Month: December 2012

The Next Big Thing

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Close up of Justin Woolley
Justin Woolley

Fellow writer and (don’t tell him I said so) bloody nice guy Justin Woolley has tagged me in The Next Big Thing.

The Next Big Thing is a series of questions a writer answers about their work in progress and then tags more writers who do the same, giving you an endless chain of new and established writers to discover.

Check out Justin’s Next Big Thing.

1. What is the working title of your next book?

I didn’t know this was going to be so hard! I’m not sure what to talk about.

The book I’ve just started writing is called Lost in Darkness (a standalone). It’s about a blind blademaster who must save her father from the country’s ruling Warlord.

Welcome to Earth is a (half written) star-crossed lovers urban fantasy story which began life as a pilot episode for a television series. It’s also something of a prequel to the epic fantasy I’m currently shopping around.

Epicentre (the first of a trilogy) is about a reluctant mermaid who accidently starts a supernatural war with a succubus. The first draft is complete.

Prophecy of Power: Quarry is an epic fantasy in all the right ways. I recently pitched it to Literary Agent Ginger Clark at Curtis Brown (US), who asked for the first fifty pages (yay me!). It’s about a headstrong princess who is being hunted by assassins.

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

Prophecy of Power book coverI’ll talk about Prophecy of Power: Quarry, as it’s ready to go.

The initial idea was for a group of people who each have a special ‘power’ to come together and take on the bad guy who’d conquered everything. (Tragic, I know.)

Fortunately I learned a few things and the story evolved into a young girl’s struggle to survive in a very dangerous world. It’s the first of a four book series.

3. What genre does your book fall under?

Epic fantasy. The tropes are all there, but hopefully I’ve avoided the clichés and brought something fresh to it all.

4. What actors would you choose to play the parts of your characters in a movie rendition?

Most of the characters are young, or look young (immortality does that to you), so it would require casting ‘fresh young talent’. It’s probably a bit pointless picking today’s young actors as they’d be too old by the time the realities of developing a movie came into play.

If I could turn back the clock and make people youthful again, I’d probably go with:

  • Milla Jovovich (if you can imagine her with curly red hair) as sixteen-year old Caroline (she can be both kickarse and vulnerable at the same time)
  • Shiri Appleby (from Roswell) as fifteen-year old Kirsty (she projects a gentle, caring nature)
  • Hugh Jackman as Elias (at his rugged, fighting best)
  • Ian McKellan as Allyn (he has a certain presence and authority)
  • Chris Hemsworth as Dobbin (he can do easy-going, while at the same time he’s not to be messed with). Oddly enough, he’s probably the only one at about the right age – maybe even a little too young.

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A headstrong princess is forced into an unwanted destiny when assassins try to prevent her from ever fulfilling it.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I want to go with traditional publishing as it lends a certain amount of credibility to your work. You can still achieve the same thing with self-publishing, but it takes longer.

There’s also all the services a publishing house brings to a novel (such as editing, cover art, marketing, and the less obvious ‘behind the scenes’ administrative stuff).

Time is also a factor. I don’t want to have to become an expert in self-publishing – I’d rather spend my time writing, not working through all the technical details of e-books and print-on-demand and chasing up royalties etc.

Essentially, building an author platform is hard enough with a big publisher behind you. I’ve got no desire to go it alone.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

I started writing it when I was sixteen, realised I didn’t have a clue about what I was doing, and so went to university at the age of 21 to learn.

Around that time I also got side-tracked (dating, work, partying), and it wasn’t until I was married and my first child coming along that I realised I’d better get a move on.

Although I finished the first draft before D-Day, I put writing big projects aside for a while after that (you think you’re prepared for children, but you never really are).

I got ‘back on track’ a few years ago, partially due to my father’s unexpected death. Although it was a complete shock, it was also something of a wake-up call.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Very tough question.

Maybe Eye of the World by Robert Jordan or Magician by Raymond E Feist, as they both feature a main character coming into their power. Otherwise, there’s similarities to Dune’s Paul Atreides who gets manipulated into greatness.

You could also include any story with a main character who’s been given gifts they don’t want.

Having said that, it’s not really ‘like’ any of them. I can’t think of a bang-on example, which is probably a good thing.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

To a sixteen-year-old it seemed like a pretty simple thing to write a Number 1 International Bestseller, sell a million copies and never have to get a ‘real’ job.

The reality is a little different, unfortunately. I guess everyone would be doing it otherwise.

10. What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?

I got a bit jaded with epic fantasies a while back – same story, over and over, so I’ve tried to bring something fresh to this book.

It’s a very intimate story, despite being grounded in the epic realm.

There’s supernatural creatures, magic, gritty action and bloodshed, as well as ‘quiet’ character moments and even the beginnings of a love triangle. Something for everyone, hopefully.

With luck it will appeal to readers as much as it does to me.

Okay, now for my tags!

  • Duncan LayDuncan lay with an apple on his head and an arrow through the apple.
    Duncan is the author of the Australian best-selling fantasy trilogy The Dragon Sword Histories, which he followed up with another bestseller, Bridge Of Swords – book one of Empire Of Bones. He’s also a fantastic bloke!
  • Phill BerrieCartoon image of Phill Berrie
    Phill is a good mate of mine and fellow Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild (CSFG) member. He’s recently had some success with his writing too, but you’ll need to visit his site to find out about it.
  • J. Michael MelicanJosh Melican
    I met Josh at GenreCon 2012 after ‘bumping’ into him on Twitter. We instantly hit it off. We both pitched our novels to Literary Agent Ginger Clark, and with luck we’ll get signed and tour our masterpieces together!
  • David DuftyHead and shoulders shot of David Dufty
    David is another of my good mates and CSFG member. He’s had both critical and popular success as the author of How to Build an Android: The True Story of Philip K. Dick’s Robotic Resurrection, and now has a new Next Big Thing.

Cover art for Prophecy of Power: Quarry

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Cartoon image of Les Petersen as a gunslinger.

Professional cover artist (and good mate of mine) Les Petersen has done an amazing cover for my (as yet unpublished) epic fantasy novel.

I’m shopping the novel around for a publisher at the moment, so seeing something like this is inspiring beyond measure.

Bookcover of a man and a woman overlooking a valley.
Bookcover by Les Petersen

Cartoon image of Les Petersen as a gunslinger.Les didn’t ask for a plug, but how could I not?

Although currently rebuilding his website, he’s managed to post a few of his more recent images along with his contact details if you’re looking to hire a fantastic cover artist for your self-published novel. Check out Les Petersen’s website.

Otherwise, why don’t you take a few minutes and read a couple of my published short stories which I’ve reproduced here on my website?

So, You’ve Written a Novel… What next?

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ACT Writers Centre LogoThis article appeared in the December 2012 issue of ACTWrite, the ACT Writers Centre newsletter.

Before you try to sell your book to a publisher (assuming that’s the path you want to take), you need to make your writing as solid as you can; agents and publishers rarely take on a project that needs more than superficial work, and no reader wants a scrappy read – so self-publishing won’t help either.

The question is: how good is good enough?

Getting some feedback should give you that answer.

Other people will see problems you miss because they’ll see it from another perspective. They’ll also pick up on things that are clear in your own mind, but not so clear on paper.

Useful feedback requires some fairly specialised skills from both you and your readers; you need to be willing accept feedback objectively, and a reader must be prepared to tell you about its problems without fear of upsetting you.

A good manuscript assessment service might be the perfect solution, but they’re costly, and you’ll need to do your research first; there’s little point in paying for someone who specialises in literary works if you write fantasy.

A cheaper and more versatile option is other writers

There are plenty of online critique groups (Critters, Authonomy), and Yahoo Groups is particularly useful for setting up your own (or finding one already established.)

If you’ve got the choice, a face-to-face group specifically formed to review each other’s manuscripts works extremely well.

For example, the Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild (CSFG) runs a novel critique group for its members each year, which has the added benefit of providing feedback from people writing in the same genre.

Each month is devoted to critiquing a single novel, and all members of the critique group read it and meet afterward to provide face-to-face feedback followed by a written report.

Thing to consider

Regardless of the format or how you obtain your feedback, there are some things to consider when committing your manuscript to scrutiny.

Firstly, find out what genre and sub-genre each person prefers, their level of writing/editing experience, and their professional qualifications (if any).

The answers may influence the weight of any particular critique, but don’t take it as a hard rule – some people are naturally better at critiquing than others, while writing skills don’t necessarily add up to insight or knowledge.

It’s also easy to forget that people will critique your work based on what they would do. Their preferences and experience will play into their review no matter how good they are at writing or critiquing.

It’s also good to know if someone’s qualifications give them technical insight into your story.

For example, a historian might pick up on historical inaccuracies, a doctor would know a lot about current and/or historical treatments, and an astronomer will have a solid understanding of how the universe works.

Even if you disagree with the responses, assume that if several people say the same thing (even in different ways), more than likely there’s a problem.

That doesn’t mean their suggestions will solve it – only that you might need to do something about it.

Put your ego aside and give it some serious consideration – they’re trying to improve your story, not criticise you.

In fact, you may already have suspicions about your story (what’s not working), and quite likely they’ll be confirmed.

It’s good to hear it from someone else though. It means you’re on the right track.

Figure out what you want out of it

One of the most effective things you can do when putting your story ‘out there’ is to provide a list of questions you want answered.

Start with the general impressions:

  • What did you like and dislike the most? Why?
  • What were the strongest and weakest parts of the story? Why?
  • Did you care about what happened to the characters?
  • Does the plot hold together well?
  • Were there any inconsistencies?

After that, ask for more specific details:

  • key chapters
  • plot points
  • emotional impact
  • character motivations – anything you suspect isn’t working as well as it could.

Also, consider what isn’t said: if your novel is working, it should generate an emotional response.

  • Did people react the way you’d hoped?
  • Did they ask questions about your world and your characters because they were genuinely curious (or because they couldn’t figure something out)?
  • Were they passionate about the beginning, but had little to say about the end?

Listen to what your readers have to say and don’t say, and ask yourself if their feedback can improve your story.

Even an overwhelmingly positive response can generate fresh ideas

If you feel overwhelmed afterward, try writing another novel and revisiting the first when you’ve got some emotional distance. Better yet, write two – and then get more feedback. You can only improve.

However, if you can transport critical readers into your story and have them show genuine enthusiasm for the whole thing, you’ve probably written your final draft. Give it some polish and find an agent.

By Chris Andrews

Read more about the Craft of Writing, or for a bit of a laugh try Pitching to an Agent or Editor – The Cretin’s Guide.

Top 10 ways to Successfully Pitch to an Agent or Editor – The Cretin’s Guide

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1. Arrive late.

It’s what a movie star would do after all – and the best way to achieve success is to model yourself on the successful people who’ve come before you. Agents and editors need to learn to respect ‘the talent’, and you’ve got plenty of it. As punctuality smacks at desperation, never pander to their schedules.

2. Tell them you’re on a mission from God!

In fact, let them know exactly what God said to you, word for word. How could they possibly deny you after that? Jake and Elwood Blues would be proud. If they aren’t convinced, drop hints that Satan might get involved.

3. Dress and act like one of your characters.

Editors and agents see a lot of people, so make sure they never forget you. The more eccentric you act, the better. In fact, take a replica of an item from your story into the pitch and show your expertise by delving into the item’s significance.

4. Tell them how much better you are than…

JK Rowling, Stephanie Meyer, Stieg Larsson or whoever else your story is derivative of. Preferably dump on those authors too, making sure you highlight exactly why they’re so crappy and why you’re so good. By making successful writers look bad you’ll come across as a genius.

5. Invite your friends along to act out a scene from your manuscript.

Make sure there’s plenty of action too – preferably involving real sword fights, firearms or explosions. Bonus points are awarded if you can claim to have made the explosives yourself.

6. Begin with the words…

“I would like to propose to you…” Editors and agents love word-play and will have never heard that one. Other great choices might include: “I know a good hitman…” and “I’ll consider having sex with you if…”

7. Preparation will make you sound dry and boring, so don’t do it.

Be spontaneous instead. Show them just how well you know your story by relating every single detail to them, and for additional kudos points or to get over the potential problem of nerves, have a few drinks before arriving – six or eight should do it.

8. Make sure they start reading straight away.

Print out your entire manuscript for them to take home, but tell them to start reading straight away – you’ll wait. That way you’re sure to hook them and you can start counting your millions almost immediately. As they get engrossed in your story the brilliance of your prose will also make them forget about any other pitches that day, effectively eliminating your competition.

9. Threats are a little old-school, but still effective.

They’ve worked for the Mafia for generations after all, so why shouldn’t they work for you too? Get creative and scare the crap out of them so they’ll sign you up on the spot. For best results bring along a body-builder friend in a dark suit and sunnies.

10. Lecture them about their industry.

You need to prove you know more about it than they do. In fact, tell them you could easily do their job if you just had more time, but you’re being generous by giving them the work instead. Make sure they know just how lucky they are.

Do you have a tip worthy of the list? Let me know by posting it in the comments.

If you’re after some ‘more serious’ articles on writing, check out The Craft.

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