It's one of those side track moments...

Over the last few days it has been reported that over in Zimbabwe, Cecil the Lion was hunted and killed by an American dentist.

https://www.distractify.com/stick-to-cavities-1270093558.html?xrs=RebelMouse_fb

What an amazingly handsome beastie he was, but, thanks to a dentist, a corrupt ranger and $55,000, Cecil is now nothing more than a wall decoration - You selfish dickhead!

Anyway, not getting on my high-horse, I was keen to understand how others had taken this news - and it ain't pretty.

I suppose by way of a disclaimer, I have never hunted for decorative purposes - hunting for food, killing for protection, pest control or to end the suffering of an animal is a completely different topic of conversation, and I am not against any of them. (Oh, I should tell you that I am no tree hugger, nor do I have hippy tendencies, and vegetarianism is definitely not something I practice).

Decades (and a lot of them) ago, long before Walmart or Tesco's, or 'The Warehouse', were established, hunting probably was a multifaceted pastime - a good feed for the family, a new coat or blanket, even a draft excluder for the cave, all from one hunt - and the head got put up to possibly act as a hat rack or coat stand, or somewhere to hide the family jewels whilst waiting for Chub to invent the safe. Today's modern hunter hunts with a camera, a way of preserving the spectacular images of these (and other such) creatures in the wild, safe in the knowledge that they 'could' have killed the animal, but intelligent enough to understand that there is no need to.

Qualifying as a sniper during my military career, I enjoy shooting, and have participated in a number of shoots inside and outside of my Army day's - but ALL with good reason. I also fish whenever possible; the same rules apply - If I'm killing it, I'm eating it. (With the exception of protection, pest control [mainly rabbits and rats] and euthanasia, I can think of no other justification.

There are a few that say it is the 'thrill of the chase' - fine, chase it, but you don;'t have to kill it; take a picture and brag to your friends how you tracked it through the outback for two days, leopard crawled through dense bush and croc infested swamps, blah blah blah. Crikey, you can even get the picture custom enlarged so it covers that blank space of a wall. Then pat yourself on the back and go and get a McD's - kudos. How is killing such a majestic animal challenging? High powered rifle (probably with scope) fired from a safe distance versus what? Where is the thrill in that?

Apparently, there are places where wild boar are herded into enclosures and shot - I am assured that this is because, in those parts of the world, they are dangerous to the locals, destroy crops and their population is in need of control, (the meat is distributed locally), This ticks many of the boxes and, although the idea will still upset some people, I am ok with it.

Now there is a huge social media backlash aimed at this American dentist, and he wonders why? I'm not an advocate of bullying, or personal attacks, and would be equally appalled should this backlash take on a more sinister form.

Just to add to the whole mess, it is reported that the shoot was illegal, something that the dentist denies. I'm pretty sure that there will be some sort of PR exercise where we're told that Cecil was old, or in ill health, and that killing him was probably a good thing! No, never! Morally, ethically and for the love of God, I am sure that the $55,000 could have been used in a far more constructive way, that would have brought greater satisfaction to the individual than robbing the planet of something so majestic - Dickhead!! -

Just my personal thoughts on this tragedy.

A warning to all new authors...

OK, I think I'm safely far enough along the Author path to be able to give this piece of advice, and it's important for two reason's; 

1) because I assure you that this will impact your peace and quiet.

2) because no bugger told me!

You are told to 'write what you know', this refers to drawing from your own knowledge and personal experiences. But that doesn't mean that you've done everything you write about, right?! Crikey, if that was the case I'd be in a whole host of trouble, actually probably just prison. Don't judge me - I wrote one story that involved some pretty horrendous medical experiments, a wee bit of killing and some other un-pleasantry's, set in Russia; One that is a tragedy romance and the last, a modern war, kill pirates, special forces tale. I can honestly say that I've never been to Russia, and certainly not in 1940 something - well not in this lifetime anyway. BUT, as more and more friends, family and colleagues read the material it is amazing how many of them think a character or scene is based on either them, you, or actual personal experiences. And be warned, they take some considerable convincing otherwise. 

I make no apology for writing a scene, or creating a character, that has such authenticity it can resonate to that degree; but, in truth it's very difficult not to write something that somebody, somewhere hasn't already experienced, and not be writing fantasy. Authors tend to be a little more observant of people and environment, it's a sixth sense that hunts out potential story lines or character traits, and it stores them in the sub-conscious for future use. If you add to that that an author always leaves a part of themselves in every book, be that an emotion, a specific phrase or word, or one of a thousand other ways, it's hardly surprising that there will be some familiarity to the reader; even if you've only left an inherited trait shared by other members of your family. 

Writing 'what you know' is one thing, but you'll be amazed how much more you get to know with a decent amount of research. 

It's really ironic that your first 'hater' will be from within your family, friends and colleagues!  :-) But it's also kinda logical.

To date, ALL of my hate mail (that's probably a bit strong) has come from that group - then again, maybe I haven't sold that many copies outside of that group - dammit.

In reviews, where the reviewer has mentioned that the authors 'personal experience is evident', (or words to that effect), I take it as a real compliment, even if there is no personal experience, or true event, behind it/them. So, despite the fact that one of your stories may cost you a friend, family or colleague, you could lose them to a compliment.

I'm only mentioning this because it is something that had never occurred to me, nor did it occur to anyone else to warn me about it.

Anyway, there's a new story coming people, 23,000 words into an American Drug/political thriller,  it's gonna get messy.

http://www.ajwilsonbooks.net/

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ajwilsonbooks@gmail.com

Elementals - The editing begins...

Well, it's that time again - the latest 'Work in Progress' begins the transition from my lap top to (eventually) the next Amazon publication - Yes, it's editing time. As I hand over the manuscript to Judi there is an air of excitement building in the pit of my stomach, or it could be nerves! 

This story is of Young Adult genre, sort of Harry Potter meets Indiana Jones, meets Lord of the Rings. I think I'm always nervous when I hand over the script, all the questions race through my mind... is it good enough, is it the best it can be, what if Judi doesn't like it... I still have the doubts. Strangely the doubts don't go away, ever! If you look at Russian Redemption and Invictus Part 1, they have some brilliant reviews, huge compliments from complete strangers, but it still doesn't eradicate the doubts or fears. 


Something else that doesn't help is rereading the story - not just the five or six times, that's fine, but when you get to the point that your mind 'auto corrects' spelling or grammar errors so the eye doesn't even see them, then it is time to stop, it is no longer effective or efficient. But it is so bloody frustrating.


Anyway, the WiP - Elementals. We start the editing phase, and I hate it. When the sections come back with red ink all over the place I feel depressed - we're not talking throwing myself off a tall building depressed, more of 'humph, how did I get that so wrong' depressed. I dream of the day I'll submit a manuscript to Judi and it comes back with almost no red writing highlighting my errors - I fear we are a way off from that place. On the upside, at least it stops Judi from getting bored, eh? I absolutely loved writing it though, probably more than any I've written to date. To immerse myself into a child based fantasy was like washing off forty years of grown up. To reconnect with an innocence that sees the world a whole lot differently than adults, and to be able to walk, talk and observe the world without the burden of real life was exhilarating. I had the help of my twelve year old daughter to keep me 'young' as we planned story boards, explored scenario's and recorded details through the eye's of a child, another fantastic experience - talk about role reversal!


There also seems to be a bit of a perception that a YA story requires less research - this is completely untrue. As an author there is a responsibility to have just as much detail as any other book, the challenge is to communicate it in an appropriate manner. Why? Well, it is my view that a good book fuels the imagination of the reader, and no one has an imagination quite like youngsters. My writing is fiction, it's not real, but I love to weave the story's with facts, with real locations, with actual truisms; during a recent visit to the Amazon forums I saw a poster called Anna Karenina describe the difference between fiction and fantasy as being:-

"One hasn't happened, but could - the other hasn't happened and can't"

And that is why I research so much, I want the reader to think 'hmmm, this could be true', it brings a different dimension to the story.

An example is a book titled 'View from the 6th Floor - an Oswald Story' by Elizabeth Horton-Newton. A really enjoyable read that makes various references to the JFK assassination; it's not a conspiracy theory story, it's a kind of romance between old friends but suggests enough fact to make the reader ask 'did it happen that way?', it certainly lays it out in a manner that suggests that it could have - and that's a great achievement from a book.

That is the same reaction I want from readers of my books, I want them to be drawn into the story, invest in the characters, and have enough fact to anchor them to the real world, whilst encouraging the imagination to wander outside of the confines, to explore alternative avenues, not quite alternative realities.... yet.

So now Elementals starts to breathe. With Judi's skills and advice the story of Granddad Bert and the family adventure will take on it's own life, released onto the Amazon stage to do it's own thing. (hopefully before Christmas). Now I have to look at cover options and the other peripheral requirements needed to complete the wrap and pack. If anybody fancies reading an Advance Review Copy let me know.

Onwards and upwards! 


http://www.ajwilsonbooks.net/
ajwilsonbooks@gjmail.com

Listening to advice is completely different to following that advice...

Inside the world of Authordom there are many, many people that will offer advice, most without being asked for it. As a new, up & coming author there is often the temptation to blindly follow advice given by successful authors, after all if it worked for them.....

Well, I'm going to disagree with this (to a degree). For me writing is a very personal thing, it is a selfish passion. I don't know where the story's come from, how they get into my head, but when they arrive, they arrive with a forceful presence that insists on making it onto the page. This is my world, I can make anyone do anything in the story, an alternative reality - if you haven't written a book you will have no idea of just how much fun that can be. I've heard some people refer to a book as 'art' - I'm not entirely sure that this is accurate, it's certainly not the way I feel, but that's just my personal opinion. However, a story should be very personal to the author; I don't see how an author can expect a reader to invest emotionally in a story if the author hasn't invested the emotion in the writing. My point is that, similar to a painting, it is the individuality of the artist that makes or breaks the painting; it is expressive, an extension of the person, a physical representation of the imagination - and that is why I disagree with blindly following others that have enjoyed a degree of success.

Yes, there are some base rules BUT to quote Tara Moss (taramoss.com/category/books/) "Be wary of “writing rules” and advice. Do it your way.”

Sometimes there is advice that resonates to the point of vibration, an extension of your own deepest beliefs, Joss Whedon's quote is one such piece of advice:-

“You either have to write or you shouldn’t be writing. That’s all.” ― Joss Whedon

When asked to share advice, Tina Frey offered the following:

“It’s a great lesson about not being too precious about your writing. You have to try your hardest to be at the top of your game and improve every joke you can until the last possible second, and then you have to let it go. You can’t be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it…You have to let people see what you wrote.” 

Again, I have to agree. It is a big issue with some authors, normally associated with those that refer to their book as their 'baby'. Accept the basic fact that not everyone is going to like your book. It is pointless trying to change the mind of a reviewer, they've formed their opinion based on their own thoughts (ideally), if they don't agree with yours, so what? Let it go people.

An interesting pearl of wisdom from an American authoress, Joyce Carol Oates, published since 1963, suggests "Technique holds a reader from sentence to sentence, but only content will stay in his mind.” ― Joyce Carol Oates Yep, gets my vote too.

For my favourite of all I go back to Tara Moss, 

“Write. Start writing today. Start writing right now. Don’t write it right, just write it –and then make it right later. Give yourself the mental freedom to enjoy the process, because the process of writing is a long one...” ― Tara Moss

In my head I am writing pretty much all of the time, but unfortunately my day job would take umbrage if I just sat and wrote in their time. I don't have the opportunity to write, write and write, and strangely enough I think this is a good thing. I love writing, I love the whole experience at a granular level, but it's my escapism, my place to go to get away from the real world. To the surprise of some, my day job requires a degree of brain strain, thinking on a technical level. If we presume that the day job is the leash on my mind, writing brings the euphoria like being released into a field to run around. But if I lived in that field I'd never be able to capture that euphoria again.

Anyway, there are some other advisory jewels offered in the full piece, but remember these are other people, with their own advice. Writing is all about letting your self be true to yourself.

www.aerogrammestudio.com/2013/07/19/23-tips-from-famous-writers-for-new-and-emerging-authors/

I hope some of it helps.

www.ajwilsonbooks.net/

That meeting!

As described in the last few posts, I was more than a little apprehensive about meeting a thirteen year old lad that had read the raw script of 'Elementals', and was prepared to give me his opinions. (I thought he was twelve but I was quickly corrected). The meeting was set for 1pm, the venue... McDonalds. Having bundled my own twelve year old daughter into the car, (moral support for me yes, but I also thought it would be less daunting for the lad, Cabe. And, my daughter would never pass up the opportunity of a McD's treat). All the usual thoughts were chasing each other around in my head.. 'what if he didn't like it?', 'did the story make sense?', 'Georgie Pie or Angus burger?'... I checked the digital display on the dashboard of the car, 1249; looking around the carpark I watched for people, searching for the familiar face of Cabe's father, but saw no-one. Now I started feeling a little anxious, 'bugger, what if they don't turn up?'. A quick text, 'Hi mate, am in the McD's carpark.." send, 

With the radio tuned to a local station, music and chat broadcasting inside the car, my daughter was unaware of just how important this meeting was to me, or maybe she was aware and had worked out that it wasn't important to her, or at least not as important as a Mack'ers. She was just happy singing along to the tunes. Nervously I watched the front of the screen of my mobile, willing it to light up, vibrate and herald the arrival of a response to my text. It's an interesting phenomena that, at times like this, it take hours for the digital clock just to change one digit, well that's what it seemed like.

Finally, the response comes through, 'Cool, we are inside.' It was time to face the truth...

New Zealand is a very sports orientated country. It doesn't matter how diverse the sport is, everyone is actively encourage to participate in some sport or other, especially the young. Saturday mornings are all about sports; up and down the country there are hundreds of thousands of youngsters throwing a ball, catching a ball, kicking a ball or belting it with a bat or stick of some description. And, it would seem that after playing the sport, hundreds of thousands of youngster head straight for a fast food fix! The place was packed. Had I known at that time that Cabe had a full head of red hair I would have used a different search criteria as I scanned the masses. The very fine wisps of hair that his father had gave no clue of this distinctive feature of his son. 

I'm not a fan of crowds; it's more of a psychological thing than anything else, but crowds make me nervous, uncomfortable and put me on edge. I'm not talking about freaking out and running for the door type nervous, more the case of heightened senses, fixed pupils, constant scan mode type nervous. So, here I am, surrounded by thousands, if not dozens, of youngsters, still hyped up from their game, demanding their reward from the parent, grown up or big sister that has been their morning chaperon. I'm looking for a man and his lad secreted somewhere in the sea of young faces, my palms are starting to sweat, I can't spot them. Another people carrier parks up, unloading a stream of nine year-olds dressed in a football kit, yelling with excitement at their arrival. They enter the establishment like a herd of stampeding wildebeest which seems to start a whole new competition with the incumbent children; who can scream loudest! 

At that very moment I'm thinking 'Yeah, nah.' time to leave, except I can't, my daughter has been promised a McD's, dammit. Reality strikes, I have to stay. The 5-star badge totting young woman behind the counter announces an order number, "225" she shouts.  And then, from the crowds of impatient, hyper-active kids appears Steve, the dad of the critic I was due to face.

It took five minutes or so for us all to be sat at the table with our orders, and it was my turn to be impatient. In hindsight I probably should have discussed the weather or something more appropriate to allow Steve and his wife to be part of the conversation, but in my head I just wanted to know Cabes thoughts about 'Elementals'. If I could I would of tried the Vulcan mind meld (Spock always made it look so cool!), I wanted, needed, to extract every piece of feedback from the brain of this thirteen year old - but sticking your thumb and fingers in strategic positions on the face of a thirteen year boy, in the middle of McD's, probably would have been cause for a call to the police, or a punch from his father - definitely one of the two. So, we conversed. Using all of my skills and experience of the sales techniques; I asked open questions, closed questions and confirmation questions. For the next hour it was all about 'Elementals' - it was great, I loved it. 

Cabe made some very valid points; he highlighted a couple of areas where the adult trying to be the kid hadn't quite worked, hadn't quite managed to resonate with the target age group. For me, this was priceless, total gold. Marks out of ten for the story? I got an eight. Happy with that bearing in mind the changes needed. For the characters? I got a nine!!! Cabe - Thank you!! (and your mum & dad too). It is definitely something that I'm doing again, such a worthwhile exercise for me, and I think Cabe enjoyed it aswell. 

What happens next? Well, I'll spend today making the required changes and then it's off to Judy at ProofreadNZ to start the editing process. Finances willing, 'Elemetals' will be out for Christmas.

Cheers.

AJWilsonBooks
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Following on from the 'Research the Crap out of it...' post, I'm quite excited by my next piece of research. Well, when I say 'excited', it would probably be more truthful to say it's a nervous, apprehensive and concerned type of excitement.

'Elementals' is a recent project, a story targeting the early teen/YA that I would liken to Harry Potter meets Gandalf & Bilbo, meets Indiana Jones. I have let a few of my usual proofreaders/story checkers read it and (modestly) the feedback has been favourable. But this Saturday I'm actually going to be sitting down with a real live critic whom I know is going to be 100% honest, brutally so, because that's what twelve year olds are. It just so happens that this twelve year old is a word machine, his eye's digest words quicker than... well.... quicker.. than...ermm.. quicker than a really quick thing. (My advanced apologies to all those that have been kind enough to review my other publications.) I don't know if it's just me but.... to actually sit opposite someone that has no ties to me at all, whom I have never met before, but who represents my target audience, seems quite daunting.... AND, I'm paying for the McDonalds!!

Let me tell you how this came about:

                     In my day job it is important that I build good relationships with customers, it's actually pivotal. But let's not forget that I'm a nice guy so it ain't too difficult to like me. Anyway, I was introduced to a customer that was about to fall into my care, and we got chatting. Somewhere in the conversation I did mention that I had written a couple of books, and we discussed a number of topics around books and films. As it turns out this guy has a son who is an avid reader... not just 'avid' but more avid than a really avid thing, possibly living on Avid Street. We're talking A.V.I.D. It's a sad reflection that it is so unusual to find a kid of that age that wants to read. My brain starts thinking that this could be a multi-pronged win/win situation; he's in need of reading material and I've got pages of the stuff that is (supposedly) written for his age group. The next time we met up the client kindly brought the topic around to my writing, I offered to let his son have the script of Elementals, and thankfully he agreed. I meet some great people eh, but now I face the demon that I have created (Drama!).  Maybe he should eat the McD's before he starts the critique?

Anyway Cab, do your worst, give me the feedback right between the eye's. And thank you for agreeing to do it. All of the other reviewers were great, and I thank them as well, but if you want to know the raw truth... ask a kid - especially when the target audience are kids: Sometimes the logic stuns me. 

I'll let you know the outcome.

http://www.ajwilsonbooks.net/

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Research the crap out of it....

Google is without doubt, a writers friend. Many moons ago authors would set off on journeys to discover the village, town or country that would feature in their next best seller... now we have Google: not quite as romantic, or expensive, Google and Google Earth offer a great insight into these places without us actually having to leave the comfort of our living room. If it's uniforms or cultures you are researching - Google it. Obviously it's not quite the same as standing in the middle of a 16th Century stately home because there is no ambiance or atmosphere to absorb but it is pretty damn good for dealing with the facts.

Way back in an earlier post I referred to Granddads story in 'Elementals', a story from his childhood, his days in London during the second World War.  It all had to tie in with the discovery of an underground vault. So, through research (Uncle Google) I managed to discover the number of German bombs that fell within a square mile of the location, and on what day. From the stories perspective, I doubt that 99% of readers would even bother to check the plausibility of the bombs falling, 'hey, it was London, in 1940, there was a war on, of course bombs could have fallen in or around that exact area... who cares?' - Well, the answer is that I do! I care that the one percent of people that will check on the day and date, will learn that over 400 bombs fell on the day, in that area; the collapsing shop front that crashes onto the road below, opening up the secreted and forgotten vault is plausible! The devil is in the detail.

It was the same with 'Russian Redemption', a funeral parade that passed along the walls of The Kremlin - thank God for Google! Various pictures, schematics and descriptive accounts of visitors and families from that era supplied all the information needed; enough to give a believable version of such a funeral procession (without boring the reader with micro facts that they just won't appreciate).

It is more than just being right, it's about completing the readers experience at a different level. Some readers seem quite happy to read anything as long as there aren't too many spelling or grammar mistakes, and the story has something of interest about it; these readers tend not to invest emotionally unless there is something specific in the story that resonates with them, a place, a song, a particular slang word. And it is true that some are happy with that, but I want as many people as possible to invest in my stories, I want the detail to win over the most hardened of picky readers.

Mind Map is a big thing for me as well. It helps keep my 'timeline' true. As I have said before, I tend to write in a manner that requires thought, I'll jump around a bit from time zones and places, always heading towards the finale, so Mind Map has proven to be an essential tool - it also allows me to make notes on character development and events.

I have to be honest and say that 'Elementals' has involved an incredible amount of research, not just location but also mythical as it involves historical 'forces'; Probably, for every two hours of research, a single sentence is constructed - but it's a bloody important sentence!

Talking of 'Elementals' - it's a VA/early teen story. The other day I was having a drink after work (or maybe during actual work hours, but definitely working - ish) with a client, you know thing. And we got around to discussing the fact that I wrote books, enjoying the fact that I could honestly say that I was a published Author. Anyway, it turns out that the son of this chap is an avid reader, and when I say 'avid', I mean a constant need to read. This is 2015, a 12 year-old addicted to reading - there is hope for the generation yet. I've taken a brave step and sent the 'Elementals' manuscript to a 12 year old to read and critique. Seeing as this is inside the age brackets of the target audience I feel this is a really good move, and am looking forward to the honesty of the youngster to correct any story or plot glitches that a mere adult would over look. Does that count as research, hmmmm, possibly.

Anyway - back to the laptop for research purposes, a whole new story brews.