New faces in a series

by | Apr 18, 2017 | Uncategorized

Today I was pondering the process of adding new characters to a story. We don’t think much about it, every show does it, and usually a book series that starts with a core crew of personas will have a pretty diverse cast by the end. That being said adding a new character is important for a number of reasons:

  • It changes the dynamics of the story.
    • The characters we already know and love or hate will have to interact with the new character. They will be impacted by this new persona and they will change. That can be good for a story. Adding someone new might be just what you need to push the story along and help a main character through a transformation or a deeper character development.
    • They can also steal the show. You may have a new character that you didn’t set out to make awesome, but ends up being better than the ones they were supposed to be supporting. I personally love when this happens because I feel like if as the writer I can be convinced they are awesome the reader will relate.
  • It keeps things fresh by making you write character development.
    • By the 2nd or third book in a series your main characters had settled. Now that doesn’t mean that are not going through crisis, love interests, and personal growth, but at this point you know what they are. The great thing about bringing someone new in is that you can capture that magic of developing a person in the later books. People enjoy plot and they love action, but the thing that will make readers keep coming back is the meat of the character development. If you can leave them feeling like the characters are 100% real, and they have a connection with them, well then they are along for the journey. As a writer I try to deliver that in every book.

So why am I pondering new characters?

I’m adding two brand new storylines to the Liberty series in the final book in the trilogy. I decided as much as I want to bring the overarching plots to fruition… I want to capture the depth of story that made the first book in the trilogy something special. I decided I can’t do that by only telling you stories from the characters you already know, there is no mystery there. These books are all about taking a journey with unique characters and seeing how they weave together. I hope Not With A Bang delivers just that.

-kurt

Multiple stories challenge

by | Mar 31, 2017 | Uncategorized

One of my favorite ways to tell a story is from multiple perspectives. I did this in my first novel to mixed effectiveness, but with For Liberty… I think I found the right rhythm. Telling a story from multiple different stories present a few unique challenges.

  • They need to be equal but different
    • It’s a challenge for an author to not pick a favorite story when you’re writing multiple that intertwine. If you don’t care about all your stories then why should your reader?
  • Each needs to develop it’s characters.
    • This was one of the greatest lessons I learned with For Liberty… I had secret agents, politicians, journalists, military members, and old farmers. I had to take each of them on a journey and leave them changed by the end of the book. Because I was splitting 80k words between four stories I didn’t have a lot of words to do it in, and that made me purposeful in the story I told.

This is on my mind today because I’m nearing the end of …With Justice. It is the sequel to For Liberty… but it has a different feel. It’s less mystery and more thriller. It follows the same design on a basic level, four stories geographically diverse that combine to tell the overarching story. The biggest difference is that we already know these characters, and that leaves more room for the story to fill the pages rather than the characters development. I both love that because I get to play with plot twists and at the same time I miss getting to know these people. I’m loving the new stories that are here, and the emotional bonds that are forming.

It’s off to beta readers in two weeks. *fingers crossed*

-kurt

“Listen to my idea…”

by | Mar 26, 2017 | Uncategorized

Begin rant:

I imagine every profession has this problem. As soon as someone finds out what you do they immediately try to figure out how to use that or how they relate to your work. Sometimes it’s funny and entertaining. People will find out I have written full length books and they will talk about the times they tried to write. Most seemed to realize they only had the content in their minds for a chapter or two, not a whole book. These are totally fine…

There are the ones that then ask you to proof-read something for them. This I also don’t mind too much. I remind them I pay an editor to fix my writing so that doesn’t speak too highly of my perfectionist standards for English.

The ones that baffle me are the “Listen to my idea” people. The conversation goes something like this…

Them: “So you write?”

Me: “Yep. Fiction, anything from political thriller to pop culture comedy, but I really love sci-fi.”

Them: “So I have this book idea you should do something with…”

Me: “…”

They then explain their plot, usually something very similar to the summer blockbuster but with about three main details changed.

Then the stare. They look at me like I should be getting out a contract or a checkbook to pay them for this idea.

Let me be clear I believe everyone has ideas that would make for a great read, but as a writer that doesn’t mean I actually want to hear your idea for a Zombie slasher on mars. That’s what your family and friends are for. I have pitched plenty of bad ideas to the family only to be brought back to Earth and reminded how outlandish some of my ideas are. I think it’s the writer version of what nurses go through when people show them their ‘weird’ growths without any prompting.

The moral of the story is this; whatever someone’s profession or job is, that isn’t what defines them. Don’t box them in and make them BE what they DO.

-kurt

 

Inspiration

by | Mar 25, 2017 | Uncategorized

Let’s talk about inspirations…

Really there are two kinds of inspiration for me. I’ll call it macro and micro inspiration.

Macro comes into play when I need a whole new idea inspired, or I need to come up with major plot element, characters, or world building. For me there are a few sources I turn to when I need this kind of help. Truth be told my own twisted mind supplies far more inspiration than I need most days. I have a backlog of books I want to write that extends out about five years right now. That being said when I do need it these are tried and true for me.

  • Muses: There are a few people in my life that light the creative spark in me and quickly send me down the road to a new adventure. These are the people I will often schedule a meal with, send a text to, or call with a half formed idea I’m chewing on and talk it through with them. Don’t underestimate the value of those people who support your creativity, and encourage you to freely express your weird ideas. They are a rare gift to a writer, and should be cherished.
  • Great Works: I left this general because I think ‘great work’ is very much in the eye of the beholder. I hold books like Dune in the highest regard for personal reasons. I think Frank Herbert’s ability to build a world is inspiring, and his use of technology, religion, and spirituality are unparalleled. Okay, maybe Ron Moore can go toe-to-toe, but still. I think it depends on what you’re working on, but don’t be afraid to pick up one of the greats in your field and read. It’s not cheating to draw inspiration from others’ work. If anything it is a high compliment to have your style, or attributes of your writing admired by other authors.
  • Jung’s Shared Unconsciousness: Hear me out as I mix psychology into this. There are basic things about the human experience that regardless of where you come from we share. We all have inherent fears, snakes, fire, the darkness, etc. There are other things like a concept of family, anxiety about fitting into your social group, an underlying question about our purpose in life. These can all provide you a backbone for your story to relate. When I need a character to feel more relatable or real and I’m struggling to find that missing something. This is a great place to go. We all have shared struggles, and they bring us closer in life and in literature.

Micro is the inspiration needed to write at the moment. This is the inspiration that gets me to my daily word goals, and finishes paragraphs. For me this is the background noise/environment I need to let my creativity flow.

  • Video: I watch to catch the flow… If you think about it every show on television or movie out there has a writer behind the scenes. Someone sat down and wrote how that scene would go, what they would say, and they had some idea of how it would all come together. Watching something in your field can help you to feel how to push the story along. NOT saying all writing should be like Movies/TV. But there is a flow there, and if you’re needing some creative fuel it can help. For me I like stuff I have seen before, and that I know won’t distract me. I like when I can look up and know the scene and what the characters will say next. I can enjoy moments of it, and yet step back and be in my own story while it’s happening. Friends, The Simpsons, Futurama, Star Trek… are a few of my go to shows for background video.
  • Audio: listen to what makes you feel what your character needs to feel. If you’re writing a tense scene Enya might not be the choice, maybe throw on some Nine Inch Nails and get edgy with your writing. I personally like to start with some indie rock/folk rock to get the offbeat witty style going. Then its all about the mood of the story… there are plenty of days where I just want silence and me and the blinking cursor.
  • Environment: So I have written books in a lot of different places… in cars, planes, trains, and ships. I have written at all times of the in countries around the world, but there is still one thing that has to be right. I have to be comfortable where I am. You should put yourself in an environment where you are not worried about being judged, interrupted or overly distracted. For instance it is very, very difficult for me to write an action scene if I’m sharing the space I’m in with someone else. I don’t know why, but it seems to really get in the way of the fight, heist, car chase. I’m willing to admit this may be due to the fact that I often feel the need to make the action noises of the scene as I’m writing it. Don’t mock too hard Ewan McGregor made lightsaber noises for three movies in every fight scene. #Obiwanistheman

Likely more than you ever wanted to know about my process, but there it is.

…Boldly go!

-kurt

Progress

by | Mar 24, 2017 | Uncategorized

Alas that annoying life thing, paying the bills, making the boss happy thing has really been getting into the way of writing.

Progress is being made however. …With Justice is nearing the 40k mark, which I think is about the halfway point for this story. The more the characters evolve and the story fleshes out I think there will be a solid point to bring this chapter to a close and pave the way for the final book in the trilogy.

I’m holding myself to having the rough draft finished by the end of April, and having the rough of Not With A Bang… finished by July.

Next post I’m going to answer a question I recently got about what inspires me to write. really there are two answers to that, and maybe it will help those out there who want to write, but feel like they don’t have enough to say to fill a book.

-Kurt

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