The Style and Form of My Fantasy Tip Book

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So, You Want to Write Fantasy . . . I still don’t know about that title.  Anyway, I’m slowly coming to the end of the planning stage, which is getting me thinking about how to write this book.  To figure this out, I went looking at samples from other fantasy tip books again to make sure I wasn’t wrong the first time I checked them out.  Like before, I saw that there was a lot of serious jargon and trade speak.  There was always a sense that you were a student listening to a teacher, which created a very serious tone even when there was joking around.  This isn’t bad, but it’s not me.  So, what to do?

Well, I’ll stick to my original idea and make the entries similar to my blog posts.  Only I’ll be editing them.  This means I’ll write in a fairly simple and casual style with limited jargon to prevent newcomers to writing from getting confused.  Maybe not so much confused, but to make sure my points can come across to anyone.  This means the entries might not be more than 800-1,000 words each.  It’s all opinion and experience-based with me using my own works as examples too.  So, I can’t go chatting about LOTR, Star Wars, or MCU.  Have to stay within Windemere even though I’m talking about a more generalized topic.  All that makes this a bigger challenge than I expected, especially since I’m not always working with a high level of confidence.  I mean, why take advice from an author who can’t sell a book?

Anyway, the big thing I’m struggle with is entry structure.  I keep wondering if I should make it a combination of types or one kind of ‘post’.  For example, I thought about doing all of the entries as my ‘7 Tip Lists’ and run the risk of leaving stuff out or getting repetitive.  Maybe I can use this for topics where I don’t have more than 7 things to say or that are less serious such as the one on ‘eating scenes’.  Another method would be just a regular essay that runs through the idea and/or those that have the subject split into a couple smaller sections.  I guess what I’m wondering is what kind of entry structure is most conducive to my goals of getting readers and helping others.  Also, why did my GRE vocabulary just kick in for a second?

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I Swear Things Happened this Week . . . Damned If I Remember What Though

(Loved the fight scene when this song showed up.  Annoyed that they only have it in two parts instead of one full video.  I was tempted to post them, but people don’t seem to bother with videos.)

I’ve been out of it all week.  Mustered enough energy and focus to make it through work then I let my brain go out of whack once I was free and clear.  A big part of this is because of the GRE last Saturday.  I didn’t give myself enough recovery time since I dove into writing and binge-watching seasons 1 and 2 of ‘Castlevania’.  No, I haven’t started Season 3, so don’t say anything.  Heck, maybe I watched episode 1 before passing out last night since I’m writing this at 9 PM.  We’ll see what happens.

Anyway, the GRE was more brutal than I expected, but only in the math department.  I got to start the test early, which blocked all the anxiety I’d get if I was simply sitting around in the morning.  Hit the essays with confidence and used my time thoroughly.  Then . . . I faced my first math section and nearly cried by the end.  This was a level of mental and emotional brutality that I didn’t expect.  I swear there were more letters than numbers in these questions.  Limped my way through and tackled the first verbal with a twitching eye and fear.  Kept it in check until I struck more math.  By the time I left the test, I felt pulverized and wanted to find a quiet corner to whimper.

Now, I should point out that there’s always a ‘research’ section that isn’t graded, but used to test future questions.  You can get a third math or verbal section with no mention of which of the three is the ‘research’ one.  I don’t trust the belief that it’s always the last one because then everybody would know which one not to try on.  Of course, I got a third math section because I hadn’t been broken enough.  That was really the last straw for my mind and I ended up driving around town in search of food, but not knowing where I wanted to go.  It would be 20 minutes later that I grabbed pizza and ate while watching Netflix.  I think I did some writing that day, but it’s all a haze.

Of course, this is only the first step.  Had to write a personal statement and ask coworkers for reference letters.  My hope is to apply by the end of next week, but I might wait for a non-son weekend.  Next Friday is going to be a lot of fun because we’re going to a late night showing of this:

It cost more than a movie ticket, but I got us pretty close to the performing area.  This should be exciting and great start to the only weekend I get with my son this month.  I want to create some big memories and experiences since the previous two and following two weekends will be him with his mom.  Had to switch things around to make sure I have him for my 40th birthday weekend in April.  Wouldn’t be a real celebration without him around.

Anything else happen?  Why am I asking all of you?  Nothing really exciting.  I put backings on most of my puzzles.  Had to order more double-sided tape and then that roll ran out before I could finish the pile.  Short by three small puzzles, but at least most of them are taken care of.  Last parent training class happened, so that’s done and I’m a certified graduate.  Finished the May blog posts beyond the Sunday and Saturday stuff that I always make on the fly.  Do I have something for tomorrow?  Uh-oh.  Think I may have forgotten about that.  Can’t think of anything else to add to the rambling here.

I’d promote War of Nytefall: Eradication tomorrow, but I don’t think my blog is creating any sales traffic.

Well, that’s really the gist of the week.  There was a bigger focus on grad school than writing, so I don’t have anything fun to talk about.  Feel like my life is getting rather dull at least in terms of what I can write here.  Doing things with my son tend to involve ‘you had to be there’ moments.  Maybe this is why I keep having strange flickers of memories that involve driving through the mountains or country.  I miss doing those types of trips, which my family always went on when we could.  No time or money to do so now.  Also, I don’t really have the family to do the trips like they were in the past, which may be another reason these memories cause some sadness.  My hope is that I can do one with my son during the summer, but we’ll see what happens.

On the plus side of things, I should be able to write this weekend.  If I’m lucky, War of Nytefall: Ravenous will be done in two free weekends.  I can use the third to tinker with the outline for War of Nytefall: Savagery and start writing that one after spring break.  Oh, I know what I can posit tomorrow.  Should get right on that.

Goals for the week:

  1. Finish getting reference letters.
  2. Complete at least 1.5 chapters of War of Nytefall: Ravenous
  3. See ‘Jurassic World Live Tour’ on Friday.
  4. Seriously, I’m going to use those free weights.  It’s just been really cold in the morning.
  5. Begin watching ‘Castlevania’ Season 3.
  6. Continue working on newest puzzle.
  7. Probably should sleep at some point.
  8. Ignore the lack of sales and hope for a better future.
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Order of the Winged Sun

Cover Art by Alison Hunt

Little is known
Of the demon winged sun
Scion of Durag
That was shed
And formed a bitter tree
Decimated once
Reborn for revenge
Against the sun-kissed monsters
Whose fangs
Tore their throats
Long have they waited
Huddled in shadows
Away from Durag’s love
Dwindling to nothing
Until a weapon
Glorious and terrifying
Was bestowed upon their Lord

Witness the Duragians’ new crusade in War of Nytefall: Eradication

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Character Archetypes: The Herald

Interesting archetype. One that gets overlooked a lot.

coldhandboyack's avatarStory Empire

Hi gang, Craig with you today. This is post number four in the character archetypes series. In the Hero’s Journey, there are some common characters that are likely to show up in all stories. This doesn’t mean each archetype shows up in every story, and aside from the hero, the rest are kind of optional. Almost every story will have an assortment of them.

This series is to introduce you to them. Once you’re aware of them, you can decide if they can benefit the story you’re writing.

The herald does not show up in every tale, but can be a handy story tool. This one is interesting in that sometime it isn’t even a character.

You’ve all read a story that starts off some thing like this: A girl is running through the desert at night, cacti are tearing away at her dress, the rocks are cutting her feet…

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Grinders by C.S. Boyack Now Available on Amazon!

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(Today we have a special guest who many of us know.  C.S. Boyack is here to talk about his newest release Grinders, which is a cyberpunk adventure.  Not a common genre for my blog, so this is really exciting.  Today, he’s going to talk about subplots and how none of the characters are doing what they want to do. Have fun.)

Thanks for inviting me back, Charles. It’s always fun visiting your place. I’m here to talk about my newest book, Grinders.

This one is a type of science fiction known as cyberpunk. I’ll let the blurb explain the main points. My topic today is one of the sub-plots. There is a lot going on in Grinders, and in some ways it makes a statement about the human condition. I didn’t really set out to do that, it just kind of happened.

In Grinders, none of the characters are doing what they wanted. If you think about it, it’s kind of realistic. How many of us are not working at the task we dreamed of as children? How many people have a degree in something that has nothing to do with their current employment? Why should the future be any different.

Jimi is my main character. She originally went to art school, but an abusive step-father withheld financing until she chose a path that he felt would make her financially stable. She went into criminal justice, and became a cop. Art became a hobby, but it’s a big part of who she is.

There are others with similar stories. The trained chef who operates a food counter in a former timeshare that’s been converted into apartments. The bartender who has a degree in computer programming, with a minor in holobarkers. (Specific tech that get’s explained between the covers.)

Lou is Jimi’s senior partner on the police force. He had everything he ever wanted, but lost it. Lou is a simple man, and loves horses. He spent most of his career as a mounted patrolman, until the department decided to retire all the horses and sell them. Lou’s horse now pulls a hansom cab through San Francisco’s touristy areas. He kept tabs on the horse, made friends with his new owner, and occasionally volunteers at her stables in exchange for a bit of equine therapy.

Even Grinder Squad itself is kind of the bargain basement of the police department. They didn’t know what else to do with Lou, so he got assigned there. Jimi got in some trouble, so they stuffed her into Grinder squad.

I think it makes the character relatable. This is fiction, so I needed to offer some kind of resolution to this issue. It isn’t the main plot, so I can be a little more fluid here, but I think it stitched together kind of nicely.

The blurb will give your readers more of the highlights to the story, but I’m glad to have the opportunity to touch on something more subtle today.

***

Blurb:

Jimi Cabot made one mistake as a starving college student. When she went to work for the San Francisco Police Department, it nearly cost her the job. The union stepped in and they had to reinstate her. They did so by assigning her to the duty nobody wants, Grinder Squad.

Grinders are people who use back room surgeries to enhance their bodies with computer chips, and various kinds of hardware. Jimi is sure that if she can just bust one grind shop, it will be her ticket back.

Paired with veteran cop, she soon learns that Grinder Squad is a cash-cow for the department. They are nothing more than glorified patrol cops, and generally get the worst assignments.

Matchless is the most wanted grinder of all time. He disappeared years ago, leaving only the evidence of those he enhanced during his career. With these pieces, Jimi picks up the cold trail to try working her way back to more respectable duty.

Grinders is a cyberpunk story set in a world where global warming has eroded coastlines, and society has solved many of our current problems by replacing them with new ones. There are cyber shut-ins, cyber-currency skimming schemes, and more in this futuristic tale.

This book also takes the opportunity to poke a stick at current issues that seem to have lasted into the future. Entitled people, helicopter moms, overzealous homeowner associations, and lack of decent jobs are all present. Never preachy, these issues make up the day to day work of a patrol officer.

I hope you enjoy Grinders as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you.

You can contact Craig at the following locations:

Blog My Novels  Twitter Goodreads Facebook

Get ‘Grinders’ by Clicking Here!

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Immortal Wars: The Summoning Part 9 #fiction #throwback

(Previously on Immortal Wars.)

Disclaimer: Immortal Wars was the book I came up with and wrote in high school.  I hadn’t even hit college by the time I wrote the first two books.  That means I hadn’t developed my style yet, wasn’t good at self-editing, and the story was fairly basic. So, you’ve been warned that this is the ultimate author throwback segment for my blog and will show my author origins.  FYI-  I put the first book (The Summoning) through a Print-on-Demand publisher and the second one (Light, Blood, & Tears) never saw the light of day.  Enjoy!

In a room that is lit with blood red lights and the walls are painted black, live two of the most dangerous villains on the warship.  The bare-chested man stands about as high as the seven-foot ceiling and he has huge, well-tanned muscles that make it nearly impossible for him to walk through narrow passageways.  His thick, black hair rolls down to his broad shoulders and his crimson eyes glow in the dim light like fiery embers.  This monster’s name is Draveon and he has also been dubbed the ultimate genetic weapon.  This massive man carries a glowing sword, which is hooked onto his belt at all times.  The gorgeous sword looks very plain and normal, except it has a flawless ruby in the middle of the ebony hilt and a yellow diamond is embedded in the base of the pommel.

Draveon’s wife is one of the few people who can appreciate the ultimate killer’s path of murder and mayhem.  The only reason they are married is because they both crave the primal thrill and psychic rush of violent murder.  However, Draveon is a little more stable and methodical than his insane wife.  Draveon’s wife, known as Psylon, is still very dangerous, even though she is not as physically menacing as her husband.  Her entire body is permanently covered in ash and it has a dark, grimy hue to it.  Psylon, who looks much more like an ugly, redheaded man than a woman, is the general of the villains’ immense army of brainwashed aliens and the holder of a magical morning star.  The mystical weapon that she always carries, is made of an Alicoran gold handle and an enchanted steel chain.  The spiked ball that is attached to the chain is a hand-molded Medicean diamond, which makes it virtually unbreakable and extremely deadly.

“Shouldn’t we go look for her?  This is a very big warship and Kilanus probably got lost like she always does.  Last time she almost stepped out into deep space,” says Draveon when he puts down a huge chalice of some vile-smelling liquid.

“I can’t believe you actually like children of any kind.  Even adults that act like children and should just be put out of their misery.  Some ultimate weapon of mass destruction you are.  And don’t even attempt to use that born in a test tube and never had a real childhood excuse anymore.  I’m sick of hearing about it.  Of course, the little blond-haired insect will be okay.  No matter what happens, she always manages to find whatever she’s looking for or come out of trouble without a scratch.  What do you expect from her anyway?  She woke up from a twelve-year coma four months ago and she’s dumber than whatever this thing I have here,” explains Psylon with hungry, brown eyes as she sticks seven-inch long needles into a small, fuzzy creature.  With every needle, the large-eyed creature screeches in agony and bright blood spurts onto Psylon’s black and red body armor.

“Uncle Draveon!  Aunt Psylon!  I thought you were going to take me to the star room this morning,” says Kilanus when she barges into the room.  Psylon quickly moves to block the mess from Kilanus’s sight.  If there is anything that the child’s mother hates, it is when Kilanus is upset by anything.

“Of course we were.  You just had to show up at our room and not go to meet us at the star room.  But you don’t have to worry about your innocent mistake.  We’ll go there right away,” responds Psylon in a nice voice.  She represses the sudden urge to scream at the top of her lungs and throw up from all this warm, polite talk.

“Then let’s go.  Come on.  Come on!” shouts Kilanus enthusiastically.  She starts to pull on Draveon’s massive right arm.  The small teenager actually manages to pull Draveon a few inches before he lifts her off the ground with one arm.  Kilanus just dangles there and calmly waits to be put down.

“I’ll meet you and your Uncle Draveon there.  I have some business to finish up before I leave.”  Psylon gives a threatening look toward her husband.  Draveon had started to open his mouth in order to argue with his wife, but Psylon’s face took the fight out of him.  He knows he can’t possibly win the argument, even if he wanted to, and starts walking down the dismal hallway toward the star room.

“That girl is far too nice and innocent for my liking.  If only Adriana could see her as the major threat that she poses to our plans.  But that blond-haired bimbo is starting to allow her feelings to get in the way of her judgement because of that blue-eyed runt.  Some evil leader we have.  Still, I am a very patient immortal.  Especially when it comes to Adriana.  My time as leader will come soon enough,” whispers Psylon to the fuzzy creature that she has been torturing with the needles.

With an evil laugh, she grabs her morning star and smashes the furry alien until it becomes a bloody spot on the table.  She walks out the door with a cunning smile on her face and black blood covering her strong hands.  Psylon simply licks the warm blood off her gloved fingers and then licks her lips.

“Hmm.  A little sour, but delicious nonetheless,” she says as she disappears into the shadows.

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The Evolution of Blogging

This is an awesome trip through blogging history. Don’t think I ever really considered the platform’s origins.

Nicholas C. Rossis's avatarNicholas C. Rossis

I have been online since 1985. I was one of the first members of the BBS (Bulletin Board) scene in Greece back when we connected to a server using landline modems. I still remember my thrill when I finally got my hands on a 9600 bps modem and could download pictures as well as texts.

In 1995, I developed my first website. Even then, I had identified a need for regularly updated content. While some pages were meant to be static, there were news and events to share. Web developers usually met this need by introducing a News page and placing there any related items. As the new millennium approached, we started placing some of these on the home page, too.

Out of these News pages came blogging. Nowadays, 25 years after I developed my first website, most of my living comes through freelance writing for company blogs.

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The Fist of Durag: Dawn Fang Slayer?

Palantir from LOTR

For the longest time, I really only had an idea that this weapon was going to be a magical orb.  I needed it to be something that didn’t look like a weapon and could operate at range because Clyde has the advantage when an enemy is within reach.  Funny thing is that it took writing the second to last outline for me to put pieces together.

Orb was originally a place marker for when I thought up the real weapon, but I eventually kept it as such.  Nobody would look twice at someone carrying an orb because it doesn’t look dangerous until fully activated.  Even then, it glows brightly and does nothing else until it’s fired.  There’s no telling what the beam, blast, or whatever is emitted will do as well since they all have the same coloration.  I found that having the Fist of Durag be an orb gave it more versatility, which is how the variation came about.  You can fire over your shoulder without having to aim as long as you do a wide blast.  It isn’t like this thing has a front to it.  This was marked down with odd words like beam, blast, wave, ball, and whatever else I could do to note a different type of attack.  Rarely did I write down what it did outside of ‘kill’ or ‘depower’.

Not really sure how I got the idea of making it depower Dawn Fangs either.  It was going to be only killing, but I needed a survivor at one point.  They needed to be badly injured, which doesn’t happen with a god-blessed weapon that only kills.  So, I gave it levels of effect on Dawn Fangs where Leo Kandrel could revert them back to old-world vampires to make them suffer.  They would be infused with sun magic here, so they would lose all of their strength and gradually die if he didn’t slaughter them first.  This helped to create more fear among the previously unfazed Dawn Fangs, including making Clyde fairly nervous.  You know it’s bad when a character who dominates fights and goes to anger before fear gets nervous.  That actually helped me with the origin.

Honestly, it took me far too long to find an answer to why this orb could have the power to hurt Clyde.  With Durag not 100% behind the eradication of the Dawn Fangs, it had to come from somewhere older or mortal.  That’s when I remembered what Clyde was stealing when he was buried alive during the Great Cataclysm.  It was a holy orb of Durag that the main temple had heavily protected and booby-trapped.  Nobody knew where it went, but it had to be somewhere.  This led to the confusion within the story about what happened while Clyde was buried, which was a part of the story that I never expected to tell.  Until I began writing War of Nytefall: Eradication, I assumed he was biding his time and starting to go mad down there.  Now, I had more activity between him and the surviving Duragians.  It gives us a look into what he was doing and how he may have been transformed into a Dawn Fang.

I would say more, but the origin and abilities of the Fist of Durag is a major point of the story.  The overall mystery and evolution is what prevents Clyde from charging in with his fangs out.  Much of its abilities were made on the fly because my notes weren’t helping as much as they could.  Heck, I didn’t even have Fist of Durag written on it for a while and switched it in after writing a few chapters.  Why?  Because I kept jumping between ‘Fist of Durag’ and ‘Heart of Durag’.  This is what happens when you write a novel with large breaks between sessions and a chaotic life.  This experience and weapon helped me figure out what my new limitations were, so I guess it wasn’t a bad thing to leave it up in the air for a while.

One last thing I would say is about using orbs as weapons.  You have to remember that they don’t have handles and tend to be smooth.  This increases the chance of the character dropping it, especially if it can’t be gripped completely in a fist.  I solved this by having it return to Leo’s hand on its own (I think I kept that) and being able to fly to where it is needed.  Fusing it to the body is another why to make sure this slippery weapon doesn’t take a tumble during a high action scene.  People might not consider this when reading, but you never know when it might click that the orb is never in danger of being dropped regardless of the action’s intensity.

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Teaser Tuesday: The Amazing Archillious vs the Dastardly Duragians #fantasy #vampires

War of Nytefall (CLICK ON IMAGE FOR AMAZON SITE)

This excerpt from War of Nytefall: Eradication is a little on the long side, but I couldn’t find a good place to chop it down.  I really wanted to showcase Archillious and Leo Kandrel, so this uses both characters.  Good cliffhanger too.

Continue reading

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Smorgasbord Cafe and Bookstore – New Book on the Shelves – #Fantasy – Eradication (War of Nytefall Book 4) by Charles E. Yallowitz

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