Author: Bryan

Critiquing Protocols

Published on by Bryan

Criticism is a part of life. It’s even more so a part of the writer’s life. From readers to editors to agents, opinions are everywhere, and sometimes it can be hard to process them and keep from having a part of yourself crushed under all that weight. Even worse, so many times you never get to hear those opinions. They just reject your work, that’s all you know. That’s one reason why critique groups are invaluable. First, they help you polish your work. Second, they help you test reader reactions. Third, you can learn by critiquing and reading as well and see what other writers are doing. Fourth, networking.

However, there is a certain protocol involved and some people seem to have a hard time learning it.

1) In offering critiques, keep the sarcasm to yourself. Comments like “Oh come on, you’ve got to be kidding me! You expect me to buy that?” are not appropriate (actually heard that one once). They are not supportive or encouraging, and they add nothing of value to help the writer improve their work. Be honest, would you like it if you got a response like that?

2) Be careful to avoid applying your own assumptions and bias too heavily to another writer’s work, especially when they are writing from a culture or perspective far different from your own. For example, I researched and wrote a short story about illegals crossing the US-Mexico border who deal with the Border Patrol and aliens. Because of my concern for accurate portrayals, I had the story read by a friend in the Border Patrol, Mexican friends, even an illegal. They helped me ensure I was fair and unbiased and got the facts right. But I had several critiquers (white) who suggested it was racist. And they also said the Border Patrol stuff was unrealistic. None live on the Border. None had any connection to Mexico or immigrants. They just read into it with their own assumptions and called me out. It was annoying, unhelpful and frustrating.

For example, I don’t like stories with a lot of foul language or graphic sex of any kind. I have to read them in my secular critique group, and if I think it will limit salability, I mention that. But beyond that, I leave it be. I would never write that. In fact, I think it shows a lack of creative effort. Shock tactics have been so over done, people are numb. If you can’t use your creativity to find more colorful words to tell your story than four letter ones, you’re not trying hard enough. But I don’t penalize writers for that opinion. I just apply it to my own work and my purchasing choices at the book store.

It’s okay to say, this bothered me because… It’s okay to suggest something was unclear… It’s okay to say you’re worried something might come off negatively which wasn’t intended… But give the writer the benefit of the doubt and be helpful. Don’t insult their intelligence by implying you know more when you don’t know what experience or research they have to back it up.

3) Find as many good things to say as bad if at all possible. I always point out things I liked from creative descriptions or snippets of dialogue that stand out to characterizations, etc. And if I think the story has potential for development, I tell them so. If it doesn’t I don’t, but I want to at least leave them feeling I appreciate something about their work.

4) Critique others’ work if you expect them to critique yours. Don’t join the group, submit a bunch of work, then sit back and wait for people to edit it for you. Get your hands dirty and read theirs. Offer them feedback. And do it in a way you’d want someone to critique yours (per the protocols listed above).

There’s probably more I could get into but I think these are the essentials, and, if followed, will enable you to have a good and productive critique group experience for all involved. After all, the purpose of critique groups is to help each other improve and grow. If it doesn’t accomplish that, it’s not worth investing the time.

For what it’s worth…

Five Reasons Science Fiction and Fantasy Are Important To Me

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I’ve had a love affair with science fiction and fantasy since grade school. I will never forget the time my cousins dragged us to this film with the weird name “Star Wars.” Even at age 8, I was sure the title sounded dumb, but my cousin and best buddy, David, had seen the film several times already, and “you just have to see it,” he said.

The film did not disappoint. From its opening minutes aboard the Rebel Ship, I was on the edge of my seat. That opening scene remains one of my favorites of all time for any speculative fiction film. There’s nothing quite like the intensity of the battle between Rebel troops in blue shirts and leather vests against heavily armored storm troopers in the tight quarters of their ship. The intensity only increased when the heavy breathing dark menace, Vader, enters through the hole in the hull.

“Star Wars” blew me a way and opened my mind to possibilities I had never considered before. Always creative, always a dreamer, suddenly my wildest fantasies, fueled by my fascination with NASA’s space program, became real possibilities for me – maybe not for today, maybe not for tomorrow, but some day. I wanted to walk on the moon, launch in a space ship, float among the stars, visit alien planets. Even in other activities, my dreams filled my mind. When I went gliding in the alps on the engine-less glider plane, floating silently on air as we descended back down to the pad where we’d launched into the air on a giant bungee, my thoughts were of space. Was that what it would feel like on a space ship with silence all around? Was the abruptness of the launch similar to what it would be like to ride a rocket?

In high school, I had the opportunity to visit the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson and see actual NASA craft, experience astronaut training simulations, touch moon rocks and buy NASA souvenirs. The brief NASA Adopt-An-Astronaut Program allowed me to communicate with the first shuttle pilot, read about their mission, and feel personally involved. When astronaut Steve Hawley, formerly married to Sally Ride, visited my high school, his family ties to my church youth pastor allowed me closer contact and the thrill of shaking an astronaut’s hand and asking the silly questions he’d heard dozens of times that I wanted to hear answers for with my own ears.

So the first of my five reasons why science fiction and fantasy are important to me is that they opened my life to possibilities which had only seemed far fetched before I discovered them. They made me believe the hope of possibilities was a viable thing to dream about and affirmed my sense of wonder.

One of the few movies and televisions shows my father and I could enjoy together was the 1978 animated “The Hobbit,” based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel which had exploded in the 1970’s with its release to mass market paperback. Where as the “Star Wars” books were my first science fiction reads, “The Hobbit” became my first fantasy read. I devoured the book, even though I was so young I couldn’t grasp a lot of it. Soon I was reading fan magazines, checking out other books, and making up my own stories.

I became a fan of Alan Dean Foster because his “Splinter Of The Mind’s Eye” allowed me to revisit the Star Wars universe between films in a book almost like the movies. Since then I have read many more of his movie adaptations and original books, and he continues to be one of my favorite writers.

I discovered Robert Silverberg and Orson Scott Card, my two top favorites, when family members gifted me “Lord Valentine’s Castle” and “Ender’s Game” and insisted I read them. Having never heard of them, I was reluctant at first. I’d always been a picky consumer, wanting to feel confident of the likelihood I would enjoy a book or movie before investing time in it. Both books blew my mind, and since I’ve bought almost everything I can get a hold of from both authors and devoured each the same. I’ve reread both those books and experienced that thrill of first discovery all over again, then shared them with friends so they could experience it, too.

The second reason why science fiction and fantasy are important to me then is the bonds they’ve allowed me to create with friends and family. They’ve helped bring our dreams and lives together in exciting, unexpected and enriching ways, allowing us to share our wildest dreams and celebrate our future hopes.

In working in television and film and as a writer in my adulthood, I’ve heard many stories about how science fiction and fantasy have influenced not only writers of other genres, but even the development of technology. NASA once sent experts to the set of the original “Star Trek” series to discover how the producers made the doors slide open and shut when actors entered and departed rooms. The producers actually had a crewman behind the doors manually sliding them over, but today there are many doors designed to do just that in everything from office buildings to vessels. Are they exactly like the “Star Trek” doors, no, but they are modeled after the possibility. Seeing the “Star Trek” creator’s view of future possibilities inspired others to dream of how they could bring those possibilities to life and changed our world, the third reason why science fiction and fantasy are important to me.

I will always remember the first time I turned to the Sci-Fi Channel and discovered the new “Battlestar Galactic.” I had certainly heard of it, but like many fans of the original, had not liked what I’d heard about the “reinvention” and changes made by the new writers. To my great dismay, I loved it. It was darker and more serious than the original had ever strived to be, but it also provided an amazing commentary on our times, examining political and moral issues being faced at this moment in countries around the world. Like the original “Star Trek,” under the guise of “science fiction,” the new “Battlestar” was able to confront issues head on which most writers would never dare to.

The result was a compelling and inspiring television series, and one of the most respected and admired speculative fiction series ever created. So my fourth reason why science fiction and fantasy are important to me is that they can speak to issues in our own world and cultures in ways that contemporary works cannot, forcing us to think about things in a new light and consider possibilities we would never accept if they weren’t presented as “other world” instead of our own.

The final reason why science fiction and fantasy are important to me is that without the possibility of dreams and imagination, my life would have been unhappy and incomplete.

My dreams and imagination have taken me from a small Kansas town to the tribal villages of Africa, from the slums of Rio De Janeiro to the cobblestone streets of Europe and everywhere in between. Without being a dreamer, I would have never lived the life of risks I have lived in the thirty-two years since I discovered “Star Wars.” I would never have worked in film and television, written stories and scripts, released three CDs and a national single, or toured the world to speak, teach and sing. Some of those dreams had never occurred to me in Kansas, while others were the same ones my colleagues and classmates laughed at and mocked when I first mentioned them.

Ironically, at our 10th High School reunion, they all seemed to know where I’d been and what I’d been doing and instead of laughter, offered their admiration. I’d lived the life I said I’d wanted to. I chased my dreams and even caught some of them. None of that would have happened, if science fiction and fantasy hadn’t taught me to dream. And there are many others just like me.

Favorite Speculative Fiction

Published on by Bryan

For those curious or just looking for good reads, here are some of my speculative fiction favorites in no particular order:

Robert Silverberg, Majipoor Books (Lord Valentine’s Castle is one of my all time favorites but there are 6 more and numerous short stories from this master)

Stephen R. Donaldson, Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (the first three thrilled me in high school. I have yet to read the latest but I have them in my queue)

David Eddings, The Elenium and Tamuli books (3 of each and great storytelling)

Robert Jordan, Wheel of Time (Just getting started on this one but a great read so far, 12 total)

Terry Goodkind, Sword of Truth series (12 total, just getting started as well, but the basis of one of my favorite TV Shows “Legend Of The Seeker”)

Orson Scott Card, Ender series (still catching up on the latest ones, but great reads and highly influential)

Timothy Zahn, Thrawn series (5 books, great Star Wars reads; almost like watching a movie, a better movie than Lucas’ last three)

Timothy Zahn, Quadrail series (4 books from a master of space action, suspense)

Ken Scholes, Psalms of Isak (5 total, 2 are out. I can’t wait for the others)

Jay Lake, Clockwork Earth series (3 books so far, good steampunk adventures)

George RR Martin, Song of Ice and Fire (4 so far, but more coming. Great read)

If you are a fan of specfic, I’d be surprised if you didn’t enjoy any of those on this list.

Review: Spellwright by Blake Charlton

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If you haven’t met Nicodemus Weal, you should. He’s the kind of character that will touch your heart and change your perspective.

A brilliant debut by a talented writer, Spellwright‘s story is all the more intriguing because it parallels the author’s own struggles with dyslexia. The story of Nicodemus Weal, a dyslexic apprentice wizard who becomes hunted by several factions when it’s thought he could be the long awaited Halcyon, who will bring unity and power to defeat the dark forces threatening their world. Others fear he could instead be the storm Petrel who will bring destruction. So Nicodemus finds himself on the run, wondering who he is and who to trust.

Spellwright takes place in a well crafted and interesting world where words are not just communication but a force to be reckoned with. They can be harvested as weapons or shields by those with the gift of magic who learn to control them. The journey of Nico and his mentor, Magister Shannon, grabs hold of you and never lets go, taking you on a fascinating and compelling ride.

The background of author Blake Charlton (http://www.blakecharlton.com/) is as unique and interesting as that of his main character. On his own website he writes:

As a child, severe dyslexia placed me in special education for most of elementary school. Only with the support of my saintly parents did I improve enough to be mainstreamed into a normal fourth-grade classroom. I was still pulled out for remediation in half of the classes. Each year, I just barely advanced to the next grade. At twelve years old, I still couldn’t read a book by myself.

But his parents were persistent and began reading fantasy to him: Robert Jordan, Terry Brooks, Tad Williams… As his interest grew, they began to read to Blake less and less, faking sore throats or other ailments, but always leaving the books behind. Blake writes:

I became obsessed with fantasy. I snuck Robert Jordan and Robin Hobb paperbacks into special ed study hall and read them under my desk when I was supposed to be completing spelling drills. My grades improved only marginally, but my height increased exponentially. The football coach at a local high-powered private academy noticed this and helped me get into his school. About that time I started reading science fiction (Frank Herbert, Orson Scott Card, etc.) and discovered more classical fantasy: Grandpa Tolkien, John Gardner, Ursula K. LeGuin, and Mary Stewart. Suddenly school wasn’t so bad: I discovered that Shakespeare and Spenser weren’t so different from Tolkien, chemistry not far off from alchemy, physics the closest thing to magic. Though I still loved football, I began to live to put my nose in books.

But this dyslexic child went on to graduate from Yale Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, with distinction in the major and Trumbull College awarded him the John Spangler Nicholas Scholarship. His fascination with reading fantasy and science fiction, soon fed his creativity and he began writing. A college dean encouraged him to take time out upon seeing an early draft of Spellwright. And in 2006 Tor, seeing promise in Spellwright, offered Blake a three-book deal. Stanford Medical School, seeing the value of a career in writing and medicine, offered him admission.

Since then, Blake’s completed the preclinical years of medical school and taken the US Medical Licensing Examination. During that time, he twice rewrote Spellwright, while Stanford provided financial support in the form of a Medical Scholars Research Fellowship to write fiction.

But overcoming his own disability still wasn’t enough. In addition to his desire to help people through medicine, Blake has been an English teacher, a learning disability tutor and a football coach. His passion for learning disabled kids is part of his inspiration for Nicodemus Weal and Spellwright‘s story of the power to overcome any struggle and succeed.

Blake is preparing his draft of the followup Spellbound to turn into the publisher shortly and it should be out by the end of year. Maybe he’ll give me an early review copy, if not, I know I’ll be waiting outside the story.

A great read, a unique world, a fun adventure. Spellwright is highly recommended.

Sharks in Publishing

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I just got an exciting email this past week: an anthology wanted to publish one of my own favorite short stories. Having not yet made a professional sale in fiction (so far I have had fiction work only appear in ezines) and given that he was paying the professional rate, I was naturally excited. Until he broke the terms out. He wants me to hand over the copyright to DE (his company) and that’s for life. He wants to have his editor rework my story to meet his needs with no input from me (I did negotiate and finally got him to agree to give me approval), and he wants to restrict my sale of the story in the future unless he gets paid.

I have submitted to a lot of professional fiction and nonfiction markets. This is the first time I was ever asked to give up a copyright. I sent out the question to three groups I am involved with, including American Christian Fiction Writers. The combined membership of the groups is easily several hundred. Of the fifty responses I got within an hour, only one person had ever been asked to give up copyright and she had refused. Another friend told me it is unethical to even ask.

DE’s reasons were to protect his investment in the anthology he was creating. He wanted total control so he could market it. When I offered him First Serial Rights and Electronic Rights, he told me that was archaic and the way of the past. He was working in the way of the future. If he’s able to foretell the future, that is indeed impressive, but every fiction market I research online still asks for the rights I offered, never copyright. Not even book publishers ask for that. So I guess he’s the only one who’s really hip and ahead of his time then.

I pulled the story and refused to agree unless he changed terms, so I lost a nice pay check and a chance to be published. It made for a depressing day, but imagine what would happen if one of my favorite stories was suddenly in demand by Hollywood for a film or TV production and I didn’t own it. If I wanted to someday do a collection of my short stories (if I ever do sell any and become respected enough) and couldn’t use this one. Imagine if someone wanted to give me an award and include it in their award anthology and I couldn’t allow that?

DE justified this additionally by saying he was buying stories from Indian writers for $10 each and was offering me thirty times that, so he was treating me more fairly and helping me get exposure. Well he’s exploiting the Indians and he wanted to exploit me, because this is his first publication venture. He has no track record, no distribution and isn’t even sure which stories he’ll end up using and whether it will be print or ebook. The more we emailed, the more I realized he doesn’t know what he’s doing, and that made me even more convinced I’d be a fool to turn over my intellectual property rights to him.

To all you writers out there, it sucks to lose a sale. I get that, believe me. But don’t get so desperate you lose your self-respect and sell out. It’s not worth it, and it will come back to haunt you. Take my advice and those of lawyers and others and stand up for yourself. I hope someone else buys this story, because I really like it. But at least if they buy it, it will be from me and not someone else.

Wouldn’t you prefer it that way with your stories?

For what it’s worth…

My Health Care Plan

Published on by Bryan

Since I wear my heart and my opinions on my sleeve, most people probably already know that I am not a fan of Obama or Obama Care. There are many reasons for this, most related to the fact that I believe the Judeo Christian values this country was founded on, and which even the non-religious Founding Fathers respected and endorsed, are being lost. Obama seems to be proponent of things which move us further from that, so I don’t like him and I don’t like other Liberals with those leanings. It has absolutely nothing to do with race. I rejoice with our country that we finally have a long overdue black President. I just wish it was a different one.

That being said, my issues with Obama Care are more complicated. I believe we need to lower the cost of health care, and I believe the chief culprits for it being out of control are drug companies and insurance companies. Having recently had to deal with both closely as my wife was hospitalized and has required long term medication, and having seen my dad deal with them for over 40 years as a physician, I have had a front row seat to their antics. The people who are executives at these firms are some of the richest in the world, let there be no doubt. They sit up there raking in profits while enjoying making us squirm by making it as expensive to buy their products (drug cos) and difficult to get insurance to pay for as they can.

At the same time, they put out drugs with serious side effects when they know how to make them without them. The samples drug reps give doctors which they sometimes give to you to try out, for example. Ever wonder why those don’t give you side effects? Because they are pure, and the ones they sell you are filtered down with additives. This way they can claim to sell you the same product while manufacturing it more cheaply. And this is perfectly ethical and approved by the FDA. So gee, the government should take over health care, huh? Yeah, the government will do it better than they did before, sure.

Insurance companies love red tape. They love to come up with all kinds of small print rules which make it difficult to get your meds on time, etc. My wife was running out of a very serious medication and they said we had to wait seven more days for a refill. I had to pay $16 per pill to get the pills we needed to tide her over. All of this because the doctor had changed her perscription dosage mid-month. The insurance company gave me the run around over several phone calls. I wasted probably four hours of my time with them and more with the pharmacy before someone finally explained the truth. And these are people I pay a lot of money to annually for services. If I ran my business like they do, I’d be bankrupt, yet here we are, allowing them to offer bad service to the public while raising premiums every year.

So, I do think we need to regulate insurance and drug companies. That’s where Health Care Reform starts for me. As far as the indigent and uninsured, I think we should have a public health care plan anyone without insurance is required to use. I think they should also be assessed copays based on income requirements, since some uninsured people just don’t have it because they choose not to, rather than because they’re poor. Rich people, for example, don’t see the need because they are rich. Fine, let them go to public hospitals and wait in line with the rest of the uninsured. We need to have a plan for the uninsured, no doubt, because that also contributes to rising costs, but not at the expense of giving the government control of private medical decisions for those of us who pay thousands a year for insurance.

A friend in England tweeted me recently to say how sad he was to see the US moving toward government health care. He’s dealt with it all his life in England and said now that he needs more serious treatment, he’s not allowed because the government doesn’t want to pay. So he is stuck getting sub-par treatment from government health care. Does that really sound better to you? I think a lot of these pro-Obama Care people will find themselves facing such frustrations. And I have no doubt they’ll be calling the system biased or racist or discriminatory when they do. Even though, if they just did research, they’d realize this kind of thing is what they asked for.

As for the socialism claim, socialism is defined as follows by dictionary.com: “a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.” Isn’t that what we are doing when we give control of health care to the government? So why are the Dems crying out at the unfairness of calling it “socialism,” when it fits the definition?

And if we allow the government to control one thing, soon they will want to control another. It’s amusing to me that a party which loves to complain about “intolerance” are so intolerant of those who disagree with them. What I’ve found over they years is that most people who call others “intolerant” don’t want tolerance, they want agreement. If you don’t agree with them, you’re intolerant.

We seem to have lost respect for free speech, a value which has made this country one of the most successful and most admired in the world. Or used to. When people see abortion clinics bombed, government officials threatened, people wanting to declare themselves independent of the government–among other ridiculous responses I’ve seen to health care–why would they admire us? We don’t even respect free speech in practice when we do things like that. Who would want to live in a country with citizens who can’t handle the government doing things they don’t like? Citizens of most other countries deal with that all the time. They don’t need to come here where people get so riled up by it, they act like spoiled children.

We also seem to have forgotten that we have a lot more in common than different. We all want health, happiness, security, stability. If we really want what we say we want, we should do a better job of working together to find solutions which can really provide that for all of us. Would it take compromise? Of course. How do you think the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were written? Ou Founding Fathers’ writings reveal they didn’t always agree, but they acted together to hash out a compromise to serve the betterment of the nation, and, in the process, founded one of the most successful nations on earth, one most other countries admire in one way or another or have.

We have forgotten the principles on which this country was founded and what they require of us. Our quest for “me first” individualism has led us to become so self-centered, we only want what we want and forget about everyone else. Our current political and social climate are evidence of this, and if we don’t honestly admit it and start making changes, America won’t be America any more.

For what it’s worth…

Harry Potter

Published on by Bryan

Okay, I am well aware I am behind the game, and I’ve never read the books, but I have seen all six Harry Potter movies. As a guy who’s started writing speculative fiction and has a Young Adult book planned, I felt a responsibility to be familiar with the most popular fantasy series released in the past decade. One disclaimer though: because I have yet to read any of the books, I cannot speak to the author’s work but I will talk about the filmmakers.

It should be noted that Chris Columbus is one of my favorite directors and writers. His films like “Home Alone” and “Mrs. Doubtfire” have entertained me over and over again. And although I have no idea what was cut from the book, the first two films really worked for me. They were tightly written and engaging, getting you into the story quickly and moving things along.

Alfonso Cuarón’s “Prisoner of Azkaban” was weaker but still engaging and entertaining. It was at the next film, “Goblet Of Fire,” where things started to go downhill. I don’t know if Mike Newell has issues with editing or if he just tried to do it himself, but “Goblet” was too long and took way too long to get going. It was at least 45 minutes into the movie before I got interested in what was going on, and that is way too long. The only reason I didn’t just skip it was a feeling I needed to watch each film to get the others after that. But I shut off the DVD this time with none of the satisfaction the earlier films had provided.

“Order Of The Phoenix” and “Half Blood Prince” also left me wishing they’d been done by Columbus instead of someone else. They just needed a steadier touch by a filmmaker like Columbus or even Cuarón who knows how to make mainstream blockbusters. The lack of such direction was obvious and, ultimately, unsatisfying. Which is too bad, because people are so passionate about the books and even the movies. They deserved better.

I will also say that length was an issue, particularly for later films. My friends who read the books tell me they cut a lot, but I don’t think they cut enough. Some of the beginning stuff was so long and dragged out that the real hook of the story takes forever to occur, and while that may work in novels, it is not good filmmaking. Surely even JK Rawlings must understand that they are different mediums, and, as a result, many things must be handled differently. Unfortunately, these films suffered from the same syndrome as many Hollywood releases these days, filmmakers unable to separate from their own babies and vision and make a film for audiences and not themselves. It is a wonder so many kids could sit through these. I truly wonder at what point their attention spans gave out. I know mine gave out a number of times, and I broke up most of the later films into sectional viewings as a result.

Those who love the films and books will likely disagree with me, and perhaps some filmmakers will as well, but as a person who went to film school and made television and films for a while, I can tell you my perspective is much more subjective than it was during that period. Audiences want hooky, entertaining films that move along, make them laugh, make them feel, and then end with a good satisfaction. For me, the Harry Potter films could have done this better.

I hope the books do when I read them. For what it’s worth…

Up and running

Published on by Bryan

Sorry for the 12 day delay between postings, but I wrote the first postings while I was still designing the website and waited until it went live to start coming here regularly. Thanks to all who have so far responded to the site design. I do hope it’s helpful and easy to navigate as you have said. We will soon be adding an interview I did on another blog as well as links to another devotional and published story out next month.

In the meantime, I just finished watching Season 1 of “Legend of The Seeker,” a series I discovered mid-second season, unfortunately. Well written, well acted, and well shot. Best fantasy show I can remember seeing, and if “The Game Of Thrones” on HBO is this good, I will have to get back my HBO and set the DVR like I do for “Seeker”. As quality a show as “Battlestar Galactica,” although as a social commentary, “Seeker” is far less intense. It’s really more about entertainment. It also stars Bridget Regan, whom I think is one of the most beautiful actresses on TV today. Yvonne Strahovski from “Chuck” is the other (yes, a blonde and a brunette — I am equal opportunity).

The show also has a good sense of humor to it. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, and although it’s from the people who made “Xena” and “Hercules,” it has none of the cheese that kept me from enjoying or watching either of those. If you’re a fantasy fan, I highly recommend you check it out. It is syndicated, so you’ll have to check local listings to find it. In El Paso, it’s on channel 15 and new episodes air Sundays at 8 MST.

I also bought my plane ticket to ConQuest 41 in Kansas City at the end of May. I am looking forward to my first scifi convention and the writer’s workshop especially. I sent in the first 50 pages of “The Worker Prince,” which I am marketing, and hope they can help me improve it even more. I also hope to meet George R.R. Martin, and Terri Weiskopf of Baen who will be there, maybe even some agents and others. My author friends all tell me how important it is to make contacts there, so I hope it pays off for me as well. I will only be able to afford three conferences at most this year.

For the others, I hope to attend the North American science fiction conference in August and World Fantasy at the end of October. It’s the money that’s the issue, but if things go well with an anthology and magazine interested in two of my stories, I can use the income from that to buy those memberships and use frequent flyer miles for at least one of the tickets.

In any case, that’s the latest from me. I’ll try and keep blogging three times a week or more as needed. I hope you enjoy reading and will take the time to correspond with me as we grow together.

For what it’s worth…

Review: Lamentation by Ken Scholes

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One of the things I want to do from time to time is review books by other authors which I have really enjoyed.

The first such entry is Lamentation, Book 1 in the Psalms of Isak, by my friend Ken Scholes.

A mix of fantasy and science fiction, Lamentation tells the story of the Named Lands, home to the survivors of a great destruction. When the great city of Windwir is suddenly destroyed, and the Named Lands’ library and repository of knowledge with it, the leaders of the provinces find themselves on the brink of war. Accusations fly about who caused the destruction. While some seek retribution, others seek restoration, and still others just want to make sense of what’s happened. Across the miles, they initiate their plots, each seeking to protect him or herself and her people and their lands.

This is epic fantasy at its finest but no sorcery or dwarves or elves. Scholes has created his own world and people, one that we’ve never seen before, and populated it with characters like us. They draw us in and capture our hearts, making us care deeply about what happens to them.

Scholes uses a variety of points of view throughout, with short, tight scenes that keep the pace compelling. I found his voice unique and his story compelling. His prose is haunting and captures you, pulling you along with it for the ride. His world building and characterization are also top notch. In fact, it was difficult to pick a favorite: Rudolfo, leader of the famed Gypsy Scouts from the Ninefold Forests; Petronus, the former pope who faked his own death and disappeared; Jae Lin Tam, faithful daughter who’s sacrificed her body and spirit in the service of her father’s political goals; Neb, illegitimate son of a monk, who watched Windwir explode and his father and whole world with it. Or perhaps it would be Isak, the metal man, keeper of the last remnant of knowledge, and possessor of a dark secret about the destruction of Windwir. Each have their own arc and history, compellingly brought together in conflict and friendship by the events which unfold.

The book has drawn impressive praise, too. New York Times bestselling speculative fiction author Orson Scott Card wrote: “This is the golden age of fantasy, with a dozen masters doing their best work. Then along comes Ken Scholes, with his amazing clarity, power, and invention, and shows us all how it’s done.” Card liked it so much, he participated in a reading of the book voicing characters.

Analog calls Scholes “one of the best writer’s you’ve never heard of,” and Editor/Publisher Jonathan Strahan said “it has the chance of standing as an important book in the evolution of the epic fantasy form…a delight…a book that readers are very likely to take to heart. it’s one of the best fantasies I’ve read in some time.”

Two of the books are out, and I’ve read them both, and I can’t wait until Antiphon comes out this fall. I wish they’d hurry up and get the others out. My only complaint is that Scholes needs to write faster or maybe just concentrate. I told Ken I am jealous of his first readers. But he’s not talking, I have to wait like everyone else lucky enough to have discovered Scholes’ saga with baited breath!

If you have tired of high fantasy or other forms you’ve seen done time and again, no matter how well, give Ken Scholes’ series a try. It’s fantastic and well worth the effort. I can’t recommend it enough.

So You Wanna Be A Writer…

Published on by Bryan

I get asked a lot about how to become a writer. What advice would I give?

Two things: Write every day, Read every day.

If you want to be a writer, you can’t just think about it. As much fan as sitting around daydreaming ideas is, if you don’t write them down, you aren’t a writer, you’re a dreamer. Write daily. Set aside specific time for it. Because of my day job, I usually write weeknights around 6 or 7 for an hour or two. On Saturdays, I write in the morning, on Sundays, in the afternoon. Write something, good or bad. I set a page goal of between 4 and 10 pages, but many days I write twice that.

You can only become better by writing, so don’t worry too much about quality. You can always throw it away and not share it with anyone and you can always revise it to make it better. If you never have anything to start with though, you can’t do either, so write.

I suggest you read daily. Read good books, read bad books. You can learn as much or more from the bad ones as the good ones about craft. And don’t just read books about writing or books in the genres you like most and/or want to write. Read everything you can get ahold of. I writ primarily science fiction and fantasy, and I do read a lot of both, but I also read Nicholas Sparks (romance), WEB Griffin (military, thriller), John Grisham (legal thriller), Stephen King (horror), John Jakes (historical), Robert Ludlam (suspense) and a lot more. Every writer has something to teach me, and I use all of it. If I write a romantic storyline as part of my scifi or fantasy, I use what I learn from writers like Nicholas Sparks. If I write suspense, Robert Ludlam, John Grisham or WEB Griffin come to mind. You get the idea. The more tools you have in your arsenal, the better writer you will be.

As far as books on craft, here are my top recommendations:

Writing The Breakout Novel by Donald Maass
The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman
Narrative Technique by Thomas Uzzell (out of print and old, but worth finding at a library or used online)
Writer’s Market Guide by Writer’s Digest Books
Novel & Short Story Writers’ Market Guide by Writer’s Digest Books
Christian Writer’s Market Guide by Sally Stuart
A Guide to Book Publishers, Editors and Agents by Jeff Herman
Creating Character Emotions by Ann Hood

and the Elements of Fiction Writing series by Writer’s Digest Books. They have books by successful authors on topics such as Plot, Dialogue, Description, Scene and Structure and more, which I have found very helpful in learning my craft and you will, too.

Above all, write and get readers to critique it. Critique groups can be especially helpful in this. Your Mom and your friends will not tell you what you most need, unless they’re writers or editors at a professional level. You need good feedback to help you grow. Take the feedback, rewrite, and send it out again. Rejection is part of the game, and, yes, it hurts, but if you don’t get feedback you can’t get better, and if you don’t get better, you’ll never make a professional sale.

Lastly, never write for money. Write because you have something to say and you have to get it out. Write what you know, write what you love, and never stop believing in yourself. No one else can write it like you. No one else can write it but you. Your voice and your work are unique. If you work hard enough and stay strong, you’ll get read and you may even change lives.