Regular readers know that most of my stories began as dreams and that I have included several of them in my science fiction series, Pearseus, as well. But I’m hardly the only one, as this Infographic by Sleep Advisor will show you.
From Mary Shelley to Steven King, here are 11 famous books which started off as dreams… or nightmares.
Note: visit the original post or right-click on the image and open in a new tab if you can’t see it properly.
Fowl Language
Well, I should be in my summer job by now. Can’t be sure because I’m writing this in late May and haven’t put in for the last two days of my school job off. There’s a bit of overlap, which is slightly frustrating. Nothing I can do about it and my school job takes the top priority.
So, what am I doing? I’m working as the game room director for a camp. My hours are full day with some overtime when I can grab it. Goes until mid/late August, so I’m going to be running ahead. Should be a lot of fun since it’s going to be doing a lot with kids and games. I get to make up various tournaments and events. I’ve been tinkering with that a lot over the last few months. Fingers crossed that my ideas work and I help make some summer memories.
The ‘downside’ is that I won’t be able to use my cellphone for most of the day. That means no tweets, blog comments, emails, or anything else outside of early morning and the evening. So, I won’t be reacting to a lot of stuff as quickly as I usually do. It’s going to feel weird since I use my phone as a watch, so I’ll see things building up. I might get to do a quick check during lunch, but that will only be emails and blog. Twitter is going to be getting pushed back a bit more. Not that I was getting anything out of it. I haven’t sold much and the free page reads are nearly dead. So, I don’t really feel like I have anything to salvage outside of the blog.
It’s going to be really hard to carve out writing time. I’m hoping to schedule most of the posts for July and August by the end of June, which clears that up. Beyond that, I’ll have a few weekends for writing, but that isn’t much if I’m exhausted and having to do other things. Maybe I can get in a bunch of parts for the ‘fantasy writing’ book, but fiction novels are definitely out. Hard to justify carving out writing time when I can’t even give books away. Just burnt out on trying to figure out what to do since I lack the money to do an expensive marketing campaign and the time to do anything big. Guess I’m back to the life of working and wishing someone would discover me because I sure as hell don’t have the skills to shout loud enough.
This is becoming a downer. I’m excited about the summer job, but I’ll admit that there is a part of me who misses writing. It took me 6 months to finish a 16 chapter book when it used to take me 1.5 months. I can’t get any outlining/writing done at either job because I’m always doing something. The other stuff going on in my life isn’t helping since that sucks my time at home. For anyone about to say I will find time, I want to point out that I have about 100 books outlined. I come from a generation that doesn’t believe retirement is in our future too, so time will be scarce for most of my life.
Anyway, enjoy your summer. I’m going to be here as often as I can and keep the ball rolling with posts. ‘Derailing Bedlam’ is still going and I might turn Teaser Tuesday into something else for the summer. No idea what. Feel free to make a suggestion if there’s something you want to see on the blog. Always curious to see what people want to see on this thing.
As usual, here is your warning that this story has cursing, sex (not graphic), innuendo, and violence. It’s my Rated-R action adventure called Derailing Bedlam. This is the fourth outing (third official) for Cassidy and Lloyd, so feel free to click on one of the two covers to see how it started. Each one is 99 cents!
Cover by Jon Hunsinger
Cover Art by Jon Hunsinger
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Luke Cage and Captain America
I’ve touched on a lot of different heroes over the years, so I’m surprised I never thought about this one before. I mean, they’ve slipped into a few categories at times, but I never really locked onto the ‘experiment’ origin. It was when I was watching ‘The Defenders’ that it came to me. You had heroes who got powers from training or accidents, but then there was Luke Cage. He got his abilities from an experiment, which got me thinking about Captain America. In the MCU, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are experiments as well. You have robotic types like Robocop and Cyborg too. So, what constitutes an experimental hero?
First of all, you need to have an experiment being done. Now, I feel that this requires the intention of augmenting the subjects even if the results aren’t what was expected. This means Hulk, The Flash, and Spider-Man don’t count. They got their powers through science, but it was an accident with no intention of making a superhero. Luke Cage and Captain America were intentional. One got the results that were expected and the other, at least in the TV show, was accidental even though powers were the goal. You don’t have to do a lot of jargon either because you’re pushing the idea that the creators are doing something never attempted before.
Now, once you establish that they got their powers from this experiment, you pretty much have the category locked down. This is a fairly simplistic origin in terms of straightforwardness because it’s right to the point. You get into a grey area when it comes to the willingness of the test subject. That’s where a lot of the fun comes from when you work on characterization. A willing participant will be happy to get the powers as long as they aren’t driven mad or ostracized from humanity. Someone who is experimented on as a prisoner or unwitting participant will be much less excited. You can get a lot of angst and bitterness here, which makes for a good anti-hero. Maybe they don’t want to use their powers and go out of their way to avoid it, but events force their hand. This means every use brings a small change in persona that can build up.
Oh yeah, Deadpool would be an experiment too. This brings me to a subcategory of experiment heroes, which is augmenting those who already have abilities. Deadpool isn’t one of these. He was a human with cancer who joined the Weapon X program to be given an enhanced version of Wolverine’s healing factor. At least, that’s what it was when I was reading comics in the 90’s and early 2000’s. So, it’s actually Wolverine and Sabretooth who fall into this subcategory. Both of them are mutants, but they were put into the Weapon X program for experimentation. This is where Wolverine got the adamantium claws and skeleton. It is an important aspect of the character and shows that you can use the experiment origin as a rebuilding/alteration of a hero too. It can really throw a twist into a storyline if the hero is suddenly faced with having a new set of powers to learn and master.
I haven’t tried this type of her yet because it hasn’t worked for the story. There are a few characters in War of Nytefall that gained powers through experimentation. It’s self-inflicted so far, so I don’t know how to run with that. They’re also supporting cast and vampires. I can’t really call it an experiment either because the one I’m thinking of did it for survival more than alteration. This is something I want to try down the road and probably will if I ever get to my superhero series. At least for a hero because War of Nytefall may have an experiment-based villain turning up at some point. That should be fun since those types can go over the top if you want. They aren’t working with their original limits anymore, which is great. Villains are more inclined than heroes to operate at their highest level. Be nice to get to that book next year. That would be another category under my belt.
So, what do you think of experiment heroes? Ever write one before? How much science should be put in there for it to work?
This is a guest post by Iona Caldwell, druid, mother, author, and wife, who has written the British Occult Fiction, Beneath London’s Fog.
“Mom!!” How many times have you heard this when you try to sit down to write? Isn’t it funny how you ask them if they need anything and they promise up and down they’re good? It happens again: the fighting, fussing and questions wondering why you have to work since they’re out for the summer.
Worry not, parents, this is not a unique thing.
Let’s face it, we love our kids but it’s hard to sit down and write when you have to play referee. I’ve heard stories of parents who had to wait to write their books until their kids grew and left the house.
I have a six and seven-year-old…
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Frieza continuing a tradition
Villains can make or break a story. You need some type of adversity for the hero to overcome and having another sentient being to face can push them to new levels of strength. Many times these antagonists become more popular because people become fascinated by how someone can go evil. We remember what drove them to the edge more than what pushed the hero forward. This is why sympathetic and redeemed villains are fairly common . . . We’re not here to talk about those.
I’m thinking more about the villains who cannot step back into the light. They are dripping with sinister intentions and indulge in their acts of cruelty. Some may have a sad backstory, but others are nothing more than sadistic psychopaths. That isn’t to say they don’t have depth, but they aren’t going to make a hero turn or reveal that they consider themselves the good guys. You know they will have to die or go to prison for life in order to put them down forever. Their hearts are ice cold and this allows them to commit heinous crimes that can cause an audience to turn on an author. Honestly, I’ve only made one character that fits this bill.
For those who were going to say Lloyd Tenay, Clyde, or Baron Kernaghan, you’re missing a key component. Each of those characters possesses a redeeming quality or a spark of decency. Lloyd lives in a savage world, but won’t kill innocents. Clyde is similar in that he only kills on the battlefield. Baron Kernaghan shows compassion in some instances and doesn’t really enjoy inflicting pain. I’m sure those who have followed the blog for years and read at least the first five volumes of Legends of Windemere will know who I’m going to mention. Stephen Kernaghan is the biggest monster that I’ve ever met and fits the cold-hearted/remorseless villain for the following reasons:
Now, I know this might not fit the ‘cold-hearted’ definition for people. That denotes a villain who has no emotions and does not care about anything. Yet, I see many of these types care about themselves. So, you can have a cold-hearted villain who simply doesn’t care about anyone else and is a full blown narcissist. There is still ice in there, which makes some sense because it’s encased the heart. You won’t get anything through there to warm them up, so they will stay cruel and evil. The only thing that can change it is an internal shift and a path of self-recovery, but those are difficult to pull off. In fact, I find them hard to believe.
You see, these villains will commit some of the biggest crimes of a story. They may be defeated to make room for a more powerful antagonist. Then, they return with a new outlook on life and wanting to help their former enemies. My issue here is that it’s always too easy and past sins are typically glossed over. Recently, I finished reading ‘Naruto’ and it bugged me how several big name villains went hero near the end with nothing more than snark aimed at them. I was finding their sudden nobility and respect by the heroes rather forced. This could be cynicism on my part, but there was something off about the flow of these heartless, selfish characters suddenly being selfless and helpful. I won’t say it’s impossible, but it’s a really big jump to make.
So, I’m more interested in to thinking about what other people think about this kind of villain. Is it believable to you? Do you think they can be easier to redeem than I’ve made it sound? How would you write one?
Hello and happy Monday to all the Story Empire readers. PH here and back this week with more about newsletters. There are two previous posts about this topic which you can find here and here.
Newsletter content is the topic today, one with which a lot of writers surprisingly struggle. Well, maybe not everyone, but certainly a good number. If you write non-fiction, your newsletter should cover your chosen topic with lots of ongoing information about it. This should keep subscribers well-informed and reading your work.
Many fiction writers are searching for content in their newsletters, it’s usually right under our noses. If you write fiction, that can be much tougher because you may not have easily identifiable topics that interest your newsletter readers. But the important thing is to keep readers – old and new – reading the newsletter so they don’t miss announcements about your upcoming work and…
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Since we’re going to see ‘Frozen’ on Broadway, I’ve been thinking about songs that I end up singing to if I hear them. I can stop myself if I’m aware of it, but being caught unawares means I’m going to get nailed. Here are a few and feel free to share your own in the comments:
