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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Lord of the Rings
You might think it’s easy to simply plop an army into a story and watch the soldiers clash in the background. Well, it can be done that way, but that prevents you from doing some world-building. You can learn a lot about a world and its kingdoms by the military forces that exist in there. So, it’s a good idea to put a little more depth into these creations and here are some semi-serious tips to help.
This is the second in a series of posts centered on the challenges faced by indie authors as we try to compete in the vast ocean of competitors/cohorts that is filled with sharks and other predators. Here are more that I’ve come up with to get you thinking and to foster a discussion:
The Stigma of Self-PublishingI refrain from calling what we do self-publishing. I am an independent author. My publisher is Amazon. Instead of having services provided to me by a traditional publisher, I outsource them to providers that fit within my budget and style.
I recall trying to join a local author group and being refused because I was “one of those self-publishers”. Truth be told, I had essentially published more books than the total of all of the authors in the group. Many of them were waiting for some big publisher to say yes. Of those…
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Chronicles of Narnia
This theme is probably going to be very similar to the City Guards week from December, but that isn’t surprising. Guards and soldiers get used interchangeably in a lot of fiction because they are part of the setting. The nameless warriors who are there to either be in the background, push the heroes to the next plot point, or be taken out in a scene to show how powerful/evil the villain is. Yet, there is one subtle difference between the two that drives me to do a week for the military characters. So, what am I talking about?
That would be location. City guards are in the city and that’s where they tend to stay. It’s in the name and they are closer to police than soldiers at times. While still working for the same kingdom, soldiers are more prone to traveling away from the city. They patrol the wilderness instead of the streets and march to war when necessary. You tend to have larger armies than guard forces too because this is where the true might of a nation will be displayed. Gear might differ as well because guards need to chase criminals while soldiers need to clash with their charging enemies. This could mean the military has stronger armor, heavier weapons, and more advanced technology such as catapults. Not that different from the real world.
Even with all of that, guards and soldiers tend to get the same roles. Unless they are going to join the main or supporting cast, these guys are nameless victims of the story. You do get a grander scale with armies though. Think about how often you see two opposing forces crash together like tidal waves of bodies and metal. It sets a chaotic and bloody scene for the heroes to work within, but it doesn’t do anything to develop the armies beyond ‘the fight and die’. We really do rate battle scenes on the enormity of the forces and the brutality of the fighting, which really drives home the idea that these nameless characters are fodder. Heck, I remember ‘Game of Thrones’ gloating in December about one of the final episodes having ‘the biggest battle ever shown in a TV show’. That tends to mean a lot of soldiers on the screen with no reason to be there other than fighting and dying.
It’s not the deepest role and it is kind of sad since any character who steps out of the army to be more than scenery loses something. They may still be a soldier, but they aren’t part of an army for the most part. At the very best, they are acting as a representative of that nation for the sake of the story. It’s not that easy to do the jump either. Those with high rank would come off as odd if they’re taking orders from the main hero, so they might create tension in the cast. Those of lower rank might require more orders and fall further into the background until they become something else. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it is a challenge for a fantasy author, especially if the story involves adventuring. The life of an adventurer is one that doesn’t always follow the rules, which is the opposite of the law-abiding soldier.
Have you ever used a military character in your story? What were some of the challenges?
Great list that brings some positive clarity to the life of a self-published author. We really do overlook the changes because we focus more often on the challenges.
Happy President’s Day to all the Story Empire readers! Best wishes to everyone and enjoy the day if you have time off.
Being a writer is lonely and being a self-published author can be trying to the nerves as you constantly juggle writing, publishing and marketing. The latter can challenge even the most stouthearted among us. The question can often linger in our minds if we’re actually doing anything useful, but we manage to keep going just because we enjoy the creation of a book and we love books!
Our view can often be myopic as we’re just too close to what we’re doing to notice how the writing changes us. But there are changes and there are affects that make a difference. Let’s zoom out from that up-close view and take look at the bigger picture. Here are some ways that self-publishing can benefit you as an author:
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Please welcome to the blog the awe-inspiring Katia Raina, who is here to talk about her young adult novel! Take it away, Katia!
I find myself at a thrilling turn of my life’s journey. Today, I am the debut author of Castle of Concrete, a young adult romance set in 1990s Russia, coming this June from Young Europe Books. Once a relentless journalist, now a goofy middle school English teacher, always a stubborn early morning writer, I am excited to share a bit of my story with you here on L. Marie’s blog.
My story starts across the ocean in a small Ukrainian city, then Siberia, then Moscow, Russia.
On the outside, I was a quiet Russian girl (photo at left), a shy one, an odd one. On the inside, I was Jewish, and proud, even though I knew early on it was not a thing to advertise…
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Hello,
This was a relatively popular feature on my blog and I’ve decided to resurrect it. I will try to curate four to five interesting stories each week related to Indie Publishing. I hope you find them useful and enjoyable.
Have you always wanted to see your words in print? Publishing a book used to be a drawn out, complicated process that was left only to the pros. Nowadays, it’s easier than ever to get your words out there thanks to self-publishing.
In the Kindle Store, 31% of all e-book sales were for self-published books. Those are good stats if you’re hoping to earn a living from writing alone. Whether you’re experienced in the world of publishing or this is your first project, here are 5 tips for self-publishing your book in no time.
1. Don’t Skimp on Editing
Editing your book is what…
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Yahoo Image Search
To be honest, these posts usually don’t get a lot of attention. Yet, I’m finding myself struggling, so what do I have to lose? I’m trying to come up with posts for April, but there’s a catch:
They have to connect to War of Nytefall: Rivalry in order to help hype the new book.
So, the topics can involve vampires, specific characters, fantasy, the series, or writing in general. I can use the book as an example. This isn’t going to be easy since people haven’t read the book, but it’s worth a shot.
