An important aspect of writing is rooting your stories in believable fact. It is simply amazing how quickly a story can fracture if your readers collide with something they know can’t be done or is ‘out of sync’ with your story.

‘Well, what if I’m creating something?’ you may argue. That’s fine – but you still need to either logically build up to it, or at some point explain it so your reader can make the connection.

On your first draft, you may need to note placeholders for research, and then come back later to retool the section.

For example, in Crossover, as I realized the importance of moon phases, I had to not only learn them but actually map out my story so that the moon phase logically corresponded to the time sequence.

The same with fairy movement. When you’re 3 inches high, the distance you travel is a heckuva lot less than when your 5’8″. Much as I’m not a great mathematician, I actually had to calculate distances based on a 3″ stride – and modify my story accordingly.

Think of stories you’ve read and enjoyed – while you may never have given it much thought, a good writer is paying alot of attention to underlying detail so that you “believe” what you’re reading – true escapism!

So, if you’re writing, I suggest you do “sweat the details”, BUT not until after the first draft, so you don’t undermine your creativity.

Writers can be their own worst enemies.

The biggest culprit hindering aspiring writers that I hear about is is self-editing. It can lead to instant writer’s block, and prevents wonderful ideas and thoughts from ever moving beyond the realm of the mind.

Fact #1: nobody writes a good first draft, including you. So put that concept out of your mind. If you expect to write perfect prose at the beginning, put down the pen right now. It’s not going to happen.

Fact #2: The first draft is a core dump of your ideas. It’s your first attempt to put them on paper. As you write, new ideas naturally flow out, totally unrelated at times to what you have previously written. That’s great. That’s the writing process.

Fact #3: Editing your initial writing as you go is a sure-fire way to squelch your creativity. The moment you start criticizing your work – which is what editing is – you become skeptical about its quality. Not a good thing!

If you think about it, trying to edit your story before it is completed is illogical. Since you don’t know how it’s going to end (trust me – stories tend to go in directions you didn’t plan), how can you make changes? Leave the story alone and keep writing. That’s the goal of the first draft.

Fact #4: Premature editing = writer’s block. Particularly for a new writer. Because you allow yourself to become disappointed in the “quality” of your work (because you’ve forgotten it’s a first draft), you stop writing. And since every author advises that daily writing, like daily exercise, is essential to the creative process, you’re shorting yourself out. 

I learned this fact the hard way. I tend to edit myself automatically. But once I gave myself permission to write “whatever”, the story really began to flow out. Ultimately the first draft of Crossover was 454 pages long. 

Subsequently, it was rewritten completely two times, edited five more, then read out loud twice to catch hidden errors. The final version was over 100 pages shorter, and whole chapters were lopped out.

I have the original manuscript, and get a big chuckle out of some of it. There are chunks that I did keep because by some miracle, they came out beautifully. But I would say 95% was reworked and rewritten before the book was finally published.

So, give yourself a gift. Forget about editing and get writing!

At a recent book signing, I shared some helpful tips in writing that participants suggested I post on my blog. So here’s the first three tips out of 10.

1. The Idea: What if? Most stories’ concepts start with a “what if” question. In my case, it was “what if fairies aren’t born with their wings, but have to earn them?” If you go with the analogy to a sturdy grapevine, then this is your story’s root stock.

2. The Plot Outline: I can’t emphasize enough the importance of roughing out the plot’s outline – even tho’ it probably will change quite a bit when you’re writing. Mine did! This forces you to go beyond the idea to what you’re going to do with it. In other words, how are you going to answer your question? If the question is the root stock, this is the vine’s trunk, that supports everything.

I determined that a fairy would ultimately receive their wings through a series of ‘Coming of Age’ Rites, ultimately crescendoing in the Krisalys (or Chrysalis – when a butterfly gets their wings). 

 3. Characters: As you’re sketching out your preliminary outline, rough out your primary characters – and expect them to change. What do they look and sound like? How do they walk, laugh, smile? Your primary characters are the main canes (which bear the leaves and fruit).

I found it helpful to people-watch, poke through magazines and cut out photos of how a character might look… I hunted for visual ideas as a starting point.

Peripheral characters – such as Damon, Elanoria and Rhytha - ”materialized” as I wrote (and rewrote) filling in those important gaps and adding depth to the story (the smaller canes and tendrils). And they are likely to advance to primary characters in the second book.

Check out the first article on the book on the Read More web page! Stanislaus Magazine asked me to write about the inspiration for the Krisalys Trilogy, and you may learn some interesting tidbits about the book’s genesis.

A reader asked “where did you get the word Krisalys from?” It’s a derivative of the word Chrysalis (the butterfly’s cocoon), a central theme to Crossover, and one that underlies the whole trilogy.

I enjoy inventing and modifying words, and since I speak basic French and Spanish, as well as a smattering of other languages, it gives me a lot of great rootstock when it comes to my characters’ words.

Interviews

An interview with Readerviews.com

Crossover Sample Chapters!

I have now uploaded a couple of sample chapters from my book as PDF:

Crossover Chapter 1
Crossover Chapter 2

Dark Fire Sample Chapters!

Dark Fire Chapter 1 and 2

Recent articles:

Faerie Magazine, Autumn 2008

Turlock Living,  November/December 2007

Modesto View, October 2007

Stanislaus Magazine, September 2007

In The News:

Memorable Fantasy Features a Dangerous Fairy Quest and World-Changing Prophecy

My new book will be available from Amazon by the end of July! What is my book about? Here is an excerpt:“Eshel’s rasping voice cried out. “A prophecy this day has come true. One has come to us from Lampion, a realm rich in those things that Nonetre deserves. He has chosen to embrace our realm, and lead us down new paths of enlightenment, challenge our old way of doing things, make us leader among realms, even daementions. Give all hail to Tvashtar Tizón, anointed firelord of Nonetre!” The air quivered under the onslaught of fire daemons’ shrieks of gladness. Beside Eshel appeared a tall, glowing figure. Hidden in the shadows, Danaí stifled her dismay. It was Pook.”

If you would like your copy signed by me, please contact me.