Evolution Of An Idea

Idea’s, I have plenty. Idea’s for short stories, idea’s for novellas, novels, screenplays, flash fiction. But – as a great writer once said – to have an idea is not enough, no matter how good the idea. The trick is to formulate that idea into something less foglike, turn it into a solid thing, a thing that can be picked up, tinkered with, polished, perfected, made into something other’s would like to get on board with and maybe – someday – look round and say “hey, that’s a great idea.”

Idea’s, what to do with them? Plot and plan, sit and make a spreadsheet, detailing every nuance, every minute details down to what colour thong your protagonist is where today? Or just run with them, see where they take you as they whoop and holler across the fields of your imagination. I’ve never been that much of a planner, I’ve tried, sat and worked out what the characters are like, their stories, their histories. But then part way in I get that feeling that instead of spending time doing this I could actually be writing. Everyone ha their own way of doing it, their own rituals that have to be performed in exactly the right order so as to raise the story from the ooze. My way – like most of my life – is to just wing it.

Life In The Fastlane – my current main WiP – started life as a short story, a military steampunk with ingredients from SF and fantasy. An alternate history of the mid-20th century. But after submitting it to several magazines – and getting rejected but some nice feedback – it started to become more than a self contained story. The characters were crying out for release, their world began breaking the bounds of just over 6,000 words and demanding to procreate. So it was the short story became part one of a bigger story and the idea began to evolve.

It wasn’t a conscious effort, I didn’t find myself sitting for hours working out which direction to go. I made adjustments to the initial short story – which is now out with beta readers – and dived headlong into part two. It was this headlong dive that became a bit of a marathon, resulting in part two surpassing part one in words and character view points. As of the end of March part two is nearly complete – well the first draft is – and is bordering on a novella all on its own. I already know where to go in part three, but I have no map to take me there, I’ll be jumping on that wing again.

Where am I going with this? Nowhere, I’m rambling, making my inner thoughts public. I feel it helps to vent every now and then. But I just wanted to get it out there, feel some sort of release. With parts 1 & 2 almost in the bag part 3 is the biggy, its the one that could make or break the whole project. I’m entering into unknown territory, beyond 25,000 words territory.

But I have an idea I know how this will play out, I just hope it’s an idea people can get on board with.

 

 

So, February…

A day early but…

So February…

Another month down, ten more to go until I hit the big 50; so what did February do for me?

BOOKS

Quite a mixed bag this month…

First up there was Space Danger: The Deadly Planet of DEATH by Doug Strider. I had an early look in on this as Doug (who I’ve known on Twitter for about a year) asked me to beta read for him. Great little novella, with funny settings, characters and a story that whips along nicely. If you like Douglas Adams & Terry Pratchett you’ll like this.

Man to Man by D.E.M. Emrys is a tight short story about a grizzled warrior who just wants to get on with his life and forget his past. But the past doesn’t stay away for long.

The Alchemist of Souls by Anne Lyle, you can see my review below this post.

 

Still reading…

Dreams and Shadows by Robert Cargill is a quirky read, shades of Neil Gaimen so I’ve been told (never read him so will have to take their word for that). If you like stories about creatures that live unseen alongside the “real” world, this is for you.

Ack-Ack Macaque by Gareth L Powell is brilliant so far. Funny and gripping, plus who can’t love a foul mouthed, cigar chomping, booze swilling one-eyed gun totting monkey.

TV & MOVIES

Still keeping up with The Following (Sky Atlantic), though I do fear it’s in danger of over arcing itself. Nearly mid-way through S1 and the tank is being filled with water, the shark is on its way and the bike prepped for the jump. This show is in danger of losing itself in its own backstory, too many flashbacks (memories of LOST) and not enough answers. It needs to either give something back to the viewer in the way of answers, or have the bad guy’s cock-up once in a while. The whole “everything is pre-planned” theme its using is wearing thin and getting to the point of being unbelievable (how can Carroll – who is in prison and has been for years – know Hardy will be somewhere/do something at a set time so he can counteract it).

Halfway into the re-watch of S2 of Game of Thrones (Sky Atlantic), still by far the best thing on TV by far. S3 is only a few weeks away, there will be blood, and dragons. Ripper Street (BBC1) is still gripping stuff, dark and brutal and my hat goes off to the BBC for not toning it down in any way.

Went to the flicks this month and caught A Good Day To Die Hard. Bruce is still king, yes it was corny, yes it was OTT, but hey – Yippe Kiyay Mother Russia.

WRITING

Slight downer with the writing this month, all the short stories I had out in the big bad world have now come back with rejection slips. Very disheartening, but it goes with the territory. I’m already looking at other outlets to send them to.

The TV script has been put on hold; hit a few snags that need ironing out so looks like I may miss the BBC Writers Room Spring window.

Prepping is all done on the post apocalyptic novel, and the alternate history one.

Current full on WIP is a short story I wrote a year ago that I’m re-working into a novella or (possible) novel. Part one is out with beta readers, part two is about a third wrote. Not rushing it, still trying to keep to my writing plan of having a finished novel by the end of the year.

So, January

So that was January, first month of 2013, eleven months until I hit the big 50. So what did it mean for me?

BOOKS

I finished Great North Road by Peter F Hamilton. This was the first of his books I’d read outside of the Commonwealth Saga. It was enjoyable, though I did find some sections overblown and there seemed (to me) to be a lot of filler.

I also read Redshirts by John Scalzi. I was expecting something more along the lines of Galaxy Quest, if that was what he was heading for then it fell well short of the mark for me. There were some funny moments, but I did not have any of the laugh-out-loud moments some of the reviewers seemed to have enjoyed.

I was back on familiar territory with Bait Dog by Chuck Wendig (a double bill of the novella Shotgun Gravy & the novel Bait Dog). Familiar as in I know what Chuck is about, have  a pretty good idea of how he works. Though I will be honest and say I was surprised by the intensity of this one. Also it was Chuck without any psychic or vampiric powers. A hard hitting story of bullies, racists and sadists. Not for the faint of heart.

Just finished (last night) Apocalypse: Year Zero, a collection of four novellas that center of four women who go through life changing, and shattering events – 911, the Boxing Day tsunami, hurricane Katrina and California’s “big one”. The end result of these experiences is they each find they have power over fire, water, wind and earth. And as they slowly come together over the course of the four novella’s it’s revelaed that the Four Horsemen were not men at all.

 

TV & MOVIES

Well actually only TV, I did intend to go and see The Hobbit for a second time but never got round to it. TV wise I’m now a proud subscriber to Sky TV, and boy am I a happy bunny. Watched Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior (available on Alibi) staring the brilliant Forrest Whitaker. Some pretty hard, brutal stuff in there. Also been watching Ripper Street (BBC1) set in Victorian London in the months after the Ripper killings. Dark, gritty and no holds barred, it also stars Gerome Flynn who seems intent on carving out a niche for himself as a hard as nails character actor (he’s also the brilliant Bronn in Game Of Thrones)

This week started watching The Following (Sky Atlantic) staring Kevin Bacon. Ex-FBI agent brought out of retirement to bring down an escaped serial killer. It has echoes of Red Dragon but an interesting twist is the serial killer has amassed a following, he’s been creating serial killers, he has (possibly) an army of them. Its not for the faint of heart (especially episode 1′s Ice Pick lady scene) but looks to have the makings of a gripping drama.

I also received my DVD of Dredd, watched it and still think its a brilliant stab at bringing the iconic character to the screen. Its just a shame it bombed at the cinema and so highly unlikely and sequels will be forthcoming.

 

WRITING

Some sad news last week when I received an email telling me that Pill Hill Press has closed. Pill Hill gave me my first break, published my first short story. On top of that I have another story accepted by them that was due to be in their next anthology. But there was a sliver lining, Miles Boothe – another author and ardent monster hunter – has created Emby Press and intends to honour all submissions made to Pill Hill. So hopefully in a few months the anthology will be released.

I’ve had a short script placed with Twisted Showcase – a web based anthology series (named in the Guardian’s Top 25 web shows in 2012) – for several months now but they have been struggling to fit it into the filming schedule. There was talk of making it as their first animated short, but finding an animator with time on their hands is not easy. Now they are looking into producing it as a comic strip, and if it is successful on the site will be the first of many.

My WIPs are ticking along nicely. I’ve been prepping a post apocalypse novel for a couple of months now which is close to being ready for the start of the first draft. I’ve also finished a treatment for a pilot episode that I will be writing next month. The aim is to have it written, beta read and second drafted by the end of February so I can catch the current BBC Writers Room submissions window. Once that is done I start work on the novel first draft.

I still have four short stories out there in the world waiting on acceptance/declining emails.

 

All in all January was a packed month, February is shaping up to be more of the same.

 

What Made Me, Me – Fantasy and the 1970s

Everyone has to start somewhere, have some moment, some…thing, that put them on the path to where they are now. Inspiration is a wonderful thing, it plants seeds and then lets them grow. Sure sometimes the seed falters, the dreams die, but inspiration is never put off, it has plenty more seeds.

For as long as I can remember I’ve loved reading. Its because of my love of words why I’m now a writer. A writer, me, that feels so good to put down, its something I’ve longed to say for such a long time, and something I thought I’d never get to say. But now I can, I’ve been published, by the end of this year three times. And if the gods are good I’ll be published some more in the years to come.

But I’m veering off, reading, I’ve always loved to read. But where did it all start.

My Dad is a big reader, growing up the house was full of books. He favoured Dennis Wheatley, Frederick Forsyth and Louis L’Amour, quite a mix. He also had an interest in science fiction and fantasy, he wasn’t into it in a big way, a passing attraction when the mood took him. It was through that attraction that I picked up The Savage Sword Of Conan. For someone in their early teens it was mind blowing. There was blood and gore, monsters and wizards, and scantily clad women that Conan had to regularly rescue.

It was my first experience of grow-up storytelling. It opened my eyes to a whole new world, a world that was dark and dangerous, full of exotic locations and people. I drank every copy in, read and re-read them. My bedroom became a store room, piles of comics ranked along one wall. From the comic I’d also progressed to the books, albeit the heavily edited and re-written books of L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter.

For many years I collected and read the full collection, for all those years I thought I was reading the works of Robert E. Howard, I know different now. The books were the work of de Camp and Carter, based on Howard’s work, characters and ideas.  But despite that I loved them, and in time like the comics, I’d read and re-read them until the books were nearly falling apart. I’m happy to say now that I’m the proud owner of The Complete Chronicles Of Conan: Centenary Edition.

The seed had been well and truly planted, the worlds of wizards, warriors and things from the dark beyond had me by the throat and wasn’t letting go. But then, through a friend, I came upon a book – well three books but they are usually viewed as one – that blew me away on so many levels.

The Fellowship Of The Ring, The Two Towers, The Return Of The King, collectively known as The Lord Of The Rings. Nothing I’d read before prepared me for what I found within those pages. I was still in my teens – the downhill stretch – and I was lost in the wilds with Frodo, Sam, Pippin, Merry and Strider.

Howard’s Conan is a pulp classic, its raw storytelling is simplistic but to the point. JRR Tolkien on the other hand was creating history – a made up history – but history all the same. From these pages I learned depth, character, layered storytelling. All tools that helped me later in life. Alongside that it made me hungry for the epic story, the sort of stories that you’d devote months of your life to reading.

It was only a short leap from the War of The Ring to The Silmarillion. If Rings was epic, then this was megalithic. I know some fans of Tolkien who have never managed this mammoth book, too long winded, too complicated with its Elvish names and pages of songs. I managed it, in fact I’ve read it three times. Not saying I understand it all, but I managed to follow.

 I followed Tolkien with something very similar, so similar in fact I at first thought it was a parody.

I’ll say right now I’m not a fan of Terry Brooks epic tale of elves, dwarves, trolls and a future post apocalyptic world. I’ve only ever read the initial trilogy, by the time further books came along I had moved along from fantasy and was soaring through the stars aboard a starship…more of that another time though.

Shannara takes everything it can from Rings (hence my belief it was a parody) and fails to give anything new. Whilst entertaining in itself, its closeness to what went before overshadows the story, the result was I felt myself comparing one with the other and finding the pretender wanting. Like I’ve said, I’ve only ever read the original trilogy, from what I know of the series the followed I would probably like it as a whole. But its doubtful I’ll ever get to read it, the series is so big now.

So that was me in the beginning. The three building blocks that introduced me to the worlds of swords, sorcery and adventure, three authors with differing styles but all with a skill to spin a yarn. My first stumbling attempts at writing were set in the fantasy genre, I had a towering hero, a damsel who needed rescuing, I had quests, monsters and a wizard or two. Most of it was rubbish, no honestly all of it was rubbish, a good proportion of it was probably plagiarism, but it was fun, I was finding my feet, honing what little craft I had at the time.

 

 

 

Tackling A Racist Character

In Gypsy’s Kiss, my current WIP, I’ve come to the point where I have to introduce a character I’ve been uneasy writing about. The character has already featured, but so far has been nameless and voiceless. Now he has come into confrontation with my protagonist and it’s his time to step up and be heard so to speak.

The only thing is this character is not a nice guy, he’s a thug, a killer and foremost a racist. From the WIP title I take I can assume that you know Gypsy’s are involved in my story, and this character has no love for them and has some derogatory things to say about them. But the problem I have is I am uncomfortable writing what he has to say.

I’ve always wondered how other writers have approached this subject? It’s not an easy thing to do, especially when the language involved is alien to you. Now I’m no prude, I swear, I cuss, but I’ve never used racially abusive name calling. I know what the names are, I’ve heard others use them, but using them myself – even within the context of a story – does make me feel uneasy. In the back of my head a voice is saying “what if people think that’s what you really think”, that maybe daft but that’s me.

I have considered dropping the character altogether, or watering him down. But to do that means excising a thread within the story, of the prejudice some people in the world I have created have towards certain sections of society. My protagonist is at odds with this prejudice and that is partly why he is in opposition to this new characters view.

Am I being overly sensitive, should I just take it as read that my readers will accept this is just a character, and not me, saying what is said?

All Rights Reserved  © Philip Norris July 2012

 

Writers – How Do You Do It?

This question is directed more at writers who haven’t hit the big time yet, those that are either just starting out, or have a couple of books under their belts, but still have to get up every morning and go to the day job. Published wise I’m pretty far down on the ladder, in fact the first rung is still above my head. Within the next few months I’ll have three short stories in print, I’ll hopefully have my short story anthology finished and self published on Kindle, and hopefully I’ll have the first draft of my novella done.

But as much as I’m moving forward with my writing career, its still a slow process because I can only dedicate a small proportion of my time to it. I know the world of writing and publishing is slow, it takes time for a writer to develop their style, create engaging characters, get noticed in the first place. But because of working full time I feel I’m moving at a slower pace, there are people I know who were in the same position story-wise as me at the beginning of the year, and are already out there and moving swiftly on with the next thing.

I try to write every night, but sometimes I’m too tired or there is home stuff to be done. I try for a couple of hours at a go. My word rate isn’t that bad, but I feel I could be doing more. I sit at work with plots and characters going round in my head, but cant do anything about it. My note book is constantly out and I’m scribbling away, ready for when I get home later. But still it feels like I’m standing still sometimes.

I’d be interested to hear how other writers with full time jobs manage their schedules, some I know are more hectic than mine, writers that have other commitments outside of work and writing. But they still seem to fit it all in.

 

It’ll Be Up To Us To Judge Dredd

First off let me pin my colours to the mast, I love Judge Dredd. I have done ever since I read the very first story (2000AD Prog #2 if anyone’s wondering) and read him – and the rest of the comic – weekly from 1977 until the late 1980s.

I will further pin my colours to the 1995 Judge Dredd movie staring Sylvester Stallone. Yes it was heavily flawed – drawing from numerous Dredd stories that in the comics spread over a couple of decades, Stallones voice, taking the helmet off – and as a star Stallone was probably the wrong choice. But up until now the 1995 version was the only version to be made, so in some way we should cherish it.

In September, Dredd, the second attempt to get the iconic 2000AD lawman onscreen hits cinemas. This one stars Karl Urban (Lord Of The Rings, Doom, Star Trek) and from the few reports that have been coming out of the production seems to have taken a very different route than the 1995 version.

The script is said to be more adult – one comment I’ve read was along the lines of “think Die Hard crossed with  The Gauntlet and you won’t be far away” – and sticks more closely to the graphic violence depicted in the comic strip. I will admit to have read A script that was leaked online last year. I’m not saying it is the actual script, but will say that if it is – or at least shares the same DNA – then the Die Hard/Gauntlet comparison fits.

Product rumbled along with barely a whisper from writers, actors or anyone linked to the production. There have been a few images showing a grumpy looking Karl Urban wearing a very contemporary looking riot uniform.

This look is miles away from the look  modelled by Stallone 17 years ago.

Which, despite its other flaws, actually sticks closer to the design of Dredd’s uniform from the comic than the new look. Now I know that the uniform as it is in the comics is wholly impractical, top heavy with a shoulder pad on one side and a Eagle emblem on the other. But then everyone knows Batman‘s costume is impractical, but no one has ever thought to redesign it so the person wearing it can actually function.

Uniforms, leading actors and stories aside there is another major difference that has arisen between the two versions of the film, and the source material itself. In the last 24 hours the image above was released, a screen shot depicting Dredd walking out of a building with the view of Mega City One in front of him.

As it stands it is an impressive view, but anyone who has read 2000AD will know that the city is a crazy place, with mile high buildings, walkways, roads, aerial vehicles (pretty much LA from Blade Runner on acid). It is overpopulated – 800 million people – with everyone living on top of each other. Looking at the view above it doesn’t look that crowded, I know its hard to make a judgement when I don’t know in what context this shot is set – I have read that perhaps Dredd is actually on the top level of a building himself so all we are seeing is the tops of the tallest buildings – but it still looks way to…peaceful.

Strangely – again – the 1995 film depicted the city pretty much the same as the comic’s.

So we have two vastly different takes on an iconic character. One was slated by fans and casual observers alike, the other has fans nervous that if the makers screw it up a second time then that’ll be it. At the end of the day it’ll be down to us – the public – to make our minds up whether Dredd (2012) lives up to the expectations heaped upon it. Or whether Judge Dredd (1995)  will be remembered and a valiant if flawed effort and should perhaps be given a second chance.

 

Slow Burn Or Quick Fix?

News broke overnight (UK) that Fox have cancelled fledgling series Alcatraz after one season. The JJ Abrams written show, about the titular island prison and inmates who vanished in the 1960s suddenly re-appearing in the present, had fan backing but didn’t generate the numbers – or excitement – the execs wanted.

This isn’t the first show to be cancelled before it had a chance to get going, and it won’t be the last, but the event did get me thinking about what it now takes to get a series made and keep it on air.

JJ Abrams got a lot of flak for his last big TV series LOST, fans and commentators said the central mysteries went on too long unanswered and when they finally were, the answer wasn’t quite as earth-shattering as it was led to be believed. There are shows out there that seem to have the staying power, Smallville managed ten years before fans got the final – if fleeting – payoff of the iconic shirt-ripping-big S- on-the-chest reveal. Supernatural has just been renewed for its 8th season, Dexter is in its 6th year, Fringe its 4th (although it is already known the 5th season will be the last). So why is it some shows seem to last and others don’t?

I think a lot of it is down the society we now live in. People today are used to instant access, instant results, instant answers. We live our lives in social media where questions and conversations exist within 140 characters. When presented with shows where we are expected to wait years before we get the answer to the big mystery baulks us and we tend to give it a miss. The long running shows I mention above have managed, in varying degrees, to side-step this problem by keeping the series spanning story arc going, but having mini-stories interspersed throughout. They’ve not expected the viewer to give up years of their lives to find out why this happened or why “X” said that.

I like shows that follow a plan, have a story to tell. I suppose I can happily sit and watch a show for 10 years, because I’m from the generation when social media and instant payoffs didn’t exist. For shows to survive beyond their first season – and some sadly barely even managed that – I feel they need to embrace the culture that dominates the world we live in. They need to be a little more forthcoming, give out a little more than they are, trust the viewer to stick around even if we do know some of the answers.

 

Unlike Cylon’s I Don’t Have A Plan

I follow a lot of writers – on Twitter and via various blogs/websites – and most of the articles/posts/tweets are about how their various works are progressing. One main thing mentioned is how well the writing is following the pre-determined plan they created prior to writing the first word. As a writer having a game-plan before I start is something I’ve never managed to achieve.

My writing is haphazard, it flows and changes direction as every conversation, scene, major event occurs. I find planning all that out beforehand hard to envisage. I do have an idea where my story is going, I have the start and the end. What happens in the bits in between is in the laps of the gods.  I primarily write short stories, perhaps that is why I work this way? With a shorter narrative to produce there is little need to plan ahead. If this is true then that is perhaps why I have struggled so much on the two occasions I’ve pushed the limit beyond the standard 8,000 words.

I’ve one completed novel under my belt, it was written for the first Pratchett Prize 18 months or so ago. I topped out at a little over 81,000 words, it never made the cut and I’ve not revisited it since I got the rejection. Just after Christmas I decided to have a look at it and see if anything needed doing, boy, did something need doing. It was all going OK up until about chapter 5 – just over 8,000 words in ironically – when things started going a bit Pete Tong.

Somehow I managed to include a character I’d killed off in chapter two, I also revisited a location that was destroyed – killing said character – without any mention of it being re-built (or allowing for the time it would take to re-build it). As I progressed the story meandered around the central characters in such a way that my the middle I’d given up all hope of understanding what was happening – and I’d wrote the bloody thing.

I’m working at the moment on another novel, so far I’m about six chapters in and over 15,000 words. I’ve spent a lot of time re-reading and re-editing as I go. This has made the first section more fluid and makes it follow the story. But it is time consuming and means I’m writing with a stutter and not getting a good head of steam up.

I suppose what I’m saying is am I doing it wrong by forging ahead without a map? Should I try to get into the plan ahead mindset?

Interestingly there was an article on Joe Abercrombie’s site in May last year along similar lines – you can read it here  
http://www.joeabercrombie.com/2011/05/04/gardening-and-architecture/
 - where he places authors into two categories, architects and gardeners. The architects plan and stick to the plan, and the gardeners go with the flow (or as he says write more organically). So I guess I’m not alone in working this way, just sometimes feels like it, which makes me feel somewhat better. But knowing others work the same doesn’t help get that novel written.

Somebodies following me…

Whilst tinkering around I notice I’ve picked up 177 Twitter followers to my blog. Wow! 177!

I’d just like to take this opportunity to say Hi to you 177 and hope you’ve liked what you’ve seen so far.