If there is one thing I, as a reader, hate, it's being misled by the author. If I'm led to believe that the story will be a funny one, I want a funny one, not one that turns into a tragedy. If I'm reading a book that I've been led to believe will be romantic, I don't want it to turn into a thriller. If I were in the mood for a thriller, that's what I'd have picked up to read.
But as a writer, I'm afraid I'm doing exactly that with A Troll Wife's Tale. I mean the premise of the story (a female troll that becomes a tooth fairy) sounds like it will be a funny story. And it's possible that I may be able to have some funny moments in it (though as the quote goes, "dying is easy, comedy is hard", so I don't have high aspirations in the comedy portions of the story). But the general tone of the book is going to be darker, with (hopefully) scary stuff, and some real character development as the Troll Wife sees so much of herself in the Oubliette, and then decides how to resist becoming more like her.
Unfortunately, I don't know how to change this. I like some humor mixed with my thrillers (probably why I love Dean Koontz), but I don't know if I'm doing it right. I guess it's one more think to chalk up on my "to do" editing list.
Showing posts with label imported. Show all posts
Showing posts with label imported. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
In Which I Meet A Character From My Book
A while back, we went to the movies. This theater is one I'm using in my story and at the end of the book my Troll Wife will actually move in there.
The guy taking tickets looked exactly the way I've described trolls look, when they're appearing among humans. He was perfect! I was so struck, I glanced at his name tag and noticed his name was the same as one of my minor characters in my story!
I wanted to point him out to my family and shout "Look! There he is! One of the characters from my book!". I almost felt like that playwright from "The Twilight Zone" (remember that one?). I was hugely excited, but managed to constrain myself enough not to point and shout about the nature of reality, or whether or not he was a troll. He'll never know, but if he did, I'm sure he'd thank me.
But it was incredibly cool to meet one of my characters :)
The guy taking tickets looked exactly the way I've described trolls look, when they're appearing among humans. He was perfect! I was so struck, I glanced at his name tag and noticed his name was the same as one of my minor characters in my story!
I wanted to point him out to my family and shout "Look! There he is! One of the characters from my book!". I almost felt like that playwright from "The Twilight Zone" (remember that one?). I was hugely excited, but managed to constrain myself enough not to point and shout about the nature of reality, or whether or not he was a troll. He'll never know, but if he did, I'm sure he'd thank me.
But it was incredibly cool to meet one of my characters :)
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
The Danger of Silence
You know how when the kids are quiet, that is when they're getting into the most trouble? Or (for those of you that are kidless, or have kids that never get into trouble) you know how in movies they say, "It's quiet." "Yeah, too quiet." and that's when the attack begins?
What they all mean is that there is danger in silence. Lately, my internal critic has been silent. Too silent.
Of course, I haven't done any real writing in weeks, either. I tell myself I'm doing research for my next WiP, or that the minor editing I'm doing before sharing the next chunk of work with my crit group is writing. But today I realized that my internal critic has just found a new way to distract me from writing. And since writing is my Patented Pending All Time Magical Cure for Depression and Other Troubles, not writing for weeks is Very Bad.
So, I printed out my 400+ page book, and I've scheduled this weekend (a three day weekend for me) for editing. I'm setting up a schedule and goals, which is very different from the kind of floating with no time table that I've been doing.
05-05-22
What they all mean is that there is danger in silence. Lately, my internal critic has been silent. Too silent.
Of course, I haven't done any real writing in weeks, either. I tell myself I'm doing research for my next WiP, or that the minor editing I'm doing before sharing the next chunk of work with my crit group is writing. But today I realized that my internal critic has just found a new way to distract me from writing. And since writing is my Patented Pending All Time Magical Cure for Depression and Other Troubles, not writing for weeks is Very Bad.
So, I printed out my 400+ page book, and I've scheduled this weekend (a three day weekend for me) for editing. I'm setting up a schedule and goals, which is very different from the kind of floating with no time table that I've been doing.
05-05-22
Friday, July 16, 2010
Faeish idioms
For my Troll Wife story, I dug through old and lesser known Grimm's tales for some hints of expressions that faeish might use. In my world building, I've already established that many fairy tales are faeish in origin, and usually have references to the war between humans and faeish. This made it a natural to go back to those old tales for Oubliette's expressions. I have some requirements:
1. It must be understandable, even if you don't know where the expression comes from. I don't want to have to explain them to someone, so that the reader will know what they mean. That kind of exposition bugs the heck out of me.
2. I may create a lot of them, but I can't use too many in the book, or it will come off badly.
3. Oubliette is a very angry monster. She probably won't be using funny and lighthearted expressions, only the depressing ones.
So, here's the list I've gotten so far (will be expanded):
1. "When the dry twig sprouts green", as in "You can have that when the dry twig sprouts green" It means "never" or "highly unlikely".
2. "The mercy of a mill stone", as in "Oubliette has the mercy of a mill stone". It means "none". Mill stones were a human invention, and are seen as a metaphor for the way humans grind everything beneath them.
3. "The rabbit that cries for the moon", as in "No, you can't have that. Don't be the rabbit that cries for the moon." "Rabbit" is a term that faeish use for their children, and the expression means someone wanting something they can't have, either a child, or someone that is acting like a child.
4. "A hedgehog bride", as in "That couple is well matched, she is a hedgehog bride". It means not to love/marry someone that is much prettier or uglier, dumber/smarter, etc., than you are. "Box your weight" is a human expression for the same kind of thing. (This one may be too obscure. I may not use it.)
5. "His name is carved in stone", as in "I will not rest until his name is carved in stone". It means dead, of course, and refers to the custom of carving names in a gravestone. It sounds like something I might read in a Western, so I think this one needs work.
Now I need to think of more situations that call for these. Like I said, even if I don't use them in the book, they're awfully fun to create :)
05-04-15
1. It must be understandable, even if you don't know where the expression comes from. I don't want to have to explain them to someone, so that the reader will know what they mean. That kind of exposition bugs the heck out of me.
2. I may create a lot of them, but I can't use too many in the book, or it will come off badly.
3. Oubliette is a very angry monster. She probably won't be using funny and lighthearted expressions, only the depressing ones.
So, here's the list I've gotten so far (will be expanded):
1. "When the dry twig sprouts green", as in "You can have that when the dry twig sprouts green" It means "never" or "highly unlikely".
2. "The mercy of a mill stone", as in "Oubliette has the mercy of a mill stone". It means "none". Mill stones were a human invention, and are seen as a metaphor for the way humans grind everything beneath them.
3. "The rabbit that cries for the moon", as in "No, you can't have that. Don't be the rabbit that cries for the moon." "Rabbit" is a term that faeish use for their children, and the expression means someone wanting something they can't have, either a child, or someone that is acting like a child.
4. "A hedgehog bride", as in "That couple is well matched, she is a hedgehog bride". It means not to love/marry someone that is much prettier or uglier, dumber/smarter, etc., than you are. "Box your weight" is a human expression for the same kind of thing. (This one may be too obscure. I may not use it.)
5. "His name is carved in stone", as in "I will not rest until his name is carved in stone". It means dead, of course, and refers to the custom of carving names in a gravestone. It sounds like something I might read in a Western, so I think this one needs work.
Now I need to think of more situations that call for these. Like I said, even if I don't use them in the book, they're awfully fun to create :)
05-04-15
Thursday, July 15, 2010
32 Rules of Writing
I found this link to 32 Rules of Writing. You may not agree with everything on this list, but I think there's something for everyone :)
05-04-24
05-04-24
Cat Waxing
Here are a few exercises I ganked from Paperback Writer a while back.
1. Write a classified ad selling your novel.
Urban fantasy with a twist:
Heroic trolls, elvish bad guys, scent driven insights.
Theme of wanting to belong, mixed with horror and humor.
100,000 words or best offer.
2. Make up a motto based on your novel theme.
Keep your scent.
3. Describe your novel in 15 words or less.
A troll with a nose for magic finds trouble when she becomes...a tooth fairy. (Wow! 15 exactly!)
4. Write a personal ad for your hero or heroine.
SCTW(Single Cafe Troll Wife) Seeks companionship leading to something more.
Likes: libraries, ancient mysteries and knot language.
Dislikes: stalker monsters, elves, marshmallow scented faeish.
Compatible scent a must. Name not required.
Kind of fun, but they need more work.
05-2-24
1. Write a classified ad selling your novel.
Urban fantasy with a twist:
Heroic trolls, elvish bad guys, scent driven insights.
Theme of wanting to belong, mixed with horror and humor.
100,000 words or best offer.
2. Make up a motto based on your novel theme.
Keep your scent.
3. Describe your novel in 15 words or less.
A troll with a nose for magic finds trouble when she becomes...a tooth fairy. (Wow! 15 exactly!)
4. Write a personal ad for your hero or heroine.
SCTW(Single Cafe Troll Wife) Seeks companionship leading to something more.
Likes: libraries, ancient mysteries and knot language.
Dislikes: stalker monsters, elves, marshmallow scented faeish.
Compatible scent a must. Name not required.
Kind of fun, but they need more work.
05-2-24
Author or Book trading cards
I had a (possibly) brilliant marketing idea. Instead of the traditional bookmarks or postcards that authors create to market their books, how about author trading cards? Or book trading cards? Or character trading cards?
The character trading cards could reveal little things about a character that were part of world building, but never show up in the book. (Downside, argh! The character art!)
Book trading cards could use the cover art from the book.
Author trading cards could list the biography of the author, as well as publication history. This would (hopefully) change over time, so your first publication would be your "rookie" card. They could either use a picture of the author, or (for the camera shy) cover art from the latest book.
The character trading cards could reveal little things about a character that were part of world building, but never show up in the book. (Downside, argh! The character art!)
Book trading cards could use the cover art from the book.
Author trading cards could list the biography of the author, as well as publication history. This would (hopefully) change over time, so your first publication would be your "rookie" card. They could either use a picture of the author, or (for the camera shy) cover art from the latest book.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)