Category Archives: Colette Black

Myth and Magic

Colette Black Craft & Skills World-building No Comments

selene-watching-endymion

It’s much like the question, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” We’ve talked about mythology a lot over the course of the month, creating mythologies within fantasy worlds, how they affect our worlds and characters, and how they have evolved over time in our own world. As I pondered on mythology in my own writing, the first word that came to me was magic. I’m going to go into my thought process a bit. Bear with me, there is a point to all of this.

In my Young Adult series, Legends of Power, which I hope to have released within the year, I started with the idea of a young man being chased by shadows. Not horrible beings sent by some nemesis or arch-villain, but beings unwittingly created by the touch of our protagonist’s magic. As I searched to understand my protagonist, and what I’d made happen to him, I found a mythology to explain his powers–the legend of the Greek goddess, Selene. I played with it a bit, made her an angel instead of a goddess, and claimed the Greek legend had evolved from a much earlier event. As my story developed, so did my magic system. I searched for myths and legends from all over the world, propagating my urban fantasy world with people of various lineage, claiming their magical ancestors had instigated the most famous and/or interesting legends of their regions. It’s been a lot of fun finding those legends. There are a million to pull from. I claimed the stories were based in reality then used them to create each groups’ magic system, along with appropriate strengths, abilities, and limitations.

And here is the point: sometimes we can create myths, but sometimes myths can create magic. When you’re looking for a magic system, maybe need ideas for what your characters can and can’t do, a great place to look is the mythologies of the world in which we live. There’s almost always some mystical experience involved that you can shape and change into a magic system or alter to create a magical creature. J.K. Rowling did this masterfully in Harry Potter. For my series, I used some of these mythologies to explain real-life beings with which we’re familiar: shapeshifters, leprecons, merfolk, etc. Others, I made up: Kyro (shadow master), electricians, torches, etc. Take a look around you. Discover for yourself the magic in our myths.

What are some of your favorite books that utilize myths in the magic system, or in the creation of fantastical creatures? We’d love to see your comments.

Monsters & Librarians

Colette Black The Writing Life No Comments

the blobIt’s Saturday morning. Cartoons are over. For whatever reason, Mom hasn’t found us for our weekly chores. Huddled under our old polyester blanket, the edge poised at our brow, my brother and I plus some occasional neighborhood friends, watch the large white letters flash on the screen of our old console TV. “ADVENTURE THEATER presents….” This was the place where my love for sci-fi horror grew. We watched the original “Planet of the Apes,” “The Blob”  (Click the picture on the right for the blob song.), “Godzilla”  vs EVERYTHING, and even “Abbot and Costello Go to Mars.” I lived for these kinds of shows, soaking it in like a sponge cake soaks up sauce.  I believe these movies are the influence responsible for the comment I’ve heard so many times regarding my horror short stories:

“The writing is similar to Stephen King. You must have read a lot of his books.”

“Um…No, I haven’t.”

The only Stephen King book I’ve read is “On Writing,” where he talks about his early childhood influences. The same shows I watched on my TV screen, he saw in the theaters. Freaky,yet cool, it shows the power these early-childhood entertainments have on us. Still, though these films were my influence, my introduction was a movie I doubt Stephen King, or probably any other writer, has ever seen.

Tarantula

In a small town in southern Utah, where my grandparents TV only received one station which only aired occasionally, that one station showed the 1955 “Tarantula” many times. And every time the tarantula chased a crowd of people across the desert, someone would point to the screen and say, “There’s grandpa! He’s one of the extras.”

That was my true introduction, and from that point on, throughout my childhood, I watched monster flicksl, even if I had to close my eyes and pull the blanket over my head. Is it any surprise that one of my favorite recent films is “Super 8?” J.J. Abrams took the classic monster tale and created a beautiful modernization set in the monster-movie glory days. And is it any surprise that my first short story sale was a horror about a woman who turns beetle and terrorizes an airplane full of people. It’s in my blood, and it shows up in my fiction, in some way or another, almost without fail.

Now, I mentioned librarians in the title, and though it’s completely off topic, I have to give a special thank you to my junior high librarian. Most of the districts in my state no longer pay for certified librarians, or even full-time librarians, which I think is sad. When a shy seventh-grader asked for more animal books, instead of giving me the same Black Stallion-type content I’d been reading my entire life, my school librarian opened a whole new world to me with “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” That was my introduction to fantasy and it sucked me in as  horror sci-fi  film had ten years earlier. And do I enjoy a combination of the two? Yes. An author who writes some amazing sci-fi horror meshed with old-time fantasy, is David Farland. His “Runelords” series and “The Golden Queen,” are absolutely brilliant, and though one was relegated as sci-fi, and the other as fantasy, I think an argument could be made for both fronts with both books.

So, to the amazing artists, monsters, and librarians who have influenced my life and my dreams, I can only say again, “Thank you.”

It’s Finished… or Is It?

Colette Black Craft & Skills Editing First Drafts The Writing Process 6 Comments

We’ve all done it. We finish our manuscript, think we’ve done our self-editing, followed submission guidelines, we hit Send, and then…oops. We should have done__________.

checklist

I had a completely different post written out for today. One with lots of links to books, and workshops, and what to do and not to do, and it sounded patronizing–not the customer kind, but the looking down your nose kind. I mean, let’s be real. I think I’m a good writer, maybe even a great writer someday, but I’m no editor. Every time I go to send a query, send out my next novel, or write up a series synopses, I think I’m going to hyperventilate. Why? Because, I almost always forget something. I have an editing checklist, but it’s changed over the last couple of years, improved, and yet I’m realizing right now, I’ve never actually updated it. Most of the checklist is in my head and for me, that’s not the safest nor the most reliable location. So for my sake, and I hope this helps someone else, here’s a revised self-editing checklist. This is my list for end-of-the-line editing, not the content editing or even the full line-editing list. Maybe we can do those another time, but it’ll be a much longer post.

Basic Formatting:

  • One-inch margins
  • 12-pt Times New Roman font
  • Double-spaced
  • No spaces before or after paragraphs (check to be sure)
  • first-line indent
  • Header with last name/title/page #
  • Correct title page with contact information, Word count, and title done correctly
  • Chapter Heading one-third down the page with page breaks between chapters (but no blank pages)

My Particular problems:

  • No extra spaces between words/before paragraphs
  • Search and replace or delete over-used favorite words, like “just”
  • Check for improper usage of past and past-perfect tense.  (This became an issue when I read a lot of YA books with this problem, so now I especially check to make sure it doesn’t seep into my own writing–Thank you David Farland for pointing this out.)

Problems to watch for, learned from David Farland’s workshops:

  • forward and toward, not forwards and towards (That’s American English vs. British English)
  • Check usage of  “and, then, finally, felt, saw, look, that”  Get rid of them whenever possible
  • Use spell-check
  • Check “-ly” adverbs–There should be few, if any
  • Have I read the manuscript out loud, at least once?
  • Did I change the font and read the manuscript in order to catch less-noticeable errors?

And a few extra:

  • A basic spell-check
  • Re-read the publisher’s or agent’s specific requirements
  • Include appropriate letters (query, cover letter, synopsis)
  • correct postage for snail mail
  • proper formatting for electronic submissions
  • If I cut and pasted from another submission, change editor/agent name, word count, work’s title, name of magazine/agency, and all other details.

And NOW, it might be ready. This seems like a lot, but I think I’ve forgotten almost all the points on this list, or have almost forgotten them, at least once when sending to agents and publishers. I wish I’d put this together years ago, but then I don’t think I knew half the items on this list years ago. I hope this helps someone, and I’d love to add anything I’ve forgotten, so if you think of something please leave a comment.

Happy Writing!

 

The Fictorians Have Been Busy!

Brandon M. Lindsay Colette Black David Carrico Evan Braun Mary Pletsch Nancy Greene Publishing No Comments

Contributing to the Fictorian Era represents a very small portion of my continued efforts to further my writing career, albeit it’s an effort I can get pretty passionate about. Like the rest of our regular bloggers, I am committed to growing that career and getting my work out into the world-and of course, the market.

Some of us have been serious about this pursuit for many years, while others have begun the endeavor more recently, but we’ve all made tremendous progress. Today’s post is dedicated to showcasing the work we have collectively sold or published in the last two years.

 *          *          *

Evan Braun. I’ll BookofCreationstart with me. In May 2012, my debut novel was published through a small press in Canada. Called The Book of Creation, it is the first in a three-volume adventure series in the vein of Indiana Jones, with a bit of Da Vinci Code mysticism thrown in for good measure. I wrote a piece about the release of the book last year.

The Book of Creation can be purchased here. The Kindle version is currently on sale for just 99 cents! It is also available on the Nook as well as the book’s official website. The second volume in the series, The City of Darkness, is coming out later this year. Details will be announced right here at the Fictorian Era, so stayed tuned.

David Carrico. In the last few years, David has sold four short stories and one non-fiction piece to The Grantville Gazette, an online magazine featuring stories and articles about the inhabitants of the world of 1632, the first novel in a long-running series by bestselling author Eric Flint. The first of the stories is “Evening of the Day,” followed by three stories co-written with Enrico Toro-“Euterpe, Part 5,” “Cadence,” and “The Duelist.” He also wrote the non-fiction “After the Ring.”

In addition, anotherTheDevilsOpera of his stories, “Suite for Four Hands,” appeared in Grantville Gazette VI, an anthology published by Eric Flint and published by Baen Books.

Most importantly, David has recently teamed up with Eric Flint to co-write one of the official entries in the 1632 series. This new novel, coming out in October 2013, is entitled 1636: The Devil’s Opera. In case you missed it, David recently wrote a post about his opportunity to work directly with one of the most talented writers in the industry. Another post on this collaboration is coming later this month.

1632: The Devil’s Opera can he preordered here.

Colette Black. Colette specializes in young adult fantasy, and has also made several sales. Credited as C.M. Vernon, her short story “Beneath the Skin” appeared in Women Writing the Weird. More recently, she received an honorable mention in the prestigious Writers of the Future contest for her 4th Quarter 2012 entry. She also won the CopperCon 32 short story contest with “Kairo’s Opportunity.”

Finally, Colette’s short story “Demon River” is forthcoming this month in White Cat Publishing’s biannual anthology magazine, Denizens of Darkness. It will be available to purchase here.

Nancy DiMauroApolloRising. Nancy’s debut novella, Apollo Rising, was released by Musa Publishing last September. The story combines romance with Greek mythology. It can be purchased here. She has also released a couple of short story collections, including Paths Less Traveled and Shots at Redemption, both of which are available as $2.99 ebooks. She also contributed to an anthology called Jack Gorman Got Cut by a Girl. These are Amazon links, but note that the books are also available through Musa Publishing’s online store and Barnes & Noble’s Nook Book Store.

Nancy also contributed to Doghorn Publishing’s Women Writing the Weird, along with fellow Fictorian Colette Black.

Mary Pletsch. Mary is still just getting started, but she recently sold her first short story to a forthcoming anthology. Unfortunately, the details of the anthology haven’t yet been released from the publisher. Rest assured, Mary will be writing a post later this year with all the info. Stay tuned!

Joshua Essoe. Joshua’s foray into publishing began a few years ago when he began working with acclaimed fantasy author David Farland on his award-winning novel, Nightingale. For more information about his successful editing business, check out his website. You’ll find an impressive gallery there of all his edited works which have gone on to be published.

In addition to his editing, Joshua has pulled in two honorable mentions for stories submitted to the Writers of the Future contest. His writing has also appeared on Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.

Brandon MDarkTree. Lindsay. Brandon has been actively self-publishing short stories leading up the released of his forthcoming debut novel, The Born Sword. So far the stories include Dark Tree and an anthology entitled The Clans. The provided links take you to the Kindle Store, but Brandon’s works are available across multiple platforms, including Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Kobo. Links can be found at his website.

 *          *          *

This is not an exhaustive list. There are many other books that are coming out soon, as a number of our contributors are working closely with well-respected agents. We are coming out with new material all the time, so make sure to check back here often, as you will see publishing announcements and articles about our writing processes.

Well, readers, now that you know what we are up to, do you have any exciting projects of your own you’d like to share with us? Feel free to discuss them in the comments section.

Tune in tomorrow, when we kick off our third year with a month of posts from true professionals. Throughout April, we’ll be getting people from different fields, from editors to illustrators, to talk about the process of collaborating with authors on manuscripts.