Uncategorized

I’ve been mainlining Dexter recently. Let me state from the outset that it’s the TV series I’m currently loving and I haven’t yet read any of the original books by Jeff Lindsay. I’d certainly like to and will eventually, but right now I want to talk about the TV series. I started wondering what made the show so compelling and how we can get so invested in a serial killer. The performances are superb and the writing is brilliant, so that makes for great television, but what is it about Dexter Morgan that is so enthralling? The reason, I think, is that Dexter is such an incredibly well developed character and so utterly believeable. I won’t put any spoilers in this post talking about particulars of the show, but I do want to talk about why Dexter is such a good character.

To start with, let’s establish the facts – Dexter Morgan is a largely emotionless, mentally broken serial killer. He has a code that he lives by very strictly and only kills other killers. Here’s the first thing that lets us associate with him so deeply. We all want to see killers that escape justice pay for their crimes. Dexter makes that happen. But he kills them in a hideously ritualistic way because he has to kill. He has what he calls his “dark passenger” that fills him with an insatiable urge to kill and he regularly, though only briefly, satisfies that urge by killing bad guys, thereby having a certain justification for his heinous acts. But he enjoys it, and he enjoys cutting up the bodies into component parts afterwards before disposing of them. How can we associate with that part of him?

Dexter lives more than a double life. He works for Miami Metro Homicide, which gives him access to all the things he needs to find his victims. He has a lover (slight SPOILER – later he has a family), which he needs to protect from his true self. He has a sister that he cares for, and again has to protect from his true self. Make no mistake – the real Dexter is the broken, ritualistic serial killer. The job, the family, the sister, the social life – these are all contrived masks that he holds together to protect his true nature. Therefore he lies to and manipulates these people all the time.

So sure, Dexter kills bad guys, but he’s a horrific person that lies and cheats and manipulates. And kills. So why is he so compelling? Why do we associate so much with him? When you watch the show, you’re desperately hoping he won’t get caught. We want him to carry on. Why?

I think it’s a many faceted thing. Firstly, the writing is superb, with Dexter developing as a character all the time. Through the course of his life he learns more about what made him the way he is, which gives him personal insight and we get that insight too. As his relationships grow with the people around him, so too does his personal character. He learns that he does care about his wife, her children, his sister and his colleagues. He grows as a person even while he remains a slave to his dark passenger. This all helps to invest us in him as a character.

But more than that, I think the reason we really enjoy the show is because we can empathise with Dexter. We hate what he does, but we can see ourselves in it. We can see the potential for us to do similar if our own morals and emotional responses were dampened. Part of us can’t stand it, but most of us wants him to get away with it. We all have a dark passenger to some degree. For the vast majority of us that passenger is small and quiet and rarely does more than irritate us from time to time before sinking down again. But that tiny part revels in Dexter’s ability to let his demon out completely and give in to those dark, nasty desires that reside in everyone.

On top of that, it’s an adrenaline rush to ride with Dex. We constantly fear that he’ll get caught and while his emotional responses are so dampened that his own stress and panic levels are way more controlled than ours, we still get that vicarious buzz at watching him ride the risks the way he does. We like Dexter for the same reason we like rollercoasters and scary movies.

Dexter makes mistakes and feels guilt when he does, even though he doesn’t necessarily recognise guilt for what it is. But he is flawed even within his own code and abilities. He has incredible rushes with his successes, amazing highs when he satiates that dark passenger ever so briefly. And we rise and rush and fall along with him.

Dexter does terrible things but there’s enough redemption in the character for us to root for him. It’s an incredible achievement in storytelling and character development that we care for such an anti-hero. Especially as that character only gets more and more compelling.

So we can learn from this that great characterisation comes from a well-rounded, well developed character, with a shared and satisfying genesis. One that continues to grow and develop while still maintaining the core of what makes them who they are. One that makes mistakes and learns from them. One that has an internal consistency in their actions while still being affected by the world around them and responding to it. This kind of intelligent character building can even make us root for a ritualistic serial killer without making us feel like sickos for doing so.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree with my assessment? Are you as fascinated by the character of Dexter Morgan as I am? Leave a comment and mention some other examples of great characterisation if you have any in mind.

This is a reprint from Alan Baxter‘s The Word.

This article, by Jonathan Fields, originally appeared on his tribalauthor site on 3/22/10.

When I released my The Truth About Book Marketing whitepaper (opt-in [for the free tribalauthor newsletter] to get it), I didn’t have kind things to say about what’s commonly become known as “amazon bombing” email campaigns. I still don’t. But, some people misconstrued that to mean I don’t favor tapping coordinated email or blog posts to launch a book.

In fact, email can be a hugely powerful component of a book launch.

One I’ve used and will use again with my next book. It’s not email that I was railing against, but rather how it’s being used and what’s being promised to authors and list-holders by those running campaigns that bothers me.

Here’s how a typical amazon campaign works…

A book marketing company specializing in amazon campaigns solicits a lot of people with lists, blogs and followings to mail their tribes and ask them to all buy from amazon on the same day, often the same hour. Those tribe-members are supposedly incentivized to buy at the designated time and day by the opportunity to return to a “bonus” page after their purchase and download dozens (sometimes even hundreds) of supposedly high-value bonuses.

List-holders are incentivized to mail, because when they do, they get to place a downloadable product on the bonus page and visitors to that page are required to opt-in before downloading. So, the promise by campaign organizers to list-holders is that, if they mail, they’ll grow their lists in a huge way when the people from all the other people’s lists hit the bonus page, get exposed to their bonus and opt-in to download it.

What about the authors? What’s the promise to them? Often it’s that they’ll sell a mountain of books, and hit #1 in their category on amazon for an hour or even a few. They’ll then be able to call themselves a bestselling author and that will open the door to national media, giant speaking fees and riches and fame beyond compare. All in exchange for a fee that I’ve seen range from a few thousand dollars to $15,000.

Those are the promises, but the reality is often radically different…

Let’s start with the authors.

First awakening, hitting #1 in your category on amazon for a few hours does not a bestseller make. At least not on the level that will open the doors promised to you. These days, national and even local media, conference organizers and others know how easy it is to game amazon. The first question most will ask if you present yourself as a bestselling author is “what list?” And, when you tell them you were #1 in your category on amazon for 10 minutes, you’re far more likely to get rolled eyeballs than offers of cash and fame. It just doesn’t mean anything to anyone with enough savvy to pay you serious money or expose you to serious audiences.

But, what about the promise of selling tons of books?

Here, there may be some truth. But then again, maybe not.

If you get list-holders to mail millions of people, chances are you’ll end up selling books. Truth is, though, many email lists have very low open rates, so 1 million names mailed may get 50,000 – 200,000 emails opened. From there, if you’ve got home-run copy, maybe 10% click to the book sales page. So, now we’re down to 5,000 – 20,000 people. From there, a good conversion to the amazon buy page would be 10%. So, 500 – 2,000 people make it through to amazon. Then, assuming a giant conversion on the amazon page of 25%, that leaves us with 125 – 500 books sold.

Now, that’s not chump change. And, if you get 10 million people to mail, you may actually sell enough to hit #1 on amazon overall for a few hours or even a few days and make a run at the real lists.

But, truth is, it’s unlikely you’ll get anywhere near that volume of people mailing.

Read the rest of the article on tribalauthor.

This post, by Chuck Wendig, originally appeared on terribleminds on 1/20/11. (Editor’s note: strong language after the jump.)

You don’t want to be a writer.

No, no, I know. You think it’s all kittens and rainbows. It’s one big wordgasm, an ejaculation of unbridled creativity. It’s nougat-filled. It’s pillows, marshmallows, parades. It’s a unicorn in a jaunty hat.

Oh, how sweet the illusion. My job, though, is to put my foot through your dreams with a high karate kick.

Consider this your reality check. You’ll note that I do this periodically: I’m here, standing at the edge of the broken bridge in the pouring rain, waving you off — it’s too late for me. My car’s already gone over the edge. I’ve already bought the magic beans. I’ve already bought into the fairy’s lie. I tried to pet the unicorn in its jaunty hat and it ran me through with its corkscrew horn, and now I am impaled.

See my hands? They’re shaking. They won’t stop. I’m like Tom Hanks in Shaving Ryan’s Privates.

I am too far gone.

You, on the other hand, may yet be saved. I see a lot of you out there. An army of writers. Glistening eyes. Lips dewy with the froth of hope. You’re all so fresh. So innocent. Unmolested by the truth.

And so it is time for my annual “Holy Crap The New Year Is Here And Now You Should Reevaluate Your Shit And Realize You’d Be Much Happier As An Accountant Or Botanist Or Some Fucking Thing” post.

More reasons you do not — awooga, awooga, caution, cuidado, verboten — want to be a writer:

It’s The Goddamned Publipocalypse And Now We’re All Doomed

The meteors are coming. Tides of fire are washing up on beaches. Writers are running scared. The publishing industry has heard the seven trumpets and it wails and gibbers.

It’s bad out there.

You know how many books you have to sell to get on the New York Times Bestseller List? Four. You sell four print copies of a book, whoo, dang, you’re like the next Stephen King. Heck, some authors are selling negative numbers. “How many books did you sell this week?” “Negative seven.” “I don’t understand.” “My books are like gremlins. You spill water on them and they multiply. And then pirates steal them and give them away for free. Hey, do you have a gun, because I’d like to eat it.”

Borders pissed the bed. Editors are out of work. Fewer authors are being signed and for less money up front. Jesus, you have a better shot of getting eaten by a bear and a shark at the same time.

And e-books. Pshhh. Don’t even get me started on e-books. Did you know that they eat real books? They eat them right up. That’s what the “e” stands for. “Eat Books.” I’m not messing with you, I have seen it happen. Plus, every time an e-book is born, a literary agent gets a tapeworm. True fact.

I’m cold and frightened. The rest of us writers, we’re going to build a bunker and hole up in it. Maybe form some kind of self-publishing cult and wait out the Pubpocalypse in our vault. We’ll all break down into weird little genre-specific tribes. Horror slashers, elf-fuckers, steampunk iron men, and space whores. But it’ll be the poets who will win. The poets with their brevity and their stanzas. And their bloody claws.

Eventually Editors And Agents Are All Going To Snap (And It’ll Be Our Fault)

Read the rest of the post on terribleminds.

Death and taxes, the two unavoidables in life. Thankfully there are people and web sites out there to help us slot all those numbers in the correct places on the correct forms and keep us from having to visit with a friendly IRS agent because we’ve gotten “creative” with the numbers. Here are 7 links to help you understand how to do your taxes:

1. The IRS — this one seems rather obvious. It’s their forms, their rules, so it makes sense to check out their site for answers to our questions.

2. Tax Advice for Writers by Bonnie Lee — simple to read and easy to understand with a great section on hobby-loss information

3. A Fool And Her Money — depending on when you’ve started getting your tax-related material together, The Money Book may be more helpful for next year’s tax season, but it’s a resource worth investing in

4. Tax Tips for Writers a guest post by Jessica Monday — more information on what can be used as a deduction including what can happen when you sell your house

5. Tax Tips for Writers Freelance Income Reporting by Rachel Campbell — includes information on deductions and what forms writers need to fill out

6. Tax Tips for Freelancers by Julian Block — a short, but excellent article on bad-debts that can’t be deducted

7. Taxes and The Writer by Daniel Steven — information on accounting methods, types of income and forms, as well as another list of deductions

Doing taxes can be frightening and overwhelming, not to mention disappointing if you have to pay instead of getting a nice refund, but it’s unavoidable on The Road to Writing.

I’d love to hear from all of you. Besides checking with a good tax accountant, what other tips do you have for doing taxes?

This is a reprint from Virginia Ripple‘s The Road to Writing.

This post, by Kristen Lamb, originally appeared on her blog on 1/31/11.

Many of you have vowed to take your craft more seriously this year, which means more conferences and many, many more queries. For those of you who have submitted before, every wonder how an agent can ask for the first 20 pages and still reject our book? Did you ever wonder if the agents really read these pages? How can they know our book isn’t something they want to represent with so little to go on? I mean, if they would just continue to page 103 they would see that the princess uncovers a whole underground movement of garden gnomes with interdimensional capabilitites, and they wouldn’t be able to put it down. Right?

Wrong.

Back in the day before I wrote full time, I paid my dues doing a lot of editing. I have edited countless manuscripts, and today I am going to let you see the first 20 pages through the eyes of an agent or editor. Novel Diagnostics 101. The doctor is in the house.

I mean no disrespect in what I am about to say. I am not against self-publishing and that is a whole other subject entirely. But, what I will say is that there are too many authors who dismiss why agents are rejecting them and run off to self-publish instead of fixing why their manuscript was rejected. Agents know that a writer only has a few pages to hook a reader. That’s the first thing. But agents also know that the first 20 pages are a fairly accurate reflection of the entire book.

Years ago, when I used to edit, I never cared for being called a book doctor. I rarely ever edited an entire book. I guess one could say I was more of a novel diagnostician. Why? Doctors fix the problems and diagnosticians just figure out what the problems ARE. Thus, what I want to help you guys understand is why beginnings are so imporant.

I generally can ”diagnose” every bad habit and writer weakness in ten pages or less. I never need more than 50 pages (and neither do agents and other editors). Why? Well, think of it this way. Does your doctor need to crack open your chest to know you have a bum ticker? No. He pays attention to symptoms to diagnose the larger problem. He takes your blood pressure and asks standardized questions. If he gets enough of the same kind of answer, he can tell you likely have a heart problem. Most of the time, the tests and EKGs are merely to gain more detail, but generally to confirm most of what the doc already knows.

The first pages of our novel are frequently the same. So let’s explore some common problems with beginnings and look to the problems that they can foreshadow in the rest of the work.

Info-Dump

Read the rest of the post, which details four major types of flaws seen in the first 20pp of many manuscripts, on Kristen Lamb‘s blog.

The life of a writer can be a thankless one, with rejections peppering a career far more often than acceptances. But it’s the rejections that teach a writer their chops. With any luck you get a bit of feedback with a rejection that helps to improve a story. A writer should continually improve through the practice of writing, and through reading other peoples’ stuff. I do believe that a writer also gets better with every passing year of life experience, with every trial and tribulation giving us more to draw from. Hpoefully, in the end, the acceptances start to outnumber the rejections.

So I thought it worth taking stock of where things stand for me as we start a new year, and how the last year went. I’m very much a journeyman writer – I’m still learning my craft, hopefully improving all the time. I want to sell stories to the best pro markets, I want novels published by the big mainstream publishers. I’d love the recognition of prizes and awards. All these things will help to prove that I’m doing well at my chosen form of artistic expression, that other people are reading my stuff and enjoying it. I want to get better all the time. So, how am I doing?

Well, 2010 saw my novels, RealmShift and MageSign, acquired by Gryphonwood Press in the US, which was a fantastic result for me. I can’t express how pleased I was about that and I hope it’s just the start of my career as a novellist.

As for short fiction, 2010 saw the publication of these short stories:

Trial Not Required in M-Brane SF Issue #13, February 2010;
Strange Death at Flashes In The Dark, March 2010;
Pushed Too Far at House Of Horror, May 2010;
Decennial General Meeting in Best Of Friday Flash Vol. 1 anthology, August 2010;
Jeff Newman’s Headaches in 52 Stitches, August 23, 2010;
The King’s Accord in Flesh & Bone: Rise of The Necromancers anthology from Pill Hill Press, August 2010 (I think this is my best published story last year, I’m really proud of it.);
Idle Chatter at Bosley Gravel’s Cavalcade of Terror, September 2010.

I also scored myself an Honourable Mention in the Writers Of The Future competition in 2010.

So not a bad year for publications. You can read a lot of these via the Dark Shorts page right here on this website – click the link at the top. But I plan to do better. I’ve already started 2011 in much better form. I sold some stories in 2010 that are due for publication this year. Those are:

Stand Off due for publication in Night Mantled: The Best Of Wily Writers Vol. 1 anthology, which should be out any time now. This is a reprint of the story published and podcast by Wily Writers in July 2009.

Mirrorwalk due for publication in Murky Depths #16 – I’m really pleased to have had a story accepted by Murky Depths and I really like Mirrorwalk. It’s a magic story with a twist. Another great thing about Murky Depths is that each story has a piece of artwork commissioned for it, and Mirrorwalk will be accompanied by an illustration by Rick Fairlamb. I’ve never had a story illustrated before and looking at Rick’s site makes me very excited at what might come about, so I’m looking forward to that.

Unexpected Launch in Anywhere But Earth anthology (Coeur De Lion Publishing) – This one is a sci-fi yarn that I won’t say anything else about just now. You’ll have to read the story. But the concept of this anthology is excellent and the list of authors included is really shaping up nicely. I’m honoured to be in this one and really looking forward to it.

My flash fictions Terminal Illness & The Book are going to be reprinted in the Pill Hill Press 365 Flash anthology. These were originally published by Antipodean SF, so it’s good to see those stories get another outing.

I’ve started 2011 with a few sales as well:

Kasma SF will be publishing my urban sci-fi short story Mistaken Identity any time now.

Ticonderoga Publications will be publishing my vampire horror story, Punishment Of The Sun, in their Dead Red Heart anthology – this is another anthology with a stellar cast of writers contributing, so another one I’m very proud to be included in. This is also a great concept antho, with all the stories being specifically Australian vampire yarns, so I can’t wait to see what else comes out in it. I’ve also been a part of a group of about a dozen writers who all contributed a small amount to a story written in news clippings, that will be included in this anthology. So I’ll get my name in it twice!

My story Duty & Sacrifice will be appearing in the Hope anthology from Kayelle Press later this year.

Seven Realms Publishing in the US are putting together an anthology of short stories based on the classic short story The Most Dangerous Game. Each contributing author will present a story inspired by Richard Connell’s classic featuring characters from their published work. My story Running Wild With The Hunt, featuring Isiah, the protagonist from RealmShift and MageSign will be included in that book.

The Red Penny Papers will be publishing my novellette The Darkest Shade Of Grey, but we’ll be waiting a while for that one. It’s due for publication at the start of 2012, but all the contracts and stuff are signed off now. It’ll be worth waiting for as I honestly believe it’s one of the best things I’ve ever written.

On top of all that I have a few other short stories out under consideration in various places, so I’ll hopefully continue to make sales, hopefully to better and better publications all the time. I’ll continue to write short stories, of course, so who knows what else will happen.

And I’m working on my third novel, which is really shaping up nicely. I’ll be on the lookout for a publisher for that one before too long. There’s an open call for submissions by Angry Robot in March, so I might start there.

As you can see, I’m keeping busy. Writing this post is as much for myself as it is for the interest of readers of this blog. It helps me cope with all the rejections when I see a year or two of work laid out like this and see the successes that have come along. My journey as a writer continues. I’ll keep writing, with a bit of perseverance I’ll keep getting better and hopefully people will enjoy reading my work.

Wish me luck! 

This is a reprint from Alan Baxter’s The Word.

This post, by Susan Dennard, Mandy Hubbard and Julie Eshbaugh, originally appeared on Let the Words Flow on 1/14/11.

This week’s QOTW comes from H. Holdsworth, who asks: How do you keep your plot from becoming contrived?

This is a tricky question since almost no plot can be completely “new”. Because of that, you can end up with that “contrived, ripped-off” feeling. I think the best way to avoid this is to give the story a unique aspect — maybe an ironic twist or a crazy-but-lovable character.

For example: wizarding schools? Done a thousand times. Boys who are the Only Ones to stop Evil Bad Guy? Also been done a thousand times. What makes Harry Potter special? The setting — Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, muggles, quidditch. It’s the world that made J.K. Rowling’s series really stand out and attract millions of readers.

Another example: vampire who loves a non-vampire? Done. An immortal who has waited forever to find his True Love? Done. What makes Twilight unique? That a vampire finds his true love, but he doesn’t just love her — he really wants to suck her blood and he’s not sure he can keep himself from doing it! That’s some situational irony. (Plus, it’s a great way to build tension! Whether or not this was intentional, it was a very clever plot device on Meyer’s part!)

One more example: noir detective stories? Definitely been done. Quest to solve best friend’s murder? Also been done. What makes Veronica Mars unique? The MC, Veronica — she’s a tough-as-nails teenager with sarcasm, sleuthing skills, and a softer side to boot. Viewers fell in love with her, and that kept us coming back each episode.

Read the rest of the post on Let the Words Flow.

This post, by Ursula K. LeGuin, originally appeared on the Book View Cafe Blog on 1/18/11. The fact that Harper has added a ‘morals clause’ to its contracts with authors is kind of shocking, and is perhaps yet another factor that will drive more authors toward the indie path. From the Book View Cafe Blog:

New language in the termination provision of the Harper’s boilerplate gives them the right to cancel a contract if “Author’s conduct evidences a lack of due regard for public conventions and morals, or if Author commits a crime or any other act that will tend to bring Author into serious contempt, and such behavior would materially damage the Work’s reputation or sales.” The consequences? Harper can terminate your book deal. Not only that, you’ll have to repay your advance. Harper may also avail itself of “other legal remedies” against you.

From a blog by Richard Curtis.

* * *

Dear Mr Rupert Murdoch,

Forgive me, for I have sinned.

Because I did not read my contract with your wonderful publishing house HarperCollins carefully, I did not realise my moral obligations.

There is nothing for it now but to confess everything. Before I wrote my book Emily Brontë and the Vampires of Lustbaden, which you published this fall and which has been on the Times Best Seller List for five straight months, I committed bad behavior and said bad words in public that brought me into serious contempt in my home town of Blitzen, Oregon. In fact the people there found me so seriously contemptible that I am now living in Maine under the name of Trespassers W.

Read the rest of the post on the Book View Cafe Blog, and please add your remarks on this surprising development in the comments area there.

John Yunker and his wife Midge Raymond are both authors. They decided to make a single book trailer to promote both of their books, and they decided to make it funny. As John explains:

This video was born out of two challenges I had been facing since I published my novel The Tourist Trail — how to create a book trailer that was fun to watch and how to cure myself of my obsession with Amazon sales rank. My wife Midge is a published writer (Forgetting English) and she too knows what it’s like to spend way too much time on Amazon.

We filmed the video over a long weekend using an iPhone. The editing took quite a bit longer. The good news is that the trailer has really taken off — and not just among writers. And now we’re planning to do another one. Anything to keep us from actually writing.

Unfortunately, I’m still a little too obsessed with my sales rank.

PS: Here are the web sites of our books:
www.TheTouristTrail.com
www.MidgeRaymond.com

Everything, be it a novel, a movie, or a television show has to have some kind of plot to move it forward. No plot, to forward motion. No forward motion, nobody enjoys it. But how do you know what’s a good plot and what’s not. As a reader or viewer, you instinctively know what’s a good plot. It’s the thing that makes you want to tell your friends and family what a great <insert media name here> it was.

However, as a writer, plot is often a critter harder to nail down than a whack-a-mole. As Kristen Lamb puts it, a good story is all about structure. She compares it to architecture: do it right and it’s safe; do it wrong and risk fatal mistakes. Fortunately putting it together the right way is simple, if you follow her six guidelines on structure.

1. Scene and Sequel: scene is the tangible thing that’s happening, while sequel is the emotional thread connecting the scenes.

2. Three Act Structure: everything has a beginning, middle and end. Putting the story in its correct sequence makes for a good read.

3. Introducing the Opposition: your antagonist should be introduced as close to the beginning as possible, the first chapter being the best place, and must seem unstoppable.

4. Test Your Idea Before You Begin: does it follow the LOCK system? (Lead Objective Conflict Knockout)

5. The Log-line: can you boil it all down to one sentence?

6. Simply Primitive: keep the plot simple by using Maslow’s hierarchy, the lower on the pyramid the better.

I highly recommend reading each of these posts for a better understanding of each part of structure, then apply what you’ve learned to the next great novel, movie, or television show you enjoy. You’ll not only know why you just can’t wait to tell everyone what a great thing it was, but you’ll know how to do it yourself on The Road to Writing.

Update: Kristen is continuing her series on structure. Be sure to subscribe to her blog for more on what makes structure work.

This is a reprint from Virginia Ripple‘s The Road to Writing.