Author Archives: Matt Jones

About Matt Jones

Software Engineer for a living. Fantasy writer for myself. I'm a writer, veteran, gamer, hacker, maker, astronomer, thinker, and altogether indescribable.

The Myth Behind the Days

Matt Jones World-building No Comments

The God Mars
The God Mars
Humans are incredibly imaginative creatures. When faced with concepts that cannot be explained with the current level of technology, we create elaborate stories to fill in the holes. Of course, as time passes and our level of understanding increases, we are able to replace these stories and they become the myths and legends of old. However, we never truly leave these legends alone, and if you look closely, you can see their memories reflected in modern day life.

Mythology can be seen in many aspects of our lives from the names of the months to the stories we tell our children. Even the days of our week, words that many of us use daily, are remnants of these past gods and their influence upon the world.

This will be posted on a Tuesday. A simple word that probably resonates more to you as the second day of the workweek than an old homage to the lost gods. The real story, however, relates Tuesday with the Roman god Mars. Mars, or Tiw in Old English, is the Roman god of war, and second in the pantheon only to Jupiter. Tuesday (Tiwesdæg) is a reminder that Mars was always watching with his spear raised, and that you only lived in peace because you won the war.

Next we look at Wednesday. Wednesday was named after Wōden, the Old English equivalent of the Norse god Odin. Wōden and Odin both of whom gain their origins from the Roman god Mercury, who is the messenger of the gods. His appearance was very close to that of Hermes to include the winged shoes and the herald’s staff. He is attributed as being a psychopomp, which is a being who guides the dead to the afterlife. There are even stories of Mercury bringing dreams to people as they slept.

Thursday is probably easily recognizable these days as remembering Thor, the Norse god of thunder. Thor is well known for his giant hammer, Mjolnir. This hammer had the ability to return to Thor’s hand when thrown. Even with all his power, he wore a belt that doubled his strength. He is known for his temper and was a dangerous warrior. Thor was a favorite god among the working class. Many wore necklaces of Thor’s Hammer and asked him for blessings of fertility.

Friday was named after Freya, the Norse goddess of sex, beauty, love, and fertility. She was awesome. She was beautiful, a leader, and she had a chariot pulled by cats! She owned an amazing necklace that was coveted greatly and a cool falcon feather cloak. Back in the day, Friday was considered a lucky day. It was a day to get married, have children, plant crops, etc. This was all due to the blessings the goddess would grant on her day.

Of all the days of the week, Saturday is the only one that maintains its Roman origin. Saturday is named after Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture and harvest. Saturn’s influence can be seen in Roman lore as a golden age, or time of abundance, among men.

Sunday, named for the Norse goddess Sunne (or Sunna) also known as Sól. Sunne rides across the sky in her chariot pulled by the horses Allsvinn and Arvak (meaning “Very Fast” and “Early Rising”.) Sunne is said to be pursued by a wolf named Skoll. (In fact, Eclipses are said to be the cause of the wolf getting close enough to take a bite out of the sun.) Sunne will continue until the Ragnarök, the “end of days’ for the gods. During Ragnarök, many of the gods, such as Odin, Thor, Tyr, Heimdall, etc, will be killed. Sunne herself is said to be finally caught and consumed by Skoll. Once this happens, Sunnes daughter will take her place and provide sun to a new world of peace and love.

And we’ll end with a beginning. Monday gets its name from the old English Mōnandæg, or Moon day. The Greek Goddess of the moon is Selene, or Luna to the Romans. She is depicted as a beautiful woman with long black hair. She rides across the sky in a silver chariot that is pulled by either a pair of horses, a team of oxen, or even dragons. She is well known for her love affairs, including one with Zeus, the king of gods. Selene is a favorite among poets and authors for the love of the moonlight.

So, what does this have to do with writing? Looking at the history and myth behind simple words we use to tell what day of the week it is does more than tell a nice story, it adds depth to our world. You can take one word and link it back to centuries of people and gain an understanding of how their minds worked. As you build your worlds, maybe you should take some time and look at how the past has influenced and defined the people and their beliefs. It can be the little things that not only provide a little bit of depth and dimension to your world, it can be a fun exercise to get your ready for writing in a new world.

Talking Mice, Magic, and a World More Awesome ““ YA Fantasy

Matt Jones The Writing Life 1 Comment

Me in Japan My story of a writer begins with the rejection and insecurity of a young boy who was searching for his place in the world. I was a tall, scrawny kid with glasses who was always on the honor role. One of the first things you learn is that the world is a cruel place, but no matter what troubles befell you in life, you could always find a little respite in the pages of a book.

The first books I can remember reading were books like Boxcar Children, My Teacher is an Alien, or Bunnicula. They were fun books, written for children and they were great to get me into reading. They didn’t fully capture my attention yet. They were nice distractions, but were too simple and eventually I began to crave more.

The first book I read that completely blew me away was Redwall. It took place in another world, filled with anthropomorphic animals who had to act together to save their home from outside invaders. This book, while still written for a younger audience, taught me how worlds can truly change the world and your vision of reality. These books had combat, struggles, and death. They also had bravery, honor, and true courage. Even now, I look upon the cover of this book and remember fondly the world that I would frequent so often as a child and miss my time there.

RedwallUSCover Other books came along that amazed me in other ways. Dragonlance taught me the power that magic can bring to even a frail wizard, and believe me, as a lanky teenager, such power was very alluring. I began to learn how each author could create a new existence, create so many emotions, with nothing more than a pen and paper. Dragonriders of Pern. Lord of the Rings. The Wheel of Time. They all drew me in. They let me experience power and loss, the struggle for glory and the failures that connect us. I wanted to join them in their world, and leave mine behind, and so I did the next best thing.

I began to write my own worlds, create my own rules and find my own glory. I experimented with different realities, new physical rules and boundaries. I no longer have these early manuscripts, but I’m sure they were amazing. I dedicated my life to reading and building my own world. I wrote a whole story in second-person narrative just because I was told that it doesn’t work. You, the protagonist, was pulled into another dimension to fight for your world. In the end, you failed and all was lost. But at least you got to fight, and you went down giving it your all.

I don’t remember what my grades were on those papers, but I know I didn’t get much support in those years. As I’m sure is evident, much of my world resolved around existing and creating worlds that didn’t exist. Parents and teachers seem to fear these other worlds and believe they are depths that should be avoided. I began to gravitate toward other hobbies, such as computer and science. I would receive more approval from my teachers for a little program I wrote in a few hours than I would from a story that took me weeks to write.

Approval is a strong motivator, and I still wonder where I would be if I had received more of it for my writing. I still enjoy computers and science, and I make a great living at it, but I never lost my love for fantasy. The two loves would merge every now and then as I wrote games and interactive stories on the computer, but in the end I let that side of me sleep. I would play games, read books, and live in others world, but only let mine exist in memory.

Eventually, after finishing school and leaving the military, I was able to look back on my life and try to determine who I was and who I wanted to be. You would think that such a reflection should happen when you’re younger, but society doesn’t really allow for that. I’m lucky that the job I chose still happens to be one I enjoy, but those fantasy worlds that I created in my head still lurked in the background and I missed exploring them. The people on those worlds demanded resolution, and I needed to give it to them.

I took up worlds that I had created as a child and rebuilt them. I began to create new worlds, entirely new planes of existence. I jump back and forth between novels, but it works for me. Now I write for myself, and I write the world that needs to be written at that time. One of these days, soon I hope, I’ll get to the point where I’ll be happy enough to submit one of my novels to the world. I understand that they may never be perfect, but I love these characters that exist in my worlds. I care for them, rejoice in their triumphs, and cry with their sorrow. They are a part of me, and their world is real to me. Their story needs to be told, and I’m the one to tell it.

My hope is that someday some kid will read it, and it will show them just how magical the world can really be. Perhaps it will the catalyst to create their own worlds, their own stories that need to be told. And perhaps, even if they don’t get the support they needed at the beginning, they’ll soon realize that they don’t need to please anyone else. The stories exist, and they just need to tell the tale.

NaNoWriMo – Is it a good thing or a bad thing? (Debate)

Matt Jones The Writing Life 4 Comments

Now that you’re at the end, and either reveling in success or suffering in defeat, you’re in a good position to look back and decide if it was worth it.  There are two sides of the story that I generally hear.  The first is positive.  It helps show people who don’t write that it’s possible to write a novel.  It grants extra motivation.  It teaches good habits.  I also hear the opposite.  It just burns people out.  It tries to force people into a pace that some can’t handle and teaches them that they can’t write.  We are already authors, we do this every day.  We don’t need some stupid contest to show us something we already know.

So, what do you think?  Is it a good thing or a bad thing?  Give your reply in the comments and lets see which side gets the better arguments.

Conventions

Conventions Marketing Matt Jones The Writing Life 5 Comments

World Fantasy Convention starts in less than a week. This year the focus is on urban fantasy and gothic fantasy. If you’ve never been to a convention, going to your first convention is almost a magical experience by itself. You’ll meet authors left and right that have been in your shoes. You’ll see editors and agents who are willing to give you advice and may tell you to send a copy of your new novel their way. And, if nothing else, you’ll have a great time. So, if you’ve never been to a convention before, let’s look at why you should go to the next one, and what you should do when you arrive.

As you finish a novel or two, you’ll want to start submitting them to publishing houses and editors. Usually this ends up with your work starting at the bottom of a slush pile and you waiting impatiently for someone to read, and hopefully pick up your novel. The other option is to meet these publishers and editors and if they like you and your pitch, they may ask you to send them your work. While it will still end up on the slush pile, this can get you put to the top.

Even if you’re still not finished with your novel, conventions can be a great place to go for that little push. There is a common saying that says you should group yourself with people who are doing what you want to do. You can look pretty much everywhere and you’ll notice a trend of authors emerging into the publishing world in groups. You’ll have people that will push you to succeed while understanding the troubles you’re facing. Along these lines, conventions can act as a support group. For a couple days a year, you’ll be immersed into the middle of your peers and idols. You’ll hear about success and everyone will tell you that it can, and will, happen to you if you persevere.

If you’re still not convinced, Brandon Sanderson tells a story about when he was trying to get published. Brandon was taking a class with David Wolverton/Farland and David learned about the books Brandon had written. David told Brandon that he needed to make it to the next convention, even if it required selling everything he owned. Brandon listened to that advice, met his editor, and the rest is history.

So, you’ve made it to the convention that fits your work, now what? The best advice I can give you is to be social. The panels and talks are good and you should definitely attend the ones you find of interest, but the real magic usually happens outside the convention hall. Learn where the parties are happening and make an appearance. Hang out at the bar and introduce yourself. Be friendly and be ready to give that elevator pitch you’ve worked so hard on. Get business cards and email addresses. Start building up your circle of authors and industry professionals who know your name. It might give you the edge you need in the future.

If you have a novel ready to be published, you’ll want to do your homework before the convention and put on the dreaded marketers cap. Many conventions, such a world fantasy, have a list of who will be attending. If not, you should be following the publishers you want to submit to on twitter and facebook anyway, so you should have an idea of who is attending. Take this list and learn everything you can about the publishers and editors that you want to submit to. You should remember that they’re people as well, and like talking to people who appreciate their work. Ask them about the novels they’re currently working on, and how the last batch has done. Be friendly, and not pushy. If all goes well, they’ll reciprocate and ask what you’re working on.

Just remember to be friendly and listen to social cues. Being too pushy or problematic can hurt your chances as well. If the other person is in a hurry or trying to leave, wait for another opportunity. Talk to others in the group and make friends. Even if you don’t kick it off with your favorite editor, there are plenty of people around willing to talk to you and give you the push you need.