Inspiration and My Quest To Write YA Novel

Evidently, one of the most common questions fielded by authors is where they get their ideas. Now, not being a real, published writer, I don't know if the entire process changes with the emergence of external deadlines and real pressure, but I would have to guess it doesn't. I get my ideas from my life, and the prospect of running out of ideas is about as realistic as the danger of running out of thoughts. It's not going to happen.

Inspirations for stories, characters, and whatever can come from the strangest places. Moreover, I'm not too proud to steal a good idea if I see one.  One of the comic strips I read is called xkcd, and a while back it ran this comic strip. 

The writer of this comic strip makes a pretty good point, I think: those alternate world children's fantasies would probably screw up your life pretty badly, once the initial boost to self-confidence wears off. The most logical reasoning you could come up with as an adult, assuming you were smart and never told anyone about what happened to you, is that you had some kind of hallucination.

Then I realized that there's more than just an amusing comic in that concept; there was the potential for more. I think I could write a decent book based on that comic. The typical protagonist of the children's alternate world fantasy story, years later in his life, searching for answers. Discovering that he wasn't the only one to head to "Narnia," and trying to help the other kids who've also face the dubious choice of lying through their teeth or being thrown into the juvenile loony bin. Learning the real reason why the hell anyone would want the help of children to solve their problems (I sure as hell wouldn't). And maybe realizing that his time in this fantasy world left more scars than he initially thought.

All of that sounds like a lot of introspection and whining to me, so I'd need to make it, you know, interesting. My guiding principal when writing is to try to make it something I'd enjoy reading as well (for reasons other than my narcissism and egomania, of course). (Un)Fortunately, I have a lot of book ideas in my head, so I haven't bothered to even start writing this one, even though my preliminary title idea amuses me greatly: Veteran of the Dragon Wars.

One of the problems, however, is that this book idea seems almost ideal for a YA, or Young Adult, book. The character idea in my head is almost young enough; I could probably cut off a few years if I had to. Except the problem is that I don't quite know how to write a YA novel.

But I want to. I really, really want to. Why? Marketability. I realize this makes me sound like a heartless mercenary, but it's the truth.   I'd love to actually sell a book for money, instead of doing it as an enjoyable hobby. And YA books typically involve many of the fantastical elements that I prefer, so it's not as if I'd be writing a book that I'd hate.

According to what I've read, there's much a greater demand for YA books than fantasy novels marketed towards adults. I suspect that one of the reasons is that the bookshelves in the science fiction section are filled with old books, classics of the genre; there are no such classics in the YA section, unless you count Harry Potter.

And, sadly, I think there's also lower standards of quality for books intended towards children and youths. Why else do we let so many celebrities write their own children's books? Or maybe, hopefully, it's just a lack of understanding as to what those enigmatic young people actually want, so people are willing to take more risks.

Right now I'm writing a completely noncommercial story just to bring my skills back to what they were after I stopped writing for a few months. After I finish up this story and one of the unfinished books, I might try my hand at writing a YA novel, maybe one based on teh seed of the xkcd strip.

The worst fictional human being...

I was going to make some long post about the absolute worst human being in all of fiction, the most hated, the most reviled. Maybe mention some people I thought were close. But it's not a close. There's a clear frontrunner. In about half the movies I watch, I end up rooting for the bad guys anyway. Not this guy.

Burke, Carter J

He has to be the least likeable villain of all time. Although I have to say, casting Paul Reiser as a villain in a science fiction movie is a stroke of genius. We already hate the guy, now the movie gives us a reason! Amusingly, even the actor's parents, when watching Aliens, wanted Burke to die horribly.

He betrays everyone just for a percentage of the profits, even after seeing how dangerous the Aliens are. And he's not only evil, but also incompetent, creating plans to have almost no chance of working. Even his clothes are bad; if you're going to be an evil corporate guy, at least wear the proper suit.

Fight Club: Choose Your Weapon (Part Two)

Okay, I've finally gotten around to writing the second part of the last Fight Club post. I blame the Olympics for the delay, proof that you can make me care about anything if you make the stage big enough.

6. The Dagger
Daggers and knives were fairly common as tools back in Ye Olden Days, especially the nebulous quasi-historical period where a lot of fantasy fiction takes place. They're going to be a little longer and more dangerous than the pocket knives of today, but probably about as ubiquitous. The truth remains that if you bring a knife to a sword fight, though, you're going to lose.
Example Characters: Thieves and cutthroats, Min from Wheel of Time (with many others), Locke Lamora, Vlad Taltos.
What It Says About the Character: They prefer surprise to straight up fights (who doesn't, though), they're probably not trained in fighting, and they might be kind of dumb if they treat it as a primary weapon instead of an emergency backup or a tool (or a parrying weapon).

7. The Bow
Bows come in two basic varieties: bows you use on foot, and bows you fire from a horse. Unless someone is creating some kind of clear Mongol analogue, bows in fiction are generally restricted to the infantry variety. 
Example Characters: Legolas, Birgitte from Wheel of Time, Katniss from Hunger Games
What It Says About the Character: Really, no one in fiction uses a bow if they're not some kind of expert shot. They're also more likely to be incredibly fast or agile. If a female character is going to be some kind of warrior, chances are good that they will prefer the bow.
Unfortunately, firing a bow, especially one with a good draw weight needed for range/armor penetration, requires a lot of upper body strength. And just like a gun, shooting a bow while running around will tank your accuracy. I'd imagine an archer would more likely take a good position in a fight and stand there raining feathered death upon his enemies than running around shield surfing.

8. The Flail
Most depictions of the flail suck, it's that simple. The flail is the spiked-ball and chain weapon, in case you're unfamiliar with it (insert marriage joke here). The problem is that the chain is too long, so you'd have as much chance of hitting yourself as the enemy. The trick is to have a longer haft and a shorter chain, allowing flexibility without risking smashing yourself in the head. The real strength of the flail is its ability to bypass a shield.
Example Characters: No one in fiction uses a flail. The closest I could think is the Witch King from RotK, but that's really not the greatest example of the weapon, since it's a one ton weight with a chain attached. More wrecking ball, less flail.
What It Says About the Character: No data points means no graph, sorry. Man, someone has to write a flail user, fast.

9. The Mace/Hammer
Basic variations on the same idea: a hafted weight that smashes your opponent. All the fun of a club, but more top heavy. The great part about maces and hammers was how effective they were against armored opponents; mail was relatively ineffective against the mass of these things.
Example Characters: Perrin from Wheel of Time,  other fantasy blacksmiths*, holy men**
What It Says About the Character: For starters, this is another one of those unsubtle weapons, so chances are pretty good the character is notably strong. And anyone who uses one of these weapons, as opposed to an axe, is probably both kind-hearted and civilized.

*Seriously, what is with fantasy's love affair with blacksmithing? I have no idea.
**Due to a misinterpretation of the Bayeux Tapestry, for a while there was the belief that ecclesiastical figures (priests, bishops, and the like) were forbidden from shedding blood. Therefore, they used maces, because smashing apart someone's skull is one hundred percent blood free. Nope, sorry. 

10. The Greatsword
Or the two handed sword. Cutting edge, sharpened point.  Unfortunately, when portrayed in fiction it's nearly always misused. The lower part of the sword was unsharpened, allowing the user to 'choke up' on it for additional maneuvers. That's probably not the proper historical term for it, btw. :)
 Example Characters: Guts from Berserk, Tazendra (Porthos) from the Phoenix Guards
What It Says About the Character: The greatsword is typified by a more wild, uncontrolled style, similar to an axe, even if that's not really how it would be used in real life. Think of it as an axe, just less so.

11. The Shield
While not technically a weapon, it's probably the most important piece of gear for a warrior other than their weapon. It's the best defense against any kind of projectile weapon (other than a wall or something), and it's much easier to parry with a shield than it is with any kind of weapon. Think about how much smaller the target area is going to be for a guy with a shield.
Example Characters: Boromir from Lord of the Rings, Spartans and their wannabes,
What It Says About the Character: Shields are more typically found amongst the military, so a shield user is going to be a current or former member of a military unit, in contrast to the more common 'lone wolf' style characters who run around by themselves. They're likely to be more 'professional' than most characters.

Random Thought: My idea for a new TV show

You combine the concepts from two other shows. In the hit ABC show Castle, a mystery writer teams up with a detective to solve crimes. In the not-so-hit NBC show Grimm, a detective fights hidden monsters like werewolves and shit.

In this show, a police officer teams up with a fantasy writer to fight hidden monsters.

Cop: "What do you know about manticores?
Writer: "Goddamn near everything."

Fight Club: Choose Your Weapon! (Part One)

In today's post about Fight Club, I'm talking about weapons, specifically the low-tech weapons I enjoy, as opposed to guns. I might do a future post talking about different kinds of guns, but that's for another day. What weapon a character uses is as much a statement about who he is as a practical choice for dealing with the battles of their time; it's the "shoes" of a fantasy world.

1. The Sword:
Specifically, I mean a one-handed blade, typically used for slashing, but often with a sharpened point as well. The kind of weapon that everyone thinks of when I write 'sword.'
Example Characters: Almost everyone in genre fiction who uses a low-tech weapon?
What It Says About the Character: Absolutely nothing.

2. The Spear:
Long haft, sharp point. Spears are criminally underused by fictional characters, although they enjoy many advantages. For starters, they have great reach. They're pretty easy to use. A mass formation of them will absolutely destroy a cavalry charge (I think the 13th Warrior is the only movie where this actually happens though). They're one of the few varieties of weapon that can be thrown effectively.
Example Characters: Matrim Cauthon* from Wheel of Time. Kaladin from Way of Kings. half the characters in Dynasty Warriors, Hordes of Faceless Soldiers
What It Says About the Character: Comes from a common background and remembers the fact.
*To be honest, Mat Cauthon doesn't really use a spear. If you read how he fights, it's clear that he uses it more like a quarterstaff; he makes a lot of wide, slashing attacks and rarely takes advantage of its reach.

3. The Morningstar:
A scary-looking spiked mace or club. Probably pretty easy to use, but I have no idea how you'd carry one safely.
Example Characters: Ummm...Sauron? Not many characters spring to mind. Anyone have anyone else?
What It Says About the Character: They're the bad guy. Heroes don't use these weapons. Ever.

4. The Axe:
I'm not making any distinction between one and two handed axes here. They're both brutal offensive weapons that swing with a lot of force and mass behind them. In truth, though, you're much more likely to see a guy using a two handed axe than a one-handed one.
Example Characters: Gimli from Lord of the Rings. Druss the Legend from Legend. Other dwarves who want to be like Gimli. Vikings.
What It Says About the Character: They're straightforward and unsubtle, much like their weapon. They're going to be dangerous as hell in a fight, since no one carries an axe if they don't know how to use it. Also, typically anyone who uses an axe is going to be the strongest guy around.

5. The Rapier:
The light swords favored by swashbucklers, musketeers, and pirates. They don't get a lot of respect compared to heavier swords, despite the advantage of their speed.
Example Characters:  Aerich (Athos), Khaavren (D'Artagnan), and Pel (Aramis) from the Phoenix Guards, Vlad Taltos from Jhereg, Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Carribean, Cazio from the Briar King, Zorro from the Curse of Capistrano (that's right, I know the name of the first Zorro story!)
What It Says About the Character: They're overly civilized, have at least pretensions of aristocracy. Most are probably arrogant, and fancy themselves as being quite popular with ladies. They're my be effete or decadent, and characters who use heavier weapons probably think of them as wimps by comparison.

Coming tomorrow I finish this with five more weapons!

Fight Club: Making It Matter

Raymond Chandler, famed noir writer who also helped adapt many of his colleague's work to the big screen, had a rule: "when in doubt, have a man come through a door with a gun in his hand." The idea being to stuff action scenes into your novel or story whenever there was a lull in the plot, or when you weren't sure how to proceed. 

Since I seem to be an endless font of negativity (in truth, it's just easier to write about flaws than strengths), I'm going to disagree. If we're talking about video games, or even movies, then Chandler's Guy With Gun Axiom is essentially correct. In fact, there's an argument for action movies that there's too much talking. Maybe someone should make an actual movie like that...oh wait, they did, it's called the Expendables.

Action scenes are always fun in video games and movies, since the audience gets drunk on the visual splendor of the fighting and the challenge of it, in the case of video games. To many, the combat of the game is the entire point, but others simply pad out a two hour plot into a twelve hour game with tons of random battles (Final Fantasy, anyone?). Even a mediocre movie can be salvaged with good fights.

In a book, there's no visuals to really convey the action. Don't get me wrong, a good fight scene in a book can be pretty awesome, especially since books always deal so much better with the internal aspects of a fight, the thoughts and fears of the characters made evident to the reader. But could you imagine someone making a good written version of the Matrix Lobby Scene? No, it would suck. And you certainly couldn't get away with a fifty page action scene in a book, the way you can get away with an hour long fight scene in a movie (an awesome movie, that is).

So whenever there's a fight in a book, it's can't just be gratuitous violence. It needs to serve a larger purpose. At best, it's going to be more than a battle between people. It will be a battle between two ideas or concepts, or the final, violent catharsis of pages of more cerebral turmoil for the main character, turmoil that he has endured for pages. Or maybe it's to introduce some key characterization or world information (mainly for sci/fi fantasy). Maybe it somehow introduces some important plot point.

Assuming you're striving to be more than a pulp writer cranking out dozens of stories per week to meet deadlines, I don't think it's  a good idea to follow Chandler's advice here. I love fight scenes in movies, and I actually enjoy writing them quite a bit, but it's too easy to be seduced by them. They need to mean something, so I always try to ask myself what these fights mean within the larger context of the stories and themes of the novel.

Or, if you enjoy books without writing them, ask yourself what 'purpose' is there to any kind of fight or action scene in a book you enjoy. If the books you enjoy don't have cool action scenes, then I pity you, and you're probably an English teacher or something. :)

My next blog post should be my last entry into Fight Club (at least for now), and I hope you've enjoyed them.

Fight Club: Everybody Was Sword Fighting

As I mentioned previously, I like sword fights in fiction. I think they're cool, and I particularly enjoy sword fights with lightly armored combatants engaging with rapiers, instead of, say, broadswords and shields. Unfortunately, it seems that rapiers, and swords similar to rapiers, don't get a whole lot of respect in fiction, but that's a post for another time.

I also enjoy fencing, ever since I saw an Olympic fencing exhibition as a child. I always try to watch fencing during the Olympics, even if it means watching a stream that's completely in French. During college, I even fenced a little, but I never took it seriously. It shouldn't be a surprise, therefore, that I wrote a character who fought in the style I enjoy, a lightly armored duelist armed with rapier and dagger. (Note: I try to avoid using the technical French and Italian terms for fencing practices.)

Fencing seems to be at least a common interest to genre writers; Brust in particular delights in fencing. His main character practices a style of swordplay similar to fencing, and is quick to explain why it's superior to the "hack and slash" styles favored by his taller, stronger opponents; one of the reasons is because his target area is smaller, because he uses a sideways stance (the same stances you use in fencing).

However, at the time of my writing I had suspicions that fencing had very little to do with the style of sword fighting common to the Renaissance masters of the approximate time period of my writing. Fencing is, after all, a sport, not a way to kill your enemies or defend yourself (thank God for that). So after a little bit of work, I tracked down Salvatore Fabris's treatise on sword fighting, translated into English. Reading that book was quite illuminating (and dangerous: the book had a propensity to deliver very nasty paper cuts! First blood to you, Fabris!)

To put it simply, everyone writes sword fights wrong. Or at least everyone I've read. Their characters stand like fencers, move like fencers, and fight like fencers. Or, perhaps, I should clarify their style as sport fencing, in opposition to the style I researched, historical fencing. They may have done research into the sport, but not the way people fought back then, or how the masters taught.

One of the basic tenets of Fabris's teaching was that the attacker had the advantage, so it was important, even when blocking, to take offensive action. When you parried your opponent's attack, you maneuvered your blade so that by stepping into the attack, his blade passed to the side of you while yours punctured him.

You don't make those kinds of moves in sport fencing, at least if you've only ever done foil fencing (such as myself). In sport fencing, the rules require you to execute a parry, stop the attack, then execute your own counterattack, otherwise it's an illegal move.

Typically, the more skilled swordsman in fiction is presented as such due to speed, typically the speed of their blades. From I remember of the books of my youth, R.A. Salvatore got one thing right, at least: footwork is incredibly important in fencing, probably moreso than arm movements (at least in sport fencing). The Conan archetype can get by with brute strength, but all of the other characters are fast, fast, fast.

To Fabris, it's more than about moving your sword really fast. It's about being smart, and using angles, leverage, and positioning to void your opponent's attacks while striking with your own. Wouldn't that be much more interesting to read about than someone just being faster, or whatever the hell else causes them to win the fight (some cheap trick, usually)?

Also, Fabris doesn't pretend that your opponent is going to engage you on some long, narrow strip of flat ground, and he doesn't use a side stance in his section on the four guards (or at least the Third Guard, the most generally useful one IMO).

Sadly, in the one story I wrote about this character, a master historical fencer who fought Sword and Dagger, there wasn't a single sword fight or duel. What a terrible waste, but it was quite educational. I'd love to see more books use actual historical styles and techniques, but alas.

By the way, congratulations to the USA women's epee team for winning the bronze. :)