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.

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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.

Pseudonyms for anonymity?

The war of words (and petitions) still rages on social media and the Amazon forums - Should people be allowed to use made-up names?

Firstly, why would someone want to use a made-up name? There are a number of possible reasons, here are a few:

1. They have a completely stupid real name and they don't want their online buddies to laugh at them.

2. Whilst using their real name previously, they have found themselves the target of nasty individuals for whatever reasons.

3. The person wants to be a nasty individual and abuse decent people whilst hiding behind that made-up name (so he/she is harder to catch)

4.  An author uses a name that either sounds more 'authory' or is better suited to the genre in which they are writing. (John Doe isn't nearly as interesting as Jonothan Deer)

5. An author chooses a made-up name to hide their real identify for countless reasons (a kindergarten teacher writing erotic for example).

6. An Author/reviewer/reader/blogger etc etc wants to keep their on-line identity separate from their real world private life (again, for countless possible reasons).

I've written a number of books now:

Russian Redemption  - A dark and disturbing story that includes some graphic and offensive violence.

Fated Encounters -  A raw and tragic romance story

Invictus Part 1 - Introducing Richard - A thriller full of Intrigue and action

Elementals - A YA story of fantasy and adventure. Sort of Harry Potter meets Bilbo Baggins meets Indiano Jones. (To be published)

Cannibis Island - Political thriller where American politics meets Mexican drug dealers in a mutually beneficial pact, with a twist. (To be completed)

As you can see I'm writing across a number of genres. I really wouldn't want a youth reading 'Elementals' and then picking up Russian Redemption just because it's by the same author. So, being the super clever and cunning person that I am, I selected an alternative identity, disguised my authors name; I went from Andrew J Wilson to A J Wilson! Pretty good eh! And, with the YA side of things, I'm contemplating Andy/Andi Wilson - what's your thoughts?

My point is that there can be legitimate reasons for using a pseudonym, (a made up name is a made up name whatever you call it).

Regrettably the world has its fair share of weirdo's, they are out there. The invention of the internet and social media allows these strange people to be anything they wish they were in their real life. And yes, some of them are extremely dangerous; health and wealth can be adversely affected by these people IF you let it.

So, the argument that pseudonyms/anonymity should be banned will in fact harm more people than it helps (in my opinion).

AND then we have the hypocrites, of which that same famous author referred to in an earlier post is an outstanding example: Ms Rice professes to champion the removal of anonymity on the Amazon forums (but it is ok for Authors to use pseudonyms),YET she has embarked on a whole new crusade against Facebook because they have removed one of her many disciples for using a fake name - Granny Goodwitch. Y'see Facebook aren't too struck on anonymity, they much prefer their accounts to be real names - the same as Ms Rice wants on Amazon - Is it just me on is there a sense of 'dictatorship/ rich and famous author throws hissy fit and demands her own way' about this?

I don't think it really matters, Ms Rice doesn't seem to be getting her own way with many things lately, something that seems to be gnarling at her ego. Kind of reminds me of my Nan, a sweet old woman, but as the marbles started to escape from the bag she turned nasty, twisted and vindictive. I would go as far as to say that she became quite delusional in the latter stages. No doubt the signs of an illness that she never lived ling enough to have properly diagnosed.

Anyway - lessons? Anonymity has many positive functions, and a few negative. And remember, no matter how rich and famous you become, you don't actually own the world.

AJWilsonbooks.net

USA 50 State Challenge update - 

So, nearly 16 months ago I launched a fun challenge to see if I could get at least one person from each of the 50 States to visit my website www.ajwilsonbooks.net/  I seem to recall that I thought it would take around 12 months to complete - oh well.

It has been a little up and down but now there are only FOUR States left:

Montana 
Wyoming
North Dakota
South Dakota

So, if you know anyone on any of those States ask them to click onto my website, just to say hello, then at least I can cross it off as completed.

Cheers

www.ajwilsonbooks.net/

Why is a person bullied on the net?

On my travels around the forums I occasioned upon a post with a link the blog of a very well known author, John Scalzi. 

Two points to make before you read on:

1) I have no link or relationship with John Scalzi, he doesn't even know I exist.

2) In my opinion 'bullying' on the internet is just sooooo yesterday! It seems the whole world is being 'bullied' - so much so the use of the words 'bully - bullied - bullying' have become fashion accessories - sorry darling, you're just not part of the in crowd unless you've been bullied. 'Bullied is the new popular! Seriously, if governments could find a way of taxing just that one word..... well, you get the idea. Make no mistake, I am not belittling those unfortunate individuals that have truly suffered at the hands of the halfwits, but it seems like everyone wants to claim 'I've been bullied.' 

The wonderful thing about the internet is that with the press of a single button you can disconnect. It's not like being in a playground where you are surrounded by the bully's gang, unable to escape, forced to endure the onslaught of unpleasantries, nope, not at all - just one button push and it's gone. The definition of being 'bullied' has gone through such a series of downgrades that, according to some, a simple non-complementary term, or even a simple difference of opinion qualifies as 'bullying' - complete crap, 

Anyway, back to John Scalzi - I've never read any of his books, I only know what I've read about him on the internet but I love his honesty, I think he would be a great dinner guest, (and by that I mean a McDonalds with a group of mates) - here is an exert from his blog, and I have to say...... I couldn't agree more!

Bettie Pager asks:

Generally, bullies bash people to get particular reactions — they want to shut down others’ voices or at least scare them. But, at least from the outside looking in, the only affect the Mewling Manlings/Rabidly Sad Puppies/etc. have on you is an occasional volley of very well-crafted snark. Given that they don’t seem to be getting what bullies generally want out of you, why do you think they keep at it?

Well, with regard to the Puppies specifically, I don’t think they’re trying tobully me. They just like to use a fictional version of me as a poster boy for Everything That’s Wrong With Science Fiction, and occasionally the poster boy for Sure We’re Doing a Shitty Thing But This Guy Kinda Did It First If You Squint Real Hard, and always as the poster boy for WAAAAAAAAAAAH SCALZI WE JUST HATE YOU SO MUCH AND WISH YOU WOULD DIE. Which is different than bullying. There’s not much to do but snark on that, honestly. They keep at it, I suppose, as a community-building activity. Which, you know. I guess is nice? None of their rationales for slating holds up to even casual scrutiny but at least they’re united in their dislike of me? Bless their little hearts. I wish them joy.

Which is not to say that occasionally someone on the Manly Men Who Manfully Man Mantastically spectrum won’t occasionally try to get in my face (online) in an attempt to intimidate me. In which case a little condescension followed by judicious application of the mute button is the usual order of things. I suspect some of them might consider ignoring them “running away,” but then they would, wouldn’t they, the dear, sweet lads. OH YOU CAN’T TAKE IT CAN YOU? Sure, I can take it. I just don’t have to take it, so I don’t. Life’s too short.

But note well that a) as a well-off straight white dude, I find it very easy to condescend to, and then ignore, all manner of schmuck, b) as a well-off straight white dude who can condescend and then ignore, I am a low-value target for bullies. The bully pathology is “punch down, suck up”; that is, harass and threaten people they believe are lower (or should be lower) on whatever fucked-up social hierarchy they subscribe to, and then run back to people they see higher up on the hierarchy for head pats (this is why bullies on Twitter often “@” who they see as higher-value bullies when they try to crap on someone).

For lack of a better way to put it, for their pathology, bullies get a lot more mileage out of other people than they do me. And alas for those other people, it is more difficult for them to wave off attempted bullying, both in terms of its seriousness, and its volume, than it is for me. My ability, and luxury, to point and laugh at, and then ignore, the sad little dudes who try to pull this crap on me, should not be construed as me suggesting this sort of nonsense is not a real problem for others. It is, and it needs to be dealt with.

For the full article: http://whatever.scalzi.com/2015/05/12/reader-request-week-2015-4-bullies-and-me/

What's your thoughts?

I'm sat at the dining table, all the tools of trade strewn across the varnished pinewood; laptop, notepad, 3 different coloured ink pens, some fact sheets constructed from various internet sites, a brief loose map of the story backbone and.... a cup of tea. The basic component parts to my writing position. With the exception of Barney, our rescued multi-bloodlined, faithful hound, (a 'mongrel' by any standard), the house is empty, and peaceful. I'm not one of those authors that demands complete silence, or locks themselves away for weeks at a time in order to scribe a story but I'm making the most of this opportunity.

So, screen up, glasses pushed up on top of my head and let's get to it.

At this point I have three books published, with a further six now waiting to be completed, or waiting for finances to avail themselves facilitating progress through to editing.

I am, without doubt, my own worst critic; I write great stories, or at least they always seem 'great' to start with. A few weeks after finishing the story I'll reread it, they just never seem quite as good as I remembered, and that's when the red pen comes out. I've also noticed a distinct 'pattern' to my writing; I love to jump around, weaving a dozen plots at a time, gradually meshing them all together for the final scene, it's just the way my mind works. But that's not the pattern I'm referring to. I'm one of those authors that seems to like to start the story quietly. I would liken my style to music masterpiece 'O Fortuna' (Carmina Burana) - gentle introduction, draw the reader in, gradual build then BOOM! and hold that pace until the end.

It's that gentle start that is bothering me. I've read many blogs and articles around the merits of the 'BOOM' start, straight into the action, then reveal how the characters arrived at the scene retrospectively. Remembering that Amazon has a 'Look inside' feature which allows the would-be purchaser to view the early words of a book, I can see where this sort of beginning can act as a good hook, a very valuable opportunity to tempt the reader into purchase... so why don't I use this technique? Dunno. I delved deeper into my brain in search of a plausible explanation and believe I have uncovered it...

As I was growing up my reading preferences including story's like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe series, The Hobbit, and naturally the Lord of The Rings. I then moved to Sven Hassel and David Eddings, before spending a while in the wilderness of Autobiographies - Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Bobby Robson, Lady Diana, Brian Clough, Sharon Osborne (the 1st one), Billy Connolly, Michael McIntyre and a few others. It seems that (unsurprisingly) my writing style reflects my reading preferences. Does that make me old?!

Maybe I need to try the "Boom' start, see how it goes. Every book I've read seems to have that fill-in chapter or two - the information dump, or scene setting, painting the picture, too much detail that slows the tempo but increases the word count. And there it is! There is the point, or the maybe the problem? My story's seem to be quite polarizing; people seem to love them or 'did not finish'. With some it is the frantic and exciting pace that absorbs them, that they love - yet others complain that the characters aren't 'developed' enough. If I slowed the pace to give depth to more characters those that love the pace would probably become the complainers, and the complainers would become the advocates. Tough decision eh?

Actually, it's not, I write the stories as they come. I tend not to conform to the traditional, and I don't write for the masses. It is still early days, and I'm still learning my craft (so to speak). I've learned that I love to write, I'm just waiting to find the right niche, those people that will read my books and enjoy the way I write - it's fun to be different! (Providing your living doesn't depend on it).

One thing that Amazon has definitely done is to have prized away the power and control of the big publishing houses. They (the big five trad publishers) no longer dictate the reading material available to the masses. People can now try new things, explore new genres and styles, experience authors that they would never have been exposed to had it not been for Amazon and the Indie Author/ Self publishing opportunities. That has to be a good thing yeah?!