GENREALITY

Howdy folks and Happy Saturday!

It’s theme week here at Genreality.  And an opportunity for me to confess my sins, it seems.

The topic is reading habits.  So right off the bat, I’ll say that I absolutely believe writers are readers.  I think a lot of our craft is learned as much by reading as it is by writing.  But I’m not a writer who eschews television, movies, and games in favor of books.  Sometimes, we get our ice cream in a cone, sometimes in a shake, sometimes in a sandwich and sometimes on a slice of pie.  Storytellers need story coming in as much as they need it going out regardless of how they get it.  And when it comes to learning, even among different mediums, storytellers learn from storygetting.

I’ve been a reader since the second grade when I crawled up into a weeping willow tree with a copy of Jack Williamson’s Trapped in Space.  It’s been an amazing journey.  But…  I’ve also been a lifelong TV and movie junkie…and a gamer.  Participating in story is an amazing high for me regardless of the delivery method.  And I’ll be honest:  I have a ridiculously flexible Suspension of Disbelief mechanism.  As long as the story tastes right.

One thing I’ve definitely noticed:  For me, the muscle I work when reading a story is the same one I use when writing a story.  So as I’ve written more and more, I’ve sadly found myself reading less.  A part of that has to do with having the writing business (along with the writing) and the dayjob and the two-year-old twins.  I still have books started all over the house and every once in awhile, I manage to finish one.  It’s a fifty-fifty split, I think, between nonfiction and fiction.  I’ve got an essay collection by Dawkins in one room.  The first Alvin Maker book in another.  Julian Comstock in yet another.  Trauma and Recovery by Judith Herman (for a re-read) and a book of Vonnegut essays in another.  And those are just some.  I have somewhere over 5,000 books in my library here in the Den of Ken and my books are quite migratory, establishing small colony shelves in each of our two bathrooms and on my nightstand.  I also pick up random books of poetry and read bits of them just because.

On top of that, I now get to occasionally (rarely, because of time) read books and blurb them when a publisher asks and the book resonates.  I had to say no for most of the last four years of asking but I’m just now getting to the place of saying yes from time to time.  Of course, I never really say “Yes.”  I say “Maybe…I’ll sure try” most of the time.  The last I read was K.C. Ball’s new collection.  I think the last novel I finished was probably a Greg Iles book.  I recently decided that I would no longer write on planes and read instead so that will hopefully let me finish books faster at least those months that I fly someplace.

When it comes to fiction, I tend to do my reading-for-fun outside the genre I write in.  I started out reading SF — then expanded instantly into anything I could get my hand on.  Mysteries, westerns, thrillers, horror along with SF/F.  Then, it narrowed down to SF/F more when I came back to writing as an adult but once I started selling I found myself longing for something different than what I did for “work” if that makes any kind of sense.  So I’m a huge fan of Stephen King, Elmore Leonard, Ernest Hemingway, John Grisham, Tom Clancy, Ken Follet, Greg Iles and the list goes on and on… along with Heinlein, Herbert, Bradbury, Dick and…well, that list goes on and on, too.

For the most part, I use paper books.  Or I listen to them on CD in the car though that’s more rare these days.  But I read K.C.’s collection on my phone and I’m reading another ARC now (and also have Sasha White’s Bound in my lineup) on my Samsung Epic and it’s a handy tool.  I’m intrigued by the notion of a library in my pocket so I’m leaning hard towards a Nook in the near future.  Considering how much I like having a wide range of reading options…and just how many paperbacks I took with me on myLast Real Vacation…I think it may be time to give “e” a try.

I’m also consuming quick bites of story through a Star Trek:  Enterprise re-watch, just finished the first season of Game of Thrones and am managing to leverage maybe a movie every other week usually on HBOGo or Netflix.  And as a reward for getting my words, I let myself create a Skyrim character the other day.  Next time I finish a chapter, I’ll get a game snack of story.  Or let myself finally read the Solomon Kane graphic novels I picked up at Orycon last November….

So those are my reading…ahem…storygetting habits.

Back next week with the next in my short story writing series….

Happy Saturday, folks!

So this week we’re doing a theme here at Genreality so I’ll be pushing part two of my short story writing series out to next week.

Now, I did a write-up last October about my portable office before we knew we were doing these theme weeks.  I highly recommend going back to read that post along with this one.

And today, in keeping with our theme, I’ll give you a quick tour of the Den of Ken…which is where my portable office resides when it is being less…portable.

There has been a Den of Ken in every place I’ve lived since around 1990.  It’s changed certainly over time, but the basics have held true:  lots of shelves for lots of books and a desk to sit at.  The  current Den of Ken is a converted formal living room, now tucked behind a “temporary” wall and a set of locking French doors.

It’s a cozy little room with lots and lots of books in it.

And I keep some of my treasures along the top of my bookshelves….

The Den has three places I can work from….

First, the bike.  I haven’t tried writing fiction from the bike, but I can stay on top of email, chat with other writers, catch up on any online reading (or…gasp…pick up an actual BOOK out of the thousands that surround me!)  I try to spend about 25 minutes per day on the bike.  Off to the left is my SAD light which I’ve not needed so much lately.  And the table you see is a standard adjustable hospital bed table.

When I’m settling in for the long-haul…and when my alien overlords haven’t taken it over, my preferred writing station in the Den of Ken is the gigantic Lazy Boy leather recliner that takes up about a third of the room when reclining.  But if I’m not fully occupying it, my alien overlords enjoy taking it over so they can better supervise me.

Which of course, leaves my desk…which is so messy that I’d be too embarrassed to post any kind of picture.  So instead, I’ll leave you to imagine it — a very simple desk heaped high with crap with just enough space carved out to rest my laptop.

These three stations, along with a closing (and locking) door and my headphones are where I typically get my work done when home.  But I also like the portable nature of my office — I bring it with me to the dayjob so I can work on any lunch-breaks that I have free and I usually plan one or two outings per week where I sit in the corner of a bar or restaurant and get some words either over lunch or breakfast.

So there you have it.  The Den of Ken.

Next week…I’ll jump into part two of my series on writing short stories.

Until then:  Trailer Boy out!

Howdy Folks!  And Happy Saturday!

Today, I want to chat briefly about advice.  Over the course of your writing career — from way back in the very earliest days when you’re pushing for that first sale all the way up to your glory years of multiple books in print and more books under contract — you’re going to need advice.

You’ll need it early on when it comes to getting to the place of writing compelling stories and novels that are publishable.  You’ll need it when it comes to how to best find an agent or a publisher.  You’ll need it when you bump up against something in your career that you’ve never bumped into before.

I’ve asked for a LOT of advice over the course of my writing life…and I’ve always gotten it.  Hell, I just sent off notes this morning and made some calls yesterday to get a bit.  The need for help as we go along our merry way never really completely goes away.

A few things come to mind when I think about asking for advice.

1.  Am I Asking the Right Person the Right Question at the Right Time in the Right Manner?

I think about all of that.  Is this the person who really can help me…and if I’m not sure, am I asking them who they might know if they are the wrong person?  How much research have I done to see if there is advice elsewhere already waiting for me to find it thanks to Google?  Have I really thought about the question and am I asking it clearly?  I’m asking for a piece of their time and experience — am I offering them the best venue for them to answer in?  Email?  Phone?  A lunch meeting?  And am I mindful of the other things going on in their lives?

2.  Am I Open to Their Advice Even If I Don’t Like It?

This is a big one.  Sometimes we ask but we have an answer we already want or believe to be so.  I know people who, upon not liking the advice, just go asking more people and more people until they hear what they want.  I try — and do not always succeed — to listen and ask questions and gain an understanding of why the advice is what it is.  This applies to story feedback especially.

3.  Am I Placing Too Much Importance on Any One Person’s Advice?

Advice is…advice.  If I’m asking for someone to give it to me, I should know why I’m asking but I should also know that it’s one person’s opinion, usually based on their experience.  They may or may not be giving me the best advice for my situation.  Often, if I’m asking a handful of people, I’ll gauge it based on what the consensus of the group seems to be.  And I try to go outside of the box (which somewhat ties in to asking the right person.)

And a few things come to mind when I think about giving advice:

1.  Was I Asked?

I usually don’t appreciate unsolicited advice as much as the advice I ask for.  Though sometimes it’s just what the doctor ordered.  But when giving advice, I try really, really hard to only offer it up when asked.  And if I’m going to offer unsolicited advice, it’s  usually good to ask, “Hey, can I give you a bit of unsolicited advice?”  Though you have to be careful with that because few people are going to say “Well, no, Ken, I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t.”  And you have to be careful about just assuming that a person thinks you’re the right one to give them advice.

2.  Do I Have Any Meaningful Advice to Give (or Know Someone Else or Some Other Resource That  Could Better Help) in this Instance?

Sometimes people offer advice where they have no experience — they have a hard time saying “You know, I really don’t know.”  And they make it up.  I try hard not to do that.  For example, I frequently get asked about how to query for an agent or publisher and I truly do not have much experience there.  It serves the asker better for me to point them toward others or toward the vast array of information available on the web when it comes to that.

3.   Am I Delivering the Very Best Advice for THAT PERSON (not for me) in as Helpful and Clear a Manner As Possible?

Sometimes, we project onto others what we ourselves wished we’d known.  And sometimes that’s good advice…and sometimes it’s not.  Not everyone is the same.  For example, telling everyone that they should only submit to pro-level paying markets isn’t really good advice if the person is cranking out fifty stories a year.  They can afford to hit a broader range of markets.  And how we say something is important — I try to make sure that when giving advice, I’m up front that their mileage may vary.  And I try to make sure I’m delivering it in a way that helps and doesn’t hurt.  The truth is, once we get to a certain place, some people really really listen to every word we say.  Our expectations for ourselves based on who WE are can be easily misinterpreted into perceived expectations for everyone or for that person who is asking us for advice.

And in it all, whether asking or being asked, take it with a grain of salt.  Stay courteous and friendly.  Don’t take it personally if it’s not what you want to hear or if they can’t help you.  Be grateful — thank them for giving the advice and thank them for asking you for it.

And now that I’ve given you all a bit of unsolicited advice on asking for advice…I’m out!

Have a great weekend!

Yesterday Stacia Kane tweeted a link to a website that had this on it. I just had to copy it, it’s too perfect.

Especially number 3, 10 and 11.

Tweet This Post

You have to start somewhere.

Have you ever listened to a writer who just recently started a new project? They are practically jumping out of their pants with excitement. Their eyes light up and oddly enough, they break out of that introverted shell and start babbling away about their latest novel.

This is at the core of the Kernel Idea. The spark of inspiration. That one thing that made you believe you could sit alone in a room and write 100,000 words. However, when the writer hits the 50k mark they often forget what excited them in the first place.  As you go through Nanowrimo, are you starting to sputter out?  The flame flickering low?

The kernel idea is the Alpha and the Omega of your book.  By that I mean it starts your creative process and it completes it.  It’s what you begin with and at the end of the manuscript, everything in the book points toward it.

The kernel idea is the foundation of your novel. When I say idea, I don’t necessarily mean the theme, although it can be.  Or the most important incident, although it can be.  But it can also be a setting.  It can be a scene.  It can be a character.

It is simply the first idea you had that was the seed of your novel. All else can change, but the idea can’t.  It might be a place; a person; an event; a moral; whatever.  But you did have it before you began writing and you must remember it as you write.  If you don’t, your story and style will suffer terribly.  You should be able to tell your idea in one sentence.  And repeat it to yourself every morning when you wake up and prior to writing.  Knowing it will keep you on track.

Every new book I begin, I write out this one sentence on a word document as the very first writing I do.  I print it out and put it where I can constantly see it.

A Test

Can you clearly state what your book is about in 25 words or less? This is a key, essential ingredient of writing a good book. This idea keeps you focused and on track. It is important to:

1. Write The Kernel Idea down.
2. Ask yourself what emotional reaction does it bring about.

Good writing and strong characters are the key to great writing and knowing what excited you to write the book in the first place will bleed onto the page. However, if you don’t write it down, you might forget and get lost along the way.

What Is Your Kernel Idea?

• Good news is you had one.
• Bad news is you probably forgot it.
• It is usually the first thought you had (the spark of inspiration)
• It is the foundation of your book, the seed.

KERNAL IDEA EXERCISE

Write down the idea behind your current project.

If you can’t do it, then you need to backtrack through your thought process to find it, because you had it at one point. Everything starts from something. While idea is not story (something I will talk about later) idea is the only thing in your manuscript that won’t change. Your story can, but your idea won’t.

In one of my early novels, the original idea was an action: What if Special Forces soldiers had to destroy an enemy pipeline? That’s it for Dragon Sim-13.  Not very elaborate, you say.  True.  Not exactly a great moral theme.  Right.  But with that original idea there was a lot I could do and eventually had to do.  I had to change the target country after the first draft.  But that was all right because I still had the idea.  I had to change characters, but that was fine too, because it didn’t change my idea.  I had to change the reason why they were attacking a pipeline, but again, the original idea was the same.

You will have plenty of latitude for story after you come up with your kernel idea; in fact, I sometimes find the finished manuscript turns out to be different from what I had originally envisioned, but one thing is always true: that kernel idea is still there at the end as the Omega.

For my first kernel idea, I made it as simple as possible to enable me to focus on the writing because when I was in the Special Forces my A-Team had run a similar mission on a pipeline.   Since I had a good idea what would happen in the story, I could concentrate on the actual writing of the novel.

I’ve sat in graduate literature classes and heard students say: “The author had to have a moral point in mind when they wrote that book.”  I agree, but sometimes it is not at the forefront of the story.  Many authors write simply to tell a story started by that kernel idea, which indeed might be a moral point, but sometimes is a story that they wanted to tell and the theme developed subsequently.

A moral or theme (screenwriters call it intent) always does appear in a book by the time it’s done. No matter what conscious expectations or thoughts an author has when they start writing, a lot more appears in the manuscript than they consciously anticipated.

After you have that kernel idea, you should spend a lot of time wrestling with it and consciously uncover your feelings and thoughts about it. I try to look at my main characters and determine what will happen to them emotionally, physically and spiritually as they go through the story.  Who are they at the beginning of the story and who are they at the end?

This is an example of being aware of what you are doing. Not all authors have a conscious theme when they write a novel, but experience has taught me that it is better to have your theme in your conscious mind before you start writing.  It might not be your original idea, but it will definitely affect your characters and story.

The reason it is important to have a theme in mind is because people want to care about what they read and the characters. If there is some moral or emotional relevance to the story they read, they will become more involved in the story and enjoy it more.  Even if the reader doesn’t consciously see it either.

Writers balk at the Kernel or one-sentence idea. How can you be expected to write the entire essence of your epic novel in one sentence? You are told that every word, every sentence, every paragraph and every scene must have purpose, so how can any writer sum up their work in twenty-five words or less?

It’s simple. Your story started with an idea. The idea wasn’t much. If you write it down when you think of it, then summarizing your story in one-sentence is just that much easier.

One way to work on understanding the Kernel Idea is to take your favorite movie or book and try to figure out the Kernel Idea. This will help you narrow the focus and see how it is the foundation of everything in the story.

Do you know what your kernel idea is?