I've spent the past few weeks working hard at the day job and researching various subjects for my new book.
My next book deals with witchcraft and ghost in a small village in the remote highlands of Scotland. The initial idea seemed fine to me; however, when I started to research the Scottish witch trials of the 1500s, I discovered that they had all taken place in the Lothian region of Scotland, I.e. the lowlands. Many frowns and head scratchings later, I had a brainwave - the lack of highland witch trials could be used to develop the plot.
All seemed to be going well until I realised that I was spending more time researching stuff and creating copious notes. I know from experience that this approach to writing doesn't work for me - research, yes; detailed plotting, no. As a result, I became bogged down in the
So, I put the notes away and took a few days off, worked on something different for a week. Over that week, it's become clear to me where I've gone wrong. I've thrown out a lot of plot lines, some of which I've no idea how to resolve. The last couple of days, I've been editing the first draft (at least, the 20,000 words or so that are written) and cutting ruthlessly. I've got it down to about 14,000 words now and it reads much better, the prose is tighter and doesn't wander. Moreover, I can now see how I want to progress the story. Is it how I originally envisaged it? No. But does it feel right? Most definitely.
I'm hoping to really plough on with it and have the first draft finished in the next couple of months or so. Once it's finished, I'll compare it to my notes to see just how far off the track I was. For now, I'm going back to my golden rule: write, write, write. Research as and when you have to, but for God's sake, keep writing!
Friday, 14 March 2014
Thursday, 16 January 2014
Genre
I've been thinking quite a lot recently about genre. More specifically, about how difficult it is to define the boundaries of genre. When does one genre become another? Is it possible to write a book that fits into more than one genre and appeals to fans of both?
Take the films Alien and Star Wars. One of them is definitely horror (Alien) and the other is Sci-Fi (Star Wars). Yet Alien is more grounded in the realities of science than Star Wars, which I've always fondly seen as a kind of Cowboys and Indians film that happens to be set in outer space.
My own novel Nanobite is a horror story at its core, but it is underpinned by quite a lot of science, some of which is grounded in reality and some of which was extrapolated from the facts available now. Yes, I made a few things up, but they were educated guesses based on the current level of science.
So, does this make it a horror story with sci-fi underpinnings or a work of science fiction with elements of horror?
This is where things get difficult. So many books cross multiple genres, or mix them (with varying degrees of success). Twilight is a fantastic example - it successfully melds YA fiction with elements of horror. It was so successful they invented a whole new genre of paranormal romance to categorise it.
I could list lots of permutations. Crime/supernatural blends seem to be becoming very popular at the moment; whether this is just a passing fad remains to be seen.
The question is, will blending genre fiction alienate die-hard fans of one genre who wouldn't normally read other styles? On the whole I don't think it will (although there will be those who refuse to read outside their preferred genre); I think people will embrace this expansion, and along the way discover new and exciting authors that they'd never previously considered.
Take the films Alien and Star Wars. One of them is definitely horror (Alien) and the other is Sci-Fi (Star Wars). Yet Alien is more grounded in the realities of science than Star Wars, which I've always fondly seen as a kind of Cowboys and Indians film that happens to be set in outer space.
My own novel Nanobite is a horror story at its core, but it is underpinned by quite a lot of science, some of which is grounded in reality and some of which was extrapolated from the facts available now. Yes, I made a few things up, but they were educated guesses based on the current level of science.
So, does this make it a horror story with sci-fi underpinnings or a work of science fiction with elements of horror?
This is where things get difficult. So many books cross multiple genres, or mix them (with varying degrees of success). Twilight is a fantastic example - it successfully melds YA fiction with elements of horror. It was so successful they invented a whole new genre of paranormal romance to categorise it.
I could list lots of permutations. Crime/supernatural blends seem to be becoming very popular at the moment; whether this is just a passing fad remains to be seen.
The question is, will blending genre fiction alienate die-hard fans of one genre who wouldn't normally read other styles? On the whole I don't think it will (although there will be those who refuse to read outside their preferred genre); I think people will embrace this expansion, and along the way discover new and exciting authors that they'd never previously considered.
Saturday, 26 October 2013
New Book Launch
I made it! My new horror novel Nanobite is now available on Amazon for Kindle. I was thinking about the process, so here's a few thoughts on it.
Writing the novel is the easy part - especially with this one. From the initial concept to the finished first draft took about three months altogether. The story seemed to flow really well, although the finished draft was somewhat different to the first ideas.
As an example, when I wrote the first few pages, I envisaged a story about the whole world being overrun by vampires, with just a few bands of survivors fighting them. About twenty pages in, I realised that what I really wanted to do was focus in on a small group of people and examine how they dealt with the situation they found themselves in. For me, this made the novel better (as attested to by the beta readers who kindly read and commented on the manuscript).
After the writing though, the hard work started. Re-read, edit, rewrite. Repeat. Consider all the beta readers' comments and incorporate those that I felt fitted the story or improved it in some way. I didn't keep track, but I reckon that almost three quarters of all the comments and suggestions received had some value and were used - some as they were, some were modified to better fit my vision of the story. (After all, it's my story and I'm in charge, right?)
Each round of editing caught less and less - the first read-through caught numerous typos and grammatical errors; by the final round of editing I only caught a few. Hopefully I caught them all.
So, write, edit, rewrite - this novel went through five rounds of editing and rewriting. Formatting came next - I did this in an evening using Amazon's excellent 'Building Your Book for Kindle' eBook. No major issues here, it's a simple process to follow.
I designed the cover myself - having taught Graphic Design for three years I was confident in my ability to realise the vision I had for the cover myself. This took a couple of evenings; it helps to have a firm idea of what you want the finished cover to look like.
Finally, uploading to the Kindle store. Again, a fairly straightforward process. Took me about an hour all told, taking it nice and steady. This is where the feelings of dread start to kick in - it's like your kid's first ever day at school - you nurture them until it's time to send them out into the big wide world on their own.
Once uploaded and published, it's time to think about kicking the marketing up a gear. I started marketing Nanobite from the minute I knew it was a viable concept; now it's released, I can concentrate on promoting it.
Except I've now got the beginnings of a plot for my next novel. Need to find time for that as well. Oh well, a writer's life is never dull.
Writing the novel is the easy part - especially with this one. From the initial concept to the finished first draft took about three months altogether. The story seemed to flow really well, although the finished draft was somewhat different to the first ideas.
As an example, when I wrote the first few pages, I envisaged a story about the whole world being overrun by vampires, with just a few bands of survivors fighting them. About twenty pages in, I realised that what I really wanted to do was focus in on a small group of people and examine how they dealt with the situation they found themselves in. For me, this made the novel better (as attested to by the beta readers who kindly read and commented on the manuscript).
After the writing though, the hard work started. Re-read, edit, rewrite. Repeat. Consider all the beta readers' comments and incorporate those that I felt fitted the story or improved it in some way. I didn't keep track, but I reckon that almost three quarters of all the comments and suggestions received had some value and were used - some as they were, some were modified to better fit my vision of the story. (After all, it's my story and I'm in charge, right?)
Each round of editing caught less and less - the first read-through caught numerous typos and grammatical errors; by the final round of editing I only caught a few. Hopefully I caught them all.
So, write, edit, rewrite - this novel went through five rounds of editing and rewriting. Formatting came next - I did this in an evening using Amazon's excellent 'Building Your Book for Kindle' eBook. No major issues here, it's a simple process to follow.
I designed the cover myself - having taught Graphic Design for three years I was confident in my ability to realise the vision I had for the cover myself. This took a couple of evenings; it helps to have a firm idea of what you want the finished cover to look like.
Finally, uploading to the Kindle store. Again, a fairly straightforward process. Took me about an hour all told, taking it nice and steady. This is where the feelings of dread start to kick in - it's like your kid's first ever day at school - you nurture them until it's time to send them out into the big wide world on their own.
Once uploaded and published, it's time to think about kicking the marketing up a gear. I started marketing Nanobite from the minute I knew it was a viable concept; now it's released, I can concentrate on promoting it.
Except I've now got the beginnings of a plot for my next novel. Need to find time for that as well. Oh well, a writer's life is never dull.
Thursday, 19 September 2013
Monday, 16 September 2013
Book Review: I Am Eternal Cowboys and Vampires by Athanasios
First off, let me say that I enjoyed this story. It's such a refreshing change to read a vampire story that isn't in the vein (sorry, couldn't resist that) of Twilight and all the other books in the current crop of teen angst-ridden vampire literature.
However, for me it was too short. Frustratingly so; I came away wanting to know more. It reads like a prologue to a much longer novel.
But that is my only real complaint. Due to the brevity, the characters are sketched in rather than fully realized; however, I found myself empathising with the protagonist. Yes, he is a killer, and all romantic notions of vampirism are stripped away; but the richness of the backdrop and historical authenticity adds a depth that makes you wonder what it would be like to exist (not live; the protagonist is very clear about this) for millennia. It also makes you wonder what effect the ennui of so many centuries would have on the mind.
There is also the beginnings of a sub-plot cleverly interwoven. The author manages to switch from dialogue-driven action in the first part of the story to a narrative voice for most of the remainder in a way that is seamless to the reader.
So, if you fancy a quick read and like vampire fiction, check this out. I really hope the author follows this with a longer novel that gives us more detail about Simon's life (or should that be unlife?).
I Am Eternal: Cowboys and Vampires
However, for me it was too short. Frustratingly so; I came away wanting to know more. It reads like a prologue to a much longer novel.
But that is my only real complaint. Due to the brevity, the characters are sketched in rather than fully realized; however, I found myself empathising with the protagonist. Yes, he is a killer, and all romantic notions of vampirism are stripped away; but the richness of the backdrop and historical authenticity adds a depth that makes you wonder what it would be like to exist (not live; the protagonist is very clear about this) for millennia. It also makes you wonder what effect the ennui of so many centuries would have on the mind.
There is also the beginnings of a sub-plot cleverly interwoven. The author manages to switch from dialogue-driven action in the first part of the story to a narrative voice for most of the remainder in a way that is seamless to the reader.
So, if you fancy a quick read and like vampire fiction, check this out. I really hope the author follows this with a longer novel that gives us more detail about Simon's life (or should that be unlife?).
I Am Eternal: Cowboys and Vampires
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