have a way of sneaking back in when you aren’t paying attention. That’s what makes them, well, habits.

In those ways, desensitization is very much like a bad habit: it is hard to reverse and you can slip into old ways very easily, even when you try not to.

Have you ever picked up a movie, knowing that you probably shouldn’t, and said, “Well, just this once”? Or opened a book and think, “Only five more minutes and I’ll close it”? If you have, then you know how easily old paths traveled are traveled again.

Therefore, to increase your chances of resensitization you need to open up—find someone to keep you accountable…and someone you are willing to be accountable to.

They must be prepared to ask the hard questions, knowing it might make you defensive or even angry. They also must be discerning enough to not let you get away with half-baked answers. And you must receive those hard questions and give honest answers—without shooting the questioner.

It won’t be easy. Sometimes it might hurt. But two are more likely to endure through the mire than one alone.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Eternity’s Edge

Title: Eternity’s Edge

Series: Echoes from the Edge #2

Author: Bryan Davis

Genre: Teen (13-16) Alternate Reality/Sci-fi

Excerpt from “A Stalker,” Chapter 1 of Eternity’s Edge:

Nathan strode down the hospital hallway, his brain focused on a single thought—finding his parents. Once mutilated and dead in matching coffins, now they were alive. He had touched his father’s chain-bound arms through the dimensional mirror and felt his loving strength. He had heard his mother’s voice and once again bathed in the majesty of her matchless violin.

Yet, the beautiful duet they had played at the funeral had once again become a solo. He had failed. The dimensional portal collapsed, and there was no word from Earth Blue as to whether his parents might still be in the bedroom where they had sought rescue from their captivity.

He sat down on a coffee-stained sofa in the waiting area and clenched his fist. His parents were real. They were alive. And now he had to move heaven and earth, maybe even three earths, to find them.

With three parallel worlds on the verge of crashing, a teen boy and his friends cross universes to stop it.

The Craft: Mr. Davis delivers another mind-bending adventure in Eternity’s Edge. Better paced than Beyond the Reflection’s Edge, the story has settled into rhythm and lacks much of the confusion that this series fought in the set-up.

The characters are more distinct and easier to keep separate. The world switches track better, and the events…well, they’re still a little confusing, but then what do you expect with a mind-bender novel?

Interesting to me, with the premise now established, Eternity’s Edge sees an increase of character development, especially in Nathan Shepherd. Good? Bad? Only the next book will tell.

The Content: As in book one, Eternity’s Edge has a spiritual thread, but it’s a thread that undergirds rather than overtly binds the story together.

That makes for good reading (in my opinion) as it challenges readers to dig and eliminates most, if not all, preachiness. Instead we see sacrifice, the power of non-romantic love, overcoming fear, determination against great odds, and learning the place of boundaries in life vividly portrayed on these pages.

There are a couple nebulous characters, of whom it’s difficult to tell whether they’re trustworthy. However, overall good and evil are clearly separated.

Violence is a factor in this book, although it seems less than book one. On the other hand, the loss of likeable characters adds a darker timber to the story.

Summary: Do you like a good mind-bending read? Are you older than eleven? Do you have some spiritual maturity to separate good and evil and handle some questionable characters/situations and unresolved issues? If you answered no to any of these questions, you might reconsider picking up Eternity’s Edge. Otherwise, grab it and enjoy!

Rating: Craft—4, Content—4, Overall—4.1 stars out of 5

See the review for Beyond the Reflection's Edge and Nightmare's Edge or buy the series here.

I got a box of books!

I got a box of books, I got a box of books, and guess what’s inside it!

Okay, so I took a little liberty with Mr. Jack Sparrow’s lines, but nonetheless it’s true. I did receive a box of books today, which for a voracious reader like me, always feels like Christmas.

It doesn’t matter that I’m the one who ordered and paid for the books. Novels unread hold surprises all their own. It’s like I know I ordered a treasure chest but don’t know what is inside. There could be gold or jewels or maps…or nothing but air. The fun is in not knowing.

So what was today’s treasure chest? The Bones of Makaidos by Bryan Davis. And from everything I hear, this will be an interesting chest to unlock indeed.

Re-sensitization Step 2

I love flying—especially if I have a window seat.

Now, I haven’t flown much, but I have a hard time imagining that I would grow tired of the view from there very soon. It’s simply amazing to me everything that can be seen—the rugged mountain terrain with little roads winding through them; the intertwining streets of a city with all the people scurrying through them; patchwork fields spotted by the shadows of clouds. At glance I can see the lay of the land and how to get from point A to point B. From the air I gain a fresh perspective of the world.

It’s that type of fresh perspective that’s needed when you become mired in desensitization.

Desensitization blinds us to what’s happening and where it’s leading us. So when we open our eyes, acknowledging we have a problem, the landscape will often look unfamiliar, even alien. Therefore, we need to “go up”—get beyond our present problem for a fresh perspective.

How do we do this? It depends on the person, the circumstances, the type of desensitization, and how deep that desensitization goes. But here are a few things I’ve found to help:

If the problem is recent, caught early (stage one or two of desensitization), or result from entering enemy territory (e.g. my reading Twilight for work), a short break of a few days and some counterbalance might all that’s necessary. For example, extra bible study and Wall-e were some of my antidotes for Twilight.

If the problem has resulted from continuous involuntary bombardment (e.g. culture influence) or has progressed to complacency, try a withdrawal for several weeks (three to four at least) from all media that encourages the problem area. Then add a little bit back in and watch your reaction.

If desensitization tries to kick in again, withdraw again and reintroduce later. If you seem stable, keep problem areas to a minimum for several months before re-evaluating for an increase. Realize that a problem area may always be a problem area and will need to be treated as a personal limitation.

If the problem has resulted from voluntary long-term exposure and/or has reached the final stages of desensitization, drastic measures will be required. A complete media fast for at least a month is probably a good idea, with an extended period beyond that avoiding the media of the problem area (consider six months or even a year). Then you can try to reintroduce. But approach with caution! A road traveled once will travel easier the second time.

Ultimately, the key is withdrawal. The amount varies person to person, but pulling back provides perspective and grants us clearer understanding of how to proceed from point A to point B.

Chasing Stories

My fingers itch.

My last manuscript lies completed, except for some minor editing I still wish to do, and the last month has been filled with non-fiction work. My fingers ache to hold a pen again, to scratch out the fanciful imaginings of a new story.

But what should that new story be? So many ideas fill a notebook. So many characters walk the corridors of my mind, each with a story to tell. So many images and fragmented scenes flash through my mind’s eye. Which story is the next one I am to pursue?

A one-liner in the notebook captures my attention. The protagonist presents herself, but she remains half-hidden in the shadows, as if afraid to fully show herself, as if the villain of her story still lurks nearby. I try to coax her out, but only minor fragments that seem to have little correlation come together.

Another character hovering nearby calls out to me. She is a friend with whom I’ve already spent some time, learning her quirks and testing out different parts of her story. Perhaps it is time at last. I start jotting notes. She is abruptly pulled away. The flow dies. There are things that must simmer a while longer.

With a sigh, I continue on my way. I pause here or there to chat with a character or chase a particularly intriguing idea. But nothing lasts very long, and I soon flit onward, confused, restless. Where is the story God wants me to do next?

The first character, the one with the single line in the notebook, calls to me again. She steps out of the shadows a little more, though most of her still remains concealed, and with words more urgent yet cryptic, begs me to attempt her story.

I hesitate. Blind stories with so many unknown factors are not my specialty. I want to glimpse the end, the place where I head, at least. But she insists such details are not hers to give. Not yet. There are other lives involved here beside her own.

What should I do? I am tired of starting stories that I cannot finish.

A scene plays out in my mind—a bedroom at night, danger lurking in the shadows. Lightning flashes. A woman, an intruder behind her, a child huddled under the bed…

But what does this have to do with the character standing before me? Yet I sense a connection, one that goes beyond the surface.

I agree to start the story. Where it will lead, I do not know. But there is a sense of rightness when I place the pen to the page.

Only time will tell if this is the story I am to complete.

Re-sensitization Stage 1

Wake up!

This first step in re-sensitization sounds simply enough, doesn’t it? After all, we do this ever day of our lives. We open our eyes, rise from our beds and slumber, and go about our daily activities.

But what if we don’t want to wake up? What if we want to stay in the world of dreams and ignore the real world? It s not so easy to open the eyes then, is it? We want nothing more than to hit the snooze button on the alarm and roll over to go back to sleep.

That is the problem desensitization creates and why this first step is vital to the process of re-sensitization. Desensitization constructs an illusion so appealing that when an alarm goes off in our head and heart telling us something isn’t right, we want nothing more than to silence the alarm and continue the illusion.

But alarms ring for a reason. They tell us that danger is near, whether it is the danger of a storm, of a fire’s smoke, or of simply oversleeping.

So pay attention and wake up! For we cannot do anything about the illusion of desensitization until we open our eyes to the truth, acknowledging that a problem exists.