Writing

Would you like to be murdered?

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A hand holding a bloody knife.The Competition

Do you fantasise about being kidnapped and murdered by an evil shapeshifter (every day, right)?

Not the lycanthrope kind, but the ‘let’s take dark magic and warp someone’s mind and body’ kind.

Perhaps being murdered is your greatest fear and you feel a desperate need to exorcise it, or maybe you’d just love to show the story to a loved one and see their reaction.

Whatever your reason, here’s your chance to vicariously live the dream.

The story situation is quite simple: an innocent girl is going to get killed in order to send another girl a ‘message’. She’ll be stabbed to death – the body discovered after the event.

The dead girl could have your name. Sounds like fun, right? (If it does, you need to see someone with quack-type qualifications.)

So here’s what you have to do.

In the comments below, simply tell me why you’d love to get your namesake murdered.

The best response will win you immortality in print along with a digital copy of the book when complete. I’d have offered you a new Ferrari, but I’m all out of Ferrari’s at the moment.

The rules!

  1. It’s a girl that gets murdered, so it has to be a girl’s name. If you have a guy’s name, you’re welcome to find a female equivalent (so long as you include your actual name too).
  2. You need to impress me with a response to this question: Why do you want your namesake gruesomely killed off? I’ll choose a winner based on the responses.
  3. It has to be your own name – your mother-in-law’s name and those of your enemies and friends are off limits.
  4. Keep it to a single sentence (I’m applying the KISS principle here).
  5. You can enter multiple times.
  6. I can add and remove rules as I see fit (the butt-covering rule).
  7. If you enter, I reserve the right to look at you strangely for all eternity.

The competition closes at midnight (your time), November 9, 2013 (Friday the 13th was too far off).

I’ll announce the winner shortly thereafter.

Here’s the story’s premise: A warrior princess from another universe unexpectedly falls for a human boy while hunting the shapeshifter that murdered her parents.

The girl that gets murdered is human (just like you – so if you’ve got a name that sounds like it comes from another world, I may veto your entry because that’s not what I’m looking for, but put your entry in anyway).

And that’s it. I’m looking forward to reading your deepest, darkest, most horribly gruesome desires!

You can read the first chapter of Through The Veil: Welcome To Earth if you want to see what you might be getting yourself in for.

The High Concept

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What’s your story’s High Concept?

A man atop a cliffI run a regular Novel Writers Group at the ACT Writers Centre, usually spearheaded by a topic of the month.

This month it was The High Concept.

It’s worth devoting some time to it and figuring out.

During the discussion, the High Concept quite often got confused with Theme and Plot, probably because it’s tied into both.

Phillip Berrie, a member of the group, recently wrote a wonderful novella called The Changeling Detective.

Right there in the title is the basis of the story’s High Concept – a detective who can alter his appearance.

There’s a heck of a lot more going on in the book than that, and the overall series might have a different High Concept compared to the individual book, but as a stand-alone that’s what’s at the heart of it.

Break it down

What happens in the story is Plot, and this will influence the High Concept.

So will the story’s higher meaning – its Theme.

Both Plot and Theme hang off High Concept, not the other way around.

The Changeling Detective centres around a character who can change his appearance – short and simple. Everything’s tied into that. In this case, it’s an origin story – which further influences the High Concept.

Try explaining your High Concept to someone who doesn’t know the story

Practice with something familiar:

  • A family has been lost in space and is trying to find a way home. (Lost in Space)
  • Factions of a galactic empire fight for control of a rare mind and body-altering drug. (Dune)
  • Gods are manipulating people and events to try and win control of a universe. (Prophecy of Power: Quarry. Okay, that’s mine. Couldn’t resist)

The High Concept is your sales pitch, your Big Idea.

It doesn’t encompass your story – it’s the basis for it.

How do you find your own High Concept?

Look to the title.

You may not find it there (Dune, for example, doesn’t encompass it, though the Spice comes from the planet Dune and the story is set there – but the sequels come closer: Children of Dune, Chapter House Dune, etc).

Star Wars, Lost in Space, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – all give you insights into the story’s High Concept.

Consider you’re telling your best friend about a story you’ve just read. What do you say?

Imagine a bunch of robots are trying to destroy their makers, and:  

  • The survivors flee their homeworld looking for a safe haven… Battlestar Galactica.
  • A cyborg is sent back in time to end human resistance before it begins… Terminator.
  • A man has the power to manipulate programmed reality… The Matrix.

Find the basis of your High Concept and expand on it in a single sentence.

Anyone can write a story about a secret agent with a licence to kill, but there’s only one James Bond. That particular High Concept has spawned countless books, movies, games and rip-offs.

To find your own, you’ll need to add a little uniqueness.

Start with the word ‘imagine’ and then lay it out.

What’s mine? Imagine… The Gods are manipulating people and events in order to gain control of an entire universe. The premise of the story? A princess is being hunted by assassins because of a prophecy she wants no part in. They’re tied together – but certainly not the same.

What’s your High Concept? Let me know in the comments.

Publishing and marketing a novel

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Prophecy of Power - cover imageHere I am at the pointy end of getting a novel to market.

It’s written. It’s been critiqued. It’s been rewritten. It’s been edited. It’s been sent out for further feedback. It’s attracted the attention of an agent. It’s getting a final rewrite.

What now?

Well, that depends on the agent to some extent – I haven’t had that conversation yet. What I do know is that no matter what happens, I’ll be doing almost all the marketing myself.

So, assuming a publisher takes it and actually puts it into bookshops, their marketing campaign will probably include:

  • sending out review copies prior to publication
  • advertising it on their website
  • advertising it in their newsletter.

In addition, this is how I plan to market my novel:

  • blog about it here
  • do guest blogs – at least 20 to 30 if I can manage it
  • contact review websites and try to get it reviewed on them
  • send out extra review copies to any blogger who says they want to review it prior to publication (I’m not sure about the publisher’s take on that – they may not let me)
  • tour bookshops and do book signings
  • attend conventions
  • announce it on social media
  • ask anyone who reads the novel to post an honest review on Amazon (or elsewhere).

Of course, there’s no guarantee a publisher will take it. If that’s the case I’ll publish it myself – electronically and via print on demand.

That’ll mess up my dreams of getting it into bookshops, but at least it’ll get it out there.

Either way, the marketing plan will be pretty similar. What else could I do? What have I missed? What have you done that’s worked?

The top four ways to end a chapter and keep people reading

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The ending of a chapter

The ending of a chapterThere are plenty of ways to finish off a chapter, but not all of them are good.

Try these:

Clear out early

If you happen to wake up with drool seeping into your keyboard and the final words still struggling to bubble to the surface, you’ve probably gone on for too long.

Spare your readers the pain and cut the chapter the moment the scene’s had its moment.

In short, clear out as soon as possible.

Cliffhangers

Gone are the days of television when you’d be asked to ‘tune in next week’ to find out how the hero, dangling from a cliff with no hope of surviving, gets out of their predicament.

Despite being overused, cliffhangers still have a place in a good story.

They’re a great way to build tension and draw the reader on, and are most effective when used sparingly.

A good cliffhanger creates that ‘can’t stop reading’ factor – an irresistible need to know what happens next.

Reveals and twists

Secrets are the lifeblood of a good story, and revealing them at the right time is an art that will ultimately take your story in a new direction or completely alter a reader’s perceptions of it.

Can you imagine how Star Wars would have panned out if Obi Wan, upon first meeting Luke, had said, “Guess what kid – Darth Vader’s your old man!”

It wouldn’t have mattered to anyone then – the significance hadn’t been built up and it would have blown a great reveal later on.

The same goes for your own story.

The more important a secret is, the longer you need to hold it – but don’t hold it forever.

Revealing it at the right moment (preferably at the end of a chapter) is where the magic comes from.

Buttons

Now there’s a term you don’t hear every day.

When you don’t have secret to reveal, there are no obvious twists, and your protagonist is refusing to climb out onto a thin branch above a river full of hungry piranhas, then you need something else.

So use a button.

A button is:

  • a wise-crack
  • a joke
  • a sentence summing up how horrible the situation is
  • an insight into a character’s perspective
  • a hint there are worse things to come
  • a question
  • anything that neatly rounds off a scene (you don’t even have to save them for chapters).

Those are my favourite ways to end a chapter. What works for you?

Conflux, Elevator Pitches and Pitching Sessions

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With Conflux kicking off this Thursday, I thought a post about pitching to agents and editors was in order.

Conflux 9 LogoWhy?

Other than having a good time and catching up with friends at Conflux, I’ll be moderating a panel on pitching (with two agents and an editor), teaching the art of creating elevator pitches during a workshop on Friday morning, and later that day pitching to an editor myself in the hopes of selling my epic fantasy.

So what do I know about pitching? A few things.

The basics…

The best thing you can do is approach a pitching session from agent or editor’s perspective, which means keeping two things in mind:

  1. They want to know that you’re someone they can work with (that you’re not insane).
  2. You have something they can make money from (they’re running a business, not an art-house).

In regard to pleading ‘not insane’:

  • Princess LeiaDon’t turn up in your best Princess Leia slave outfit (I’ve heard of it happening – people trying to be memorable, which they were, but for all the wrong reasons). Go with neat and tidy instead. You want them to remember your story, not your outfit.
  • Be polite and enthusiastic, but not over the top. Think of it as an informal job interview if that helps; keep it casual but on-topic.

In regard to pitching your story:

Your pitch only has one purpose once you get over the insanity hurdle – to get them to request your story. Nothing else.

Therefore:

  • Have a good one-liner that neatly summarises your book and intrigues at the same time (ie, the bulk of what I’ll be teaching at my workshop).
  • Try to get them to care about/empathise with your characters and the situation they’re in (character is story).
  • Give them an overview of the ‘big idea’, particularly if they’re ‘ideas people’.
  • Practice in front of the mirror.

And that’s all you really need to do in five minutes. If you’re attending, I’d love to see you at my workshop. Otherwise, pull me aside for a coffee and a chat.

You can find more details about Conflux and my workshop on the Conflux website. If, however, you’re just looking for a laugh, check out The Top 10 ways to Successfully Pitch to an Agent or Editor – The Cretin’s Guide.

Is self-publishing a good thing?

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I’ve come across a lot of free book giveaways by indie authors in the last few years, but I’ve been hesitant to download them for fear of disappointment.

That’s not to suggest that rejection by the major publishers is an indicator of quality, or that bypassing publishers isn’t.

But how does a writer make that call?

Curiosity piqued, I finally downloaded a bunch of indie books and tried three at random – authors I didn’t know.

Hero MetamorphosisThe first was H.E.R.O. –Metamorphosis, by Kevin Gerald Rau. He is clearly promoting the book in the hopes of selling the sequels. I thoroughly enjoyed it, even checking out the five sample chapters that followed.

Despite that, I’m fairly sure a major publisher would reject it, but not by much – Kevin has an easy style and his prose is polished. He drew me in, and that’s what really matters.

The next two books needed some industrial-strength red pens. On a scale of one to five, both would struggle to reach one.

The first was so wordy and bloated I barely made it through a full three chapters, and only succeeded by skipping chunks.

The second was a struggle in an entirely different way – it began with a prologue that did nothing but summarise the story’s world-building and history (classic newbie mistake), and it didn’t get any better after that. I gave up.

My question is, could self-publishing be doing more harm than good by exposing authors to readers before their skills are up to the job?

There are certainly pros and cons to both sides.

What do you think?

If you like this post, you might like to browse through The Craft of Writing.

Maer Wilson – Methods to My Madness: Guest Post

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Today I have Maer Wilson here to talk about her writing process, a subject I find endlessly fascinating. Her first novel, Relics, is set to be released by Crescent Moon Press on May 1.

Photo of Maer WilsonSo, you want to know about the process I use to write? The methods to my personal writing madness?

You do realise that going into the mind of a writer can be a dangerous thing, right? I mean, I could tell you stories! No, no, not about me, but about my friends.

Me? I’m actually fairly normal. Sorta, kinda. In a writerly sort of way.

My writing space is at my desk on my pc.

That sounds pretty tame, right? And it is; except that my pc is a gaming computer and set up for ultimate comfort. Yes, that means a footstool under the desk and cushions on my executive chair. Anyway, you get the idea.

I read how friends are writing at lunch on their laptops and such and I envy them a little bit. The most I could write on my laptop is notes.

I need to be at my desk, kicked back with feet up as I type away.

Sometimes I don’t type at all, but use Dragon Naturally Speaking to dictate my novel. About a third of Book Two was dictated. Most often, though, I type, as long as my arm and hand will cooperate.

Music is usually on. Not songs. I don’t’ want to start typing lyrics or anything, but film and gaming soundtracks are great background music. Especially the more epic soundtracks help me stay pumped and crank out the words.

When I’m in writing mode, I write fast.

– The first draft for my first novel (97,000 words) was written in five weeks. –

I wrote a few notes, but mostly I just let the characters take over and the story went places I never thought it would.

Book Two took about nine weeks this past summer, but those were broken up into two stints, one during Camp NaNoWriMo in August.

I have a general idea where my book is going to go, but I’m not always sure how it will get there.

Book Two took an unexpected and (hopefully) awesome turn toward the end.

Major confession time – my entire series has gone places I never expected. I thought I was writing some Urban Fantasy mysteries. Turns out it is a much larger story than that.

I keep a cast list of characters, with ages, relationships, names and years.

Since Book One covers about fifteen years and the series is growing, I need to track some things. That list also has the odd note in it here and there. Lines I want a character to say, something that I want to incorporate. That sort of thing. But there are no outlines and few details.

As the series has progressed, I’ve become more sure what happens in each book. Mostly.

Going into Book Three now, I again know where it’s supposed to be going. Not that there’s any guarantee it won’t take another turn and end up somewhere I hadn’t expected.

My characters can be unruly, fun and surprising, which I love.

They each take on their own lives and I let them tell me their stories. Which is fine with me!

Crescent Moon Press "Coming Soon" image.Besides, if I don’t tell their stories, they hammer and yammer inside my head until I let them out. But that’s perfectly normal, right? See? Like I said before: I’m pretty normal.

After a successful career being other people, and later teaching others the many tricks of that trade, Maer Wilson has decided to be herself for a while. Turns out she’s a writer. She’s always loved stories, especially fantasy, mystery and sci fi. She has a dragon-themed room in her home, but sadly no dragons in the back yard. When she’s not writing, Maer plays online video games, teaches college and reads. She lives in the high desert of Southern Nevada with her two dogs, a chihuahua and a poodle. Relics is her first novel and will be released by Crescent Moon Press on May 1, 2013. You can visit her website at maerwilson.com.

Guest Post by Christine Rains about her Writing Process

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I’m always interested in how other writers approach their writing, and today I’m honoured to have Christine Rains, author of The Dragonslayer, drop by to discuss her process.

The Dragonslayer CoverHi, my name is Christine and I’m a pantser.

I’m a little jealous of the plotters. I wish I could create an outline of a story and happily stick with it. It would improve the structure in the first draft, and I’m betting it would save me time.

I’ve tried. Oh how have I tried! But my stories refuse to be bound by an outline. It’s frustrating, but at the same time, I love being a pantser.

A pantser is a writer who writes by the seat of their pants. Someone who lets the story grow organically.

Plotters have at least a general outline before they start writing. They know what their novel is going to be about before the first words are on the paper or screen.

I’ve been asked many times by plotters: how do you write a story if you don’t know what it’s going to be about?

Easy. I just write.

Usually I have an idea of a concept or character first. Most of the time, it’s a character since I do focus on characterisation a lot. Then I start writing and let that character tell me her/his story.

I place my trust in my characters to know what they’re doing.

I love the weird and wonderful places my characters take me, the twists and turns in the plots, and the surprise endings. Yes, every ending is a surprise.

I’m in love with writing first drafts. It’s probably why I have such a rough time revising.

Thankfully I don’t ramble a lot, and I rarely have odd plots that don’t go anywhere. Somehow, everything just seems to work out in the end.

Do I have any advice for pantsers? Delight in the first draft, but prepare yourself to be tough during the revisions.

Have faith in yourself and listen to your characters. They know what they’re doing.

My name is Christine. I’m a pantser and I love it.

The Dragonslayer (The 13th Floor series, #3):

On the rooftop of a neighboring building, dragonslayer Xanthus Ehrensvard fires at his target, Governor Whittaker. How he missed the shot, he doesn’t know, but fleeing the scene, he picks up an unwanted passenger. Gorgeous reporter Lois King saw Xan’s face, and she believes it’s the story to make her career. Except he can’t let her walk away knowing what he looks like. Xan has to show her the Governor is a bigger threat to the world than he is.

Xan knows dragons never went extinct. They evolved with human society, taking on mortal forms, and slithered their way into positions of great influence and power, just like the Governor. But it’s no easy chore proving to someone that dragons still exist, and even more so, they’re disguised as famous people. Xan must convince Lois or find another way to silence her. An option, as he gets to know her, he likes less and less.

After all, dragonslayers are no longer celebrated heroes but outlaws. Just as the dragons wish it. But this outlaw must make a plan to slay the dragon or risk its retribution.

Christine RainsChristine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood, but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she’s not writing or reading, she having adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She’s a member of S.C.I.F.I. The 13th Floor series is her first self-published series. She has four novellas and eighteen short stories published. You can buy The Dragonslayer via Amazon, B&N, Smashwords, Kobo and Goodreads.

If you found Christine’s post interesting, you might also like to take a look at some writer interviews.

7 Line Challenge

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A woman standing hip deep in water holding a delicately carved shell.

A big thanks to Meredith Pritchard for tagging me in the 7 Line Challenge.

A woman standing hip deep in water holding a delicately carved shell.The 7 Line Challenge works a bit like The Next Big Thing, but instead of a Q&A you go to page 7 or 77 of your manuscript, find line 7, and grab the next 7 lines of text and paste them in your blog.

You then tag seven new people to do the same.

My 7 Line Challenge comes from page 7 of Epicentre, the mermaid story I’m currently editing…

“Sometimes you have to kill to survive, Grace. All life struggles in one way or another, and we’re part of that cycle. We keep the balance by taking the injured, the unlucky, and the stupid.” Maree glanced around the beach. “And sometimes we take those who don’t deserve it. It’s how life works.”

“I know,” Grace said, staring at the sand clinging to her feet.

“How about I help you pick someone? That way you can blame me and you won’t have to feel guilty.”

I only got tagged myself today. I’ll put a call out and add people as they opt in. Tag(s) so far:

 

The Story and the Plot

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SwordsIf you’ve been following me in any of the circles I tend to move in, you might know I’m writing a novel about a blind swordswoman, and possibly that I’m struggling with it.

It’s set in the same world as my epic fantasy, but in an earlier time and in a different kingdom.

The plot is simple: it’s about her mastering a sword of power and defeating the ruling Warlord. Think Gladiator meets almost any Chinese martial arts movie in an historical setting, and you’ve probably got it.

Her story, however, is entirely different, and this is what I’m struggling with.

Any reluctant hero could fulfil the plot, but to give it emotional impact, the plot has to become just as personal as the things she cares about. They need to intersect.

What she cares about is her father, the local villagers, and the slave girl her father rescued a few years back.

She also has a bit of a chip on her shoulder. She’s blind, but determined not to let it hold her back.

She’s fought for years to become self-sufficient, to develop her skills with the blade, and to be able to look after herself without help. What she fears most is having that freedom taken away.

Her story, then, has to about protecting the people she cares about while fighting for freedom.

Therefore, to create a novel, the plot and everything she cares about need to come into conflict.

The question is, what’s the best way to do this? I’ve got a bunch of ideas on where I want it to go, but the beginning is really stumping me.

How do I set it up so all this comes through, without looking like I’m trying to set up anything?

If you’ve got any thoughts on matter, I’d be more than keen to hear them.

Otherwise, you’ll find some more interesting posts on story development in The Craft.

Two More (Hidden) Elements of Novels

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The moment I hit the ‘publish’ on The Top Ten (Hidden) Elements of Novels, I ground my teeth.

Two more additions popped into my mind. Rather than amend the post, I figured I’d drop them into a new one. They are:

Cliffhangers

Cliffhangers have come a long way from the days of ‘join us next week when we find out if our hero will survive the…’ Cliffhangers have evolved to help shape a story, to pose a question or throw in a twist at the end of a chapter that begs to be discovered. Sometimes it’s as simple as having something intrude into a scene before all the questions can be fully answered, giving people a reason to read on. If you’re subtle enough, people won’t even realise there’s a cliffhanger there, they’ll just have a burning desire to continue reading.

Buttons

Buttons? Seriously? Yup, buttons. If you’re lacking that killer cliffhanger ending to a chapter, a button is another way to draw a reader on. A button is a simple sentence – sometimes a comment, sometimes a bit of dialogue, sometimes even a joke. It can be anything from… ‘Thunder boomed in the distance, an ominous sound to match her growing unease’, to ‘You might be right, but you’re still ugly’. Whatever grabs attention, draws a smile or gives a sense of continuity – the assurance that there’s more to come and it’s only going to get better.

The previous post on the topic: The Top 10 (Hidden) Elements of Novels.

The Top 10 (Hidden) Elements of Novels

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It took me a long time to figure out there was more to writing a novel than creating a hero with a problem, and playing it out over the loose scaffolding of a beginning, middle, and end.

1. Conflict and Threat

Internal, external and interpersonal conflict is essential to your story, and each has an entirely different impact on how events play out. While conflict is not the same as a story’s threat, it’s often tied into it in some way. Threat is the potential. Conflict is immediate. You need to work them out and incorporate them.

2. Emotion

The emotional needs, desires and problems for your characters, which if done well (and combined with the story’s threat and conflicts), will generate empathy among your readers and lead to an unputdownable page-turner. Character is story, and for a story to work your characters need to care (desperately) about something.

3. Theme

A novel needs a deeper meaning, and that meaning is a concept neatly wrapped up in a slippery little word called ‘theme’. Theme isn’t something along the lines of love or sacrifice or hope – at best those are expressions of a theme. No. Theme is a statement – with your story acting as the stage to debate it.

4. Beginning

Beginnings, middles and ends seem so simple – but each part needs to achieve something very specific. Believe it or not, the beginning of your novel isn’t actually the beginning of your story – it’s the introduction to your characters and their world. The story starts when the beginning’s over, because that’s when the protagonist leaves their comfortable world – by choice or otherwise.

5. Middle A

The middle makes up half your novel and is divided into two parts. The first part (Middle A) lets your protagonist discover what they’re really in for. It’s the fun part of your story, culminating in the realisation that there’s no easy option – and certainly no turning back.

6. Middle B

The third quarter (Middle B) is where things get serious and everything they’ve been striving for falls apart. This is where you raise the stakes to the point where all is lost, climaxing with some sort of false victory or defeat that sets the scene for the final battle.

7. Ending

To conclude your novel, your hero(s) regroup, form a plan and take the actions that eventually see them reach a satisfying resolution (or, at least, it better be satisfying if you want people to recommend it to their friends). It helps to tie up loose ends and if necessary, set the scene for sequels.

8. Sequences

If you’ve never heard about sequences, look them up. They’re mini-stories within the bigger story, often spanning several chapters – like how a character becomes a werewolf, or how a couple meet. There needs to be an equal number of sequences too, the total divisible by four and divided into the beginning, middle A, middle B, and end.

9. The Premise

Whatever else you do, make sure you meet the promise of your story’s premise. If you promise a story about a girl trying to survive assassins, everything that happens must contribute to setting up, sustaining and resolving that promise.

10. Cause & Effect

Even when you think you have everything right, writing a Cause and Effect can pick up problems. Every cause must generate an effect, and every effect has to lead to a new cause. Look hard at your story and if necessary rework it to create an unbroken chain of effects from beginning to end.

To see how most of these structural elements fit together, take a look at my Novel Structure Diagram. Other elements can be found in The Craft.

If you liked this post, you might also like two additional elements I forgot to mention, Hooks and Buttons.

New Year’s Resolutions

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2013 has struck, but oddly enough I haven’t planned what I want to achieve this year. I’ve got a few things in motion already, so I thought I’d better write it down and build on it.

So, here’s my resolutions:

  1. Keep putting my epic fantasy out there until it finds a home with an agent/publisher.
  2. Finish editing my mermaid novel and start sending it out.
  3. Write the first draft of my blind swordswoman novel.
  4. Give at least two writers workshops.
  5. Attend at least two conventions.
  6. Firmly establish the Fantasy Writers community on Google+.
  7. Write and find a home for at least one short story.
  8. Write at least three guest posts on other blogs.

I could go add to that (considerably), but I think it comes down to what you’ll be happy with, rather than pie-in-the-sky stuff that’s largely unachieveable. With luck I’ll exceed it, but the plan is just to get it done at this stage.

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.
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