The Other New Idea

On Monday, I posted the cover for the first novel in The Wizard in Black series. Part of the lesson for the Covers 101 class was to do a full paperback wrap. Which meant I needed to write the back cover copy/blurb.

Again, the back blurb is something I often have trouble with. Am I giving too much information? Not enough? Is it boring to the reader?

For some time, I'd been tooling with an idea something along the lines of Dashiell Hammett's Nick and Nora Charles, but with a supernatural/mild horror twist a la the old Universal monster movies. So when this artwork popped up on my laptop screen, everything clicked in my imagination.

So, here's the cover for the first Chandler and Lillian Quinn Adventure.

And here's the blurb.

"American archeologist Lillian Kent fought hard to obtain a sponsorship for her dig in Egypt. But rumors swirl when her patron Lord Aventine dies suddenly, and his son Chandler arrives in Cairo with accusations of murder. Lillian finds it’s easier to convince the new Lord Aventine she’s not a murderer than it is to convince him she’s most definitely not his father’s mistress.

Chandler Quinn already lost his father. He’s not about to lose the family fortune to a crazy, over-educated suffragette, who obviously kept Father entertained with her tales of treasure along with Jove knew what other enticements. But there’s something stalking the beautiful American through the streets of Cairo. And maybe, just maybe, her wild tales of what killed his father are true."

Before anyone gets excited, these series may be years down the line. I hate to tell you this, but I actually started writing what became Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse in 2015 while sitting to the student pickup lane at the high school. Yep, the idea started seven years ago.

So, yeah, it doesn't take a whole lot to come up with an idea. It's the execution that takes time.

Already Planning for 2020

Now that the first three books are done--yes, I consider Hero De Novo done because I uploaded the ebook files this afternoon--and I look to be on track for the rest of the year (*fingers crossed*), I'm starting to plan my schedule for 2020.

It's a bit of a scary thought, but only because I've had some trial or disaster fall on me every year from 2013 through 2018. I'm trying really hard not to be negative, but there's a bit of a pattern here.

I already know I want to do Justice #5 and #6. I'm throwing around a few ideas for 888-555-HERO #4. I've got a cover already for a stand alone fantasy that may or may not get turned into a trilogy. There's three more urban fantasy series plotted that were pushed to the wayside because of the flooded urban fantasy market. With Aphosis 99942 (an asteroid) on a close-Earth approach for 2029, it seems a good time to resurrect the series concerning the Egyptian gods. *grin*

Not to mention the ton of ideas for Alter Ego that I set aside when the erotic romance market was flooded by scammers.

That's already more than seven books under consideration for writing and publishing in 2020. That doesn't take into account the writing workshop, where I'll have to write at least a half-dozen short stories three months beforehand, I want to attend in February at Las Vegas.

I'm trying to keep my expectations level, and not get too ahead of myself, but it's awesome to look at so many new projects coming down the pike!

I Don't Need No Stinkin' Writing Prompts!

With NaNoWriMo twelve days away, I'm starting to get e-mails about "WRITE THE NEXT GREAT NOVEL! HERE'S FIVE WRITING PROMPTS TO GET YOU STARTED!"

*facepalm*

I thought briefly about checking the creative writing group that meets at the local library. The showrunner provides a writing prompt, you write for thirty minutes, then share your work with the group.

Uh, I don't think so.

Then there's a writer's meet-up in Lima that's run by a local poet.

Poetry isn't really my cuppa, and not what I do. Not that there's anything wrong with that, as Seinfeld would say. But guess what they do? The proverbial writing prompt isn't going to move me forward as a writer.

Ideas aren't my problem. Hell, a pre-made cover advertised by Alter Ego's new cover artist set off an idea for a super sexy dystopian fairytale fantasy on Tuesday. Needless to say, I bought the cover.

And wrote the blurb and two hundred words before I made myself stop and return to A Modicum of Truth.

Honestly, I don't get how a writer can NOT have ideas. I'm like the flipping dog, distracted by every squirrel that runs by. I CAN'T shut off the flow.

What I have to do is shunt it aside. For me, ideas are like a leaky roof dripping onto my brain. I stick a bucket underneath the leak to catch the drip (i.e. scribble down a few notes). Then I need to change out the bucket, which quickly starts filling, while I do my other work. When the next bucket fills, I swap it out for a new bucket so I can concentrate of my current story. At least, for a little while longer.

If you really truly need a writing prompt, unless it's a technique to get your muse unstuck, maybe you should reconsider whether a career in writing is for you.

But if you really, truly need a prompt, here's a real life example:

When I was still a practicing attorney, a male hawk used to sun himself on the sub-roof outside my office window. This was the summer of 2005. That same year, I also took my son to see the Mayan exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural History. Part of the exhibit included the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012. 2012 was also the year that our solar system crosses the galactic plane during its orbit.

So, take one or all of:

- a hawk
- the Mayan calendar
- Earth crossing the galactic plane

Guess what? I'm already 40K into the first book a new UF series. No, it's not this year's NaNo project--

Sqiurrel!

How Can You Have a Lack of Ideas?

I've had a vague sci-fi idea in the back of my mind for some time now. So I asked my friend Jo, who designs both computer games and board games as well as writes superhero novels, for some recommendations on books for game theory. And he gave me a ton of reference links and material.

That led to him asking about the idea, which I really couldn't explain because I'm not sure at this point. And who knows? It might fizzle before it becomes fully formed. But if it does congeal, I'll add it to my idea folder.

But this is how my brain works. I'm wrapping up the Bloodlines series. I've started the Justice series. The first book of the 1-888-555-HERO series is almost done. I'm two-thirds of the way into another book that will become another series. Then there's the Four Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse which I was writing while sitting in the student pick-up line last year (which won't be happening this year now that GK is driving himself to high school).

And that all led to our conversation of how can a writer NOT have ideas. I mean, the list above will keep me busy for at least two years. That doesn't even begin to count my ideas under Alter Ego. Nor doesn't it count the ideas sitting in my idea folders. And what about the sci-fi ideas I already have outlined that I may publish under a different name for marketing reasons?

Jo's pretty much in the same boat. In fact, most writers I know have a mega-ton list of ideas sitting in a paper file, a computer file, or both.

So what's happening when someone says they're blocked and can't come up with ideas?

Generally, it goes back to the single biggest stopper of a writing career--FEAR! Fear of not having the big idea. Fear of readers hating the story after you've put so much work into it. Fear of wasting time and not making any money.

If it's not fear, maybe you have to face the fact you're a one-book-idea person. If you don't believe that's the case, then guess what? We're back to the FEAR issue.

Yep, FEAR is that freaking insidious. And you have to find a way to drive back the forces of darkness.

"How?" you ask. All I can tell you is what works for me. Take a break. Take a shower. Take a walk. But my number one cure for coming up with an idea?

Clean my teenage son's toilet. Trust me. You'll want to do just about anything besides that!

Some Advice From a Contest Judge, Part 2

Currently re-reading - Storm Front by Jim Butcher  (Nothing like curling up on the loveseat with a blankie, hot tea, and a favorite book!)

When I volunteer to judge an RWA contest, it's usually paranormal, the area I know the best.  But lately, there's been  a rash of. . .  Well, I can't call them mistakes.  More like adherence to what's selling in the market.  Here's the problem--you've got to stand out from what's currently selling and you've got to do it well.

Five common things I've seen this year:

1) Vampires

Let's set the record straight--I LOVE VAMPIRES!  But even I get bored when it's the same ancient warrior/innocent virgin BS over and over and over.  No wonder agents and editors are bitching if they constantly see variations of the same thing.  If you're writing a vampire story, how are you making it different from Twilight, Dark-Hunters, Love at Stake series?

2) The Chosen One/Special Child/Annointed Hero

There's a reason Hermione whacked Harry with a book when he said, "I am the Chosen One," during Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.  This story is as old as Horus seeking revenge on Set for stealing the throne of Egypt.  Except most of us can't write it with J. K. Rowling's charm.   Try the story from a different angle like Jim Butcher did.  His Harry is your average wizard.  He just happens to advertise in Chicago's Yellow Pages.

3) World Building in Classic Fantasy

Great world building seems so simple, doesn't it?  J.R.R.Tolkien made us believe the Shire really existed.  How?  He took a realistic rural England and populated with small people who didn't wear shoes.  That little twist drew readers into The Fellowship of the Ring.  The really spectacular stuff comes much later in the book.  Too many new writers throw too much, too fast at the reader, leaving them very confused.  A confused reader will lay your book down and move on to something else.  Repeat after me--"This is not a good thing."

4) Names

Can you pronounce your heroine's name without spraining your tongue?  Can your reader pronounce it without a glossary appendix attached to your book?  Was your hero's name in common usage when he was born/hatched?  Seriously, folks, there's nothing wrong with naming your vampire Bill.  Go ask Charlaine Harris.

5) Explore Other Cultures

As a former English colony, our culture has a tendency to repeat the myths of the British Isles ad nauseum.  But let's face it, not all of us trace our ancestry to just one country.  Talk to the older members of your family.  Were there stories passed down?  What about family that immigrated from Asia or Africa?  Polynesia or Australia?

Someone once said, "It's not your first idea that's unique.  Or the second.  Or third.  It's generally about the twentieth when you stop writing what everyone else is."**

So keep twisting that idea until something really cool is squeezed out of your brain.




**(And I can't place the quote, so if any one knows, please leave the source in Comments.)

Steven Spielberg Stole My Plot

No, he didn't really. Sometimes great minds follow the same story down the rabbit trail.

Since I've started writing with the aim of fiction publication, twice I've had a brilliant, absolutely brilliant, ideas show up in public. In both cases, I don't know the person personally, they don't know me, and there's no way in hell we could have any cross-pollination of concepts.

In the manuscript currently making the agent rounds, crit partners, beta readers and even contest judges LOVE the hero's best friend, Alex. He needs his own story, they said. Hey, I'm not one to disappoint the fans, and honestly I thought he needed his own story too.

Coming up with a plot was the problem. I'd been racking, slapping and pummeling my brain until I came up with what I thought was a unique and fun story. I wrote the ouline in preparation for the 2008 NaNoWriMo.

And then I went with DH and the Genius Kid to the movies one afternoon last summer. The picture? Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

When we came out, I wanted to cry. Not because it was a bad movie. Let's just say the only major difference between my outline and Indiana Jones 4 was I included the heroine's estranged dad instead of the couple's illegitimate son.

*Sigh*

Instead, I grabbed another outline I had in the idea bank for the 2008 NaNoWriMo, and now have a completed novel awaiting the editing process.

But 2009's NaNoWriMo is twenty days away, and I still don't have a clue for Alex's story. Hey, Mr. Spielberg? You owe me one.