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The Big Picture

Often, the death of a novel is not so much the writing or the characters as it is The Big Picture. The devil is in the details. Good characters draw the reader into the story. Plot keeps the reader involved. Dialogue can provide background and insight into both characters and overall arc of the story. However, what if the mistakes are so glaring the writer fails to notice them?
Novels, especially novels that span a large period, move back and forth in time or switch point of views often can read well but perplex the reader. Dates and events can easily become confused, muddling the story. One novel I am working on has two main characters and the events occur weeks apart but in the end, they have to meet up. I have re-written the time frame five times and they are still over a week out of sync. I could easily add more scenes or remove some but this hurts the overall story. My mind fails to grasp The Big Picture.
I know how I want events to unfold and certain things need to occur at certain times, but the story simply wants to take over and re-write itself. I may have to give in and let my characters do all the work. I’m sure I will eventually be able to synchronize events, but it certainly is no easy task.
Sometimes the flaw in The Big Picture is not so easy to spot. The overall arc of the story can dip in and out of characters and events until bits and pieces fall off, leaving a tattered ending that barely resembles your original idea. Too often, the writer assumes that it is ‘good enough’ or that the reader will ‘understand what I mean’. Don’t count on it. Readers are fickle. They don’t have your insight into your story and if forced to use their imaginations too much, may miss your point entirely.
Writing is a time consuming task. Failing to relay your theme to the reader can be a devastating blow to future sales and a waste of your time. Often, it is best to lay aside your story for a while and let your mind move on to other things. Returning at a later point can offer fresh insight and a pair of fresh, unbiased eyes to the story.
The Big Picture is the heart of your novel, what makes it breathe and come alive for the reader. It deserves more than a cursory edit after using Spellcheck. Read your story as a reader would. If you are confused, you can bet they will be. Remember, if the story is worth writing, it is worth writing well.

Killer Con II is coming up Sept. 22-25 at the Stratosphere in glitzy Las Vegas, NV. As someone who has attended the two prior Killer Cons, I suggest you make it if at all possible. The list of Guests of Honor is a Who’s Who of horror – Jonathan Maberry, Jack Ketchum, Ray Garton, Edward Lee, Jeff Mariotte and Monica S. Kuebler. Just being in the presence of these greats will make you a better writer.

All the slots for the Mort Castle Writer’s Workshop are filled, but those lucky enough to be included in this golden opportunity will come away better prepared for the task of writing the next new best seller. The list of panels and speakers is awesome, including a blood spatter demonstration by a forensics expert. I’m not sure where the blood is coming from but I wouldn’t volunteer. After all, these are horror writers and blood is their medium.

Readings galore by some of today’s top writers and pitch sessions with editors, agents and publishers provided an excellent chance to pitch your latest work. A panel seminar on the proper way to pitch before the sessions allow the pitchers to hone their skills for the pitchees. My advice – be yourself, be prepared and be ready to make the most of the opportunity.

Everyone should visit Vegas at least once in their lifetime. At night, the kilowatts of neon lights is enough to attract zombies from three states and moths from other worlds. It is Mothra’s favorite haunt, second only to Tokyo. Nearby Lake Mead is worth the visit and driving across the new arch bridge at Hoover Dam provides a damn good view (Sorry for the pun) of the Colorado River, Hoover Dam and Lake Mead.

I attended the World Horror Convention in Austin, TX this year. Killer Con is smaller and allows the attendee a more relaxed setting for meeting old friends, making new ones and rubbing elbows with idols. The legendary parties loosen everyone up. Don’t be afraid to walk up to someone and start a conversation. Just don’t start pitching your novel. Make friends. Ask advice.

If you show up at Killer Con, look me up. If I haven’t lost all my money, I’ll buy you a beer.

Coloring Outside the Lines

I admit I’m lousy with colors. A touch of blue-green and red-brown blindness, poor night vision – I would never be able to tell the arrival of dawn the old Middle Eastern nomad way by seeing the difference between a white and a gray goat hair. Yet colors play an important part in our everyday life. Red lights, green lights, yellow caution cones, black armbands for mourning. Colors play a key role in our writing as well.

In horror especially, black, red and their varying hues are significant colors for setting and foreshadowing. Crimson blood, fiery red eyes, ebony shadows, charcoal dusk each evoke a specific memory, allowing the reader to better visualize the scene and mood. Other colors elicit similar responses, such as the pure innocence of white, the coolness of blue or aqua, the serene pastoral quality of green and the earthiness of brown.

I also colored outside the lines as a child. I wasn’t spastic. I saw lines as a challenge to my imagination, too confining. By moving outside the lines, I could change the drawn shapes presented in the coloring book, make them different; make them my own. Writers can do that as well.

In some cultures, white is the color of mourning, not black. In Korea, a white wedding would raise eyebrows and maybe a few ancestral spirits. Most people see the devil as red, yet the Pope and Cardinals wear red robes. I’m sure it has something to do with the blood of Christ or a tribute to radishes or something but it still looks scary to me. (My apologies to Catholics.)

Green Slime, the Hulk, the Green Goblin vs. the Green Hornet and the Green Lantern. Same color, different visuals, good and bad. Most ghosts (They say) appear white. I’m not sure why unless ectoplasm is made of tapioca. Why not a black ghost? It sure would be difficult to spot at night. Add a splash of royal purple to a peasant character to hint that he might have visions of grandeur. Build new worlds – brown skies, blue grass, and yellow seas. Remove the usual, expected crutches colors provide the reader and force them to create new ones, to pay closer attention to details. In one of my novels, Oracle of Delphi, there are three suns, each a different color. The interplay of shadows and lighting was difficult to keep straight, but it provides a striking background.

In Moby Dick, the titular whale was white, the color of purity but in this case, was the whale evil or was Ahab. Certainly, it was no ghost whale. The gold coin Ahab nailed to the weathered mast would have gleamed in the sun like a jewel, beckoning the crew and riveting their minds, tempting them from their original goal of harvesting oil. The crew was a mixture of stalwart New England Christians and heathens, yet in the end, it was difficult to tell the difference among all the bloodlust. Killing whales was seen as God’s work, providing oil for lamps, but Ahab
abandoned God in his desire for revenge. In the end, God abandoned him.

Be bold. Experiment with color. Subtle shading can create
new settings or foreshadow events. Try coloring outside the lines.

Is Anybody Out There?

Writing is a lonely business. You may be surrounded by kids, pets, your significant other or God knows what else, but when you’re writing, you’re alone. It’s just you, your computer (Or typewriter) and your imagination. Perhaps like me, you keep a Random House College Thesaurus handy but no matter how long you stare at it, it won’t talk to you. This can be very intimidating, especially to a novice writer. Most people immerse themselves in the stimuli of life – conversations, music, Play Station, television. Letting it all go and sitting quietly, allowing your mind to wander the Fields of Elysium can unearth hidden demons or rough diamonds needing only a little polishing to shine.

At conventions, most writers I meet seem the gregarious type, a few too gregarious perhaps, but eager to talk. Alone, the words have to speak for you. Your
characters become extensions of your id, your ego. What they say and how they
say it reveals as much about the writer as the character. It’s called Voice and we all have it even if it seems all too quiet much of the time. Good Voice
grabs the reader’s attention and holds it throughout the story, much like a good oral storyteller, a traveling bard.

Words are the building blocks of writing, sentence structure and syntax the mortar, but Voice is the architect, the designer deciding what the building looks like. There have been many great classic Architects – Sturgeon, King, Silverberg, and some new ones – Maberry, Lansdale, and Boston. Each has mastered Voice, using it as a surgeon might wield a scalpel, deftly slicing through layers of fantasy,
allowing the reader’s mind to explore depths otherwise impossible to experience.

I grew up in the Deep South – Mississippi and spent 20-plus years in Atlanta. In spite of years in Chicago and Pennsylvania, I still speak with a drawl and sometimes catch myself writing with one. Sometimes it’s colorful but often a hindrance, but I have to use it. It’s who I am. So is my history. Where you grew up, what you do for a living (I assume you don’t make a living as a writer), what your life
experiences have been all create your Voice. It is the best tool a writer has to put a piece of themselves onto paper.

I began by talking about loneliness and it is a lonely business. Some writers work in a vacuum, never going to conventions, never attending signings. I can’t. I crave people sometimes, not crowds, people. They are the stuff of my stories. Their speech, their mannerisms, their follies, their triumph all become paint for my canvas. Later, alone at my desk, they fill the lonely wanderings of my imagination as I carefully strip them of what they were and create a new being from their rough
clay, a character for my story.

Like the proverbial Maytag repairman, writing is a lonely craft. A writer’s ultimate goal is to get one of his/her creations into the public’s hands, to see his/her
imagination’s fruit enjoyed by others. Then, it’s back to their lonely world. If, like me, you’re a hermit at heart, it’s not so bad. Keep on writing. Discover your Voice. Use it wisely. Use it together for all mankind.

Making the most of your opportunities.

I recently attended a reading at a Tucson bookstore with a dozen other authors representing several genres. There was hardly anyone else there and I erroneously assumed I was in for a boring couple of hours. I was pleasantly surprised that many of the authors had excellent novels or non-fiction books to highlight. The time passed quickly. Not only did I meet a few fellow authors and insure goodwill with a local bookstore, I also met a man who writes reviews for Amazon.com. He enjoyed my reading from Hell Rig and assured me of a good review if I sent him an e-copy for review. I certainly will.

Exposure (Other than forgetting to zip your fly) is golden and often difficult to guarantee. Like most writers, paying for exposure can be costly and risky. Ads
in local papers or genre magazines can, but not always, produce a fair return
for your investment. Shot gunning Direct Mail flyers to thousands, hawking your wares like carnical side-show barker or bombarding your friends and acquaintances with annoying e-mails and blogger posts can lose friends. Facebook, My Space (I can’t believe Justin Timberlake bought My Space), Twitter, Google+, etc. are excellent venues to present yourself first, and then your product (Remember, you are selling you, not just your most recent novel).

One cost effective method of advertising is to donate signed copies of your books to local charity events, libraries, schools, or organizations like the American Legion. I have often gotten front-page exposure by local papers at such events. Send copies to troops overseas or area National Guardsmen stationed overseas and invite local base commanders and the press to the event. I have sold more copies at American Legion posts and events than at bookstores and I write horror.

Keep business cards and bookmarks on hand with your e-mail address and website prominently displayed. Leave them at bookstores, conventions, airport waiting rooms, etc. The cost is minimal.

Lastly, but most importantly, build relationships with people in the social media. Do not look at them as potential customers, but as friends. Even if they do not buy your book, they might recommend it to friends or mention it on their blog or website. I choose people I know from conventions, Facebook or Yahoo Groups and promote their latest novel as my Pick of the Week on my website. I don’t know if it increases sales, but I do know people see it.

When opportunity knocks, do not rush to hide your paraphernalia thinking it’s the cops (Ha! A little drug humor). Open the door wide and smile.