Creating Utopia

Happy Wednesday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'd like to talk about Utopian societies. So, grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going!

Only in a perfect world are there no criminals, jerks, evil dictators, or lazy people. If the world inside your novel has nothing to balance it out, then you're certainly writing fantasy. Consider this when you begin world building and try to create something that helps your world feel very real. Would we all love to live in a perfect world? Of course! But it's not reality.

I struggle sometimes when I'm writing to bring forth the perfect bad guy or evil regime. They have to be crafty, power hungry, and bad to the bone. You don't want everyone to know how bad they really are right out of the gate. People need to trust the protagonist, look up to him or her, and feel like they're getting some kind of help or protection at first.

Some of the best stories I've read are those where you can feel something isn't quite right, but nothing proves it until the end. Take the Hunger Games: You know President Snow is a baddie, and he doesn't show just how bad until the second book. You never see President Coin's evil until she has Katniss' sister killed to spur the girl into killing Snow. But it backfires.

This is what I'm talking about. You need to create something your protagonist must struggle against. What better than the power saturated mind of a leader? You're probably going to want more than one antagonist in a case like that, so people can't pinpoint who's really behind it all.

Keep some mystery.

If you want to create a Utopia, feel free to do that. But where's your protagonist going in a world like that? Unless they're the first bad guy in your world, where's the story?

Remember, your character is on a journey down the path of life. Make it twisty and give them some obstacles in their path. Otherwise, they'll end up plodding along and the action will be nill.

What kind of baddies have you thought up lately? Ever tempted to write up a Utopian society?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Difficulties of a Writer

This post was spawned by a post over on Rachelle Gardner's blog about the difficulties we face as writers. She asked "What Makes the Writing Life Hard?" and I had an instant answer: Believing in yourself and getting others to believe in you. She talked about it today.

Why is that? My thoughts:

Well, as authors, we all seem to be crammed into a convoluted box that the outside world sees as mystical and scary. They don't know how to step into the box because - let's face it - authors think differently. This goes back to my post from the other day about a true writer being born and not made. We see the World in a different way than other people. They have difficulty identifying with us.

But it can happen!! Don't lose hope!

I believe that if YOU believe in yourself, others will follow in your footsteps. Look at Jim Jones - the guy who got all those people to drink the Kool-Aid laced with cyanide - and you'll have an idea of what I'm talking about. That guy preached with such conviction, people followed him and paid the ultimate price. Now, I'm not suggesting you go get people to believe in your writing so much that they feel compelled to drink poison, but I am trying to get you to see that if YOU are excited about your work and TRULY believe in yourself, others will be too.

What most people fail to realize is, we work for ourselves and write because we have something to say. Period. We aren't unrealistic, we just function on a different plane of imagination. We are different, not crazy. No, we likely won't end up as famous as Suzanne Collins or J.K. Rowling, but we will achieve fame in our own way and in our own hearts.

If you are the spouse or loved one of a writer, please be supportive and PROUD of them. It is quite an accomplishment just to write 100k words; not to mention the edits and re-writes and advertising we all have to do. Most people go their whole lives and never write 100k words. Be proud and tell them you are proud.

I know how it feels to have someone that believes in you. Someone who is behind you, pushing you to do more and be better. He is my driving force and always celebrates my achievements! I would likely never have finished my novel, Yassa, if he wasn't there, encouraging me and telling me how great I am while plying me with an endless supply of coffee!

We all need that special someone who supports us in our endeavors. Link up with fellow authors if you don't have someone else. We should all be there to support and encourage each other!

That's all for today. I am running late!! 9am and time to write!!

Don't forget to follow this blog, follow me on Twitter, or like my Facebook page for your free copy of The Abigale Chronicles - Book One over on Smashwords. It's available in all formats. Just two days left to get yours!!

Until next time, WRITE ON!!

Jo

Chapter 17 and a New Idea

Chapter 17 feels clunky. It has no flow because I can find little conflict. I'm sure Temujin will step in something along the way, he just hasn't yet. It's a problem when your characters lounge around and refuse to do anything interesting for a few pages. Everyone yell with me, "TEMUJIN! GET OFF YOUR BUTT, SON!"

Haha. Now that we have that out of the way...

Today my goal is 3,000 words. I am not moving my butt until those 3,000 words are on paper. That probably means chapter 17 will roll off the presses today. Good news? With 28 chapters total, there are only 11 more to go now. We are getting close to the end. I still haven't figured out what the end will be but I'm sure my characters will tell me when we come to that point. Do I follow history or allow myself a bit of creative freedom? Who knows?

I have an idea for a young reader's series and while Yassa mellows I will be working on that. I love the idea of a female protagonist; very few authors use them though. I believe that the ones who have, have done so with great success: Piers Anthony and his Mode series, Stephen King with Carrie, and, most recently, Suzanne Collins with The Hunger Games series. If you didn't fall in love with Katniss during the HG series, you either weren't reading it, or you didn't understand it. Colene, the protagonist in PA's 4 book Mode series, that began with Virtual Mode, was a tortured young lady with major character flaws that was easy to fall in love/identify with.

I don't know how many books will result from the series; I suppose it will depend on the reader reaction to the first one. If everyone hates it, I will move on. We shall see.

First, to finish Yassa!! It is now approximately 303 pages long and contains over 65 thousand words. By the time it releases, I am guessing it will be in the rough neighborhood of 500-600 pages long. What an accomplishment! I am proud just getting to 300!! Haha.

Perhaps an excerpt tomorrow...

It is 9am and time to hit the keys.

Until next time, WRITE ON!!

Jo