The Blank Page

I officially started up writing my next novel in the Into the Realms Series last night.  Book Three will be called Pyurik’s Pursuit, by the way, and will hopefully be the best one yet (though naturally, I think the first two are very, very good as well!).  Each of these rather hefty novels have taken me somewhere around two years apiece to write, and I expect that PP will be no different.  They’re long novels, but not particularly overlong when compared to other books in the fantasy genre, I should think.  They’re all elaborate, complicated stories with dozens of characters and places to explore, with intertwining plotlines to manage, and tying it all together to make it comprehensible, let alone eloquent, is quite a daunting challenge.  But it is a challenge which I relish, and if I can one day complete the entirety of my envisioned five-book quintilogy of the series, I will consider it a major achievement of my life’s work completed (at this point, two-fifths completed). 

          So it’s on to Book Three now, and once again, I’m faced with that old familiar nemesis, the same foe every single writer has faced whenever he or she takes on a new project – the blank page.  Presumably, it should be easier when it’s a continuation in a series of books, as you should just be able to keep the story going.  Unfortunately, in many ways, series books are even harder to start.  You have to begin writing with an expectation that the reader, if not necessarily is picking up the middle book of a series to read first, is at least picking up a book in a series that he or she hasn’t read for quite a while.  A re-introduction of characters and events is definitely called for.

          But starting with a blank slate is so hard, because there’s so much to accomplish right off the bat, you hardly know how to begin.  For a novel that will ultimately be a quarter of a million words long and some 600+ pages, invariably, it’s that first page that’s the hardest to write.  Some authors prefer to start writing further in to the story to begin with, to kind of get the feel of writing the story before going back to do the beginning, but I’m generally a strict linear writer, so it’s not something I’m comfortable doing.  Time is linear, and events are always crafted by what’s come before, so my feeling is that for my stories to happen organically, my writing has to do the same. So I start with the blank page and go from there.

          Even on a slow writing night, I can usually scrape up a thousand words or so, making slow but steady progress on the job.  More often though, I’ll get close to 2,000 words or even 3,000 or more on a really productive writing session.  Last night, in Pyurik’s Pursuit’s inaugural writing night, I managed to pound out a scant 220 words.  Just two opening paragraphs which are dwarfed by this little blog post I’ve written here right now, and an opening to the book which will be chopped and carved up later on as I reread it again and again.  But the page is no longer blank, and hopefully, my next writing session will make more headway skinning that cat, and it’ll get easier and easier each time until I start to cruise into it, until two years from now, I’ll finally be finished – and then it’s on to Book Four.

          Whatever it takes to get started.

Now I mouth off on fantasy novel tropes again

This blog post is a bit of a departure from my most recent postings, most of which have been not-so-shameless attempts to promote my own work that's come out (and is yet to come out) over the past year or so.  This time, I wanted to write a little bit about some of the more common story writting patterns I've seen in reading various books in the fantasy genre over the past few years.  As both a fan of fantasy novels, and a (sometimes) writer of books of the same ilk, this is not about me trashing the whole field or even any book or series in particular.  It's simply me venting my thoughts on some of the concepts or, dare-I-say, cliches that keep popping up in some of the fantasy novels I've read. 

I've written before about some of the more common writing tropes that bother me when I read them, particularly in fantasy novels.  I'll briefly reiterate my frustration with three of the most troublesome, yet commonly-found concepts.  First and foremost, the ubiquitous fantasy plot point, 'The Prophecy'.  Where we learn, usually very early in the story, that one or more of the characters are destined to do some great and/or important thing.  And sure enough, at the end of the story, they wind up doing the very thing they were prophecised to do.  Beyond being almost ridiculously common in fantasy novels, I am oftentimes frustrated at how these seem so often to be in-narrative spoilers built right into the book.  More importantly, it effectively takes the onus off of the characters to actually strive and endeavor to accomplish the things they were fated to do, as well as the impact of the event when it happens, since we've known all along that it was foreordained.

The other two I wanted to mention from the earlier post, are related to one another.  One was the constant inclusion in fantasy stories of the 'Chaotic-Evil Race', a.k.a. orcs, goblins, trollocs, wolfins, gremlins, dark-men, or whatever the fantasy story's standard-issue horde of bipedal baddies are called in their own particular idiom.  They could be small and spindly or huge and hulking.  They'll have varying degrees of intelligence, spanning from primitive and frenzied, to deviously cunning.  Some will even have elaborate languages, weapons and armor, and even social structures.  But one thing they all have in common is that they are all vicious killers of the innocent, and they are all irrideemably evil.  They can't be civilized, reasoned with, or trusted, and whatever this world happens to be called, said world would be better off without them.  The whole point of having the chaotic-evil race of man-creatures is so that the good guys have someone to fight - and kill - in the dozens or even the hundreds or thousands, without any pesky feelings of remorse or doubt that they might have if their combatants were barbaric, misguided, or coerced human warriors.  Human foes, even particularly nasty ones, still have this link to our common humanity; they were children once, many may well have families of their own waiting for them in some far-off land.  Often, the chaotic-evil races will not only not have women and children to feel sorry for, sometimes it's pointed out that they were never even children themselves - they might have been 'born' as a fully-formed adult killing machine with no childhood pathos or familial connections to suggest any sadness at their bloody demise. But since it's inhuman monsters our heroes are slaughtering by the scores, it makes it much easier to know who's the good guys and who's the bad guys.  Speaking of which ...

'Good vs. Evil' is a trope that is hardly limited to the fantasy genre, but there are few genres in all the realms of fiction which are more saturated with the concept of there being two clear, divergent, and morally distinct sides to any point of story conflict.  There's always an evil arch-villain, bent on destroying/ruling the world, and the outnumbered, outgunned, outmatched group of scrappy, often scruffy, but ultimately good heroes who are tasked with stopping them.  I haven't mentioned any specific fantasy franchises in regards to any of these tropes yet, but I want to single out one here, specificly for skillfully subverting this particular trope:  The Song of Ice and Fire Series (known to most people specifically by the name of its first book: 'Game of Thrones').  In this series, there are very few people who are what one could call out-and-out evil.  Even the most irredeemable, assholic antagonists in the story have something to say for their defense, if not some positive, redeeming qualities of their own.  Conversely, all of the innumerable 'protagonists' of the series sport their own character flaws, wherin one can't really define them unequivically as 'good'.  Indeed, I think most fans of the series can find themselves relating in some small way to Stark and Lannister alike.  Turns out, showing characters in shades of gray doesn't diminish the readability of a fantasy series after all. 

Among the other tropes I wanted to mention was the 'Chip-in-the-Water Hero' scenario.  This is something of an offshoot of the classic 'Hero's Journey' trope, wherein a young person is swept up in events and taken from an ordinary life into a story of danger, desperation, adventure, glory and all that good story stuff.  In and of its own, the hero's journey is a perfectly good (if a tad worn) trope to start off an epic adventure story.  But here's where it is in danger of digressing into a chip-in-the-water hero story:  when the young, wet-behind-the-ears would-be hero, spends the entire course of the adventure, getting swept up in events without actually influencing them.  Often, this happens when the 'Old Mentor' (who will invariably die at some point in the story), or the 'Motley Crew of Do-Gooders' team do most of the heavy lifting, adventure-wise, while the story's 'hero' spends most of his (or her) time as simply a slack-jawed, pie-eyed witness to events as they unfold.  Granted, at some point, they're supposed to be crucial to the course of events in the story (particularly if The Prophecy said so!), but if it's just some big moment at the very end, particularly if the 'big moment' could have happened with any other particular character in the hero's place, then was it really that much of a hero's journey?

Sometimes though, in that big moment, the hero (or 'Chosen One', as they might be called) might be face-to-face with the big bad guy at the climax of the story, and defeat them with some hidden, deep-down special power inside him (or her, but whatever) that he didn't know existed until that very moment, and used that power to overwhelm the shocked, disbelieving supervillain to win the day.  This is a prime example of the 'Magic Our Way Out of This!' trope, where a seemingly insurmountable problem is overcome by convenient magical, supernatural, or otherwise fantastical means, with minimal explaination or even previous mention of the existence of such means.  The non-fantasy, contemporary (or sci-fi) adventure equivalent to this would be something akin to the hero defeating the villain at the end of the story because he shot them.  It's probably for the best that the bad guy's dead, but really, it was the wonderful handgun that saved the day.  You just pulled the trigger - something almost anybody could've done in your place.  The hero should be the hero because he (or she ... whatever!) did what nobody else in the story could've done in his place. 

There are a few other time-honored fantasy tropes that annoy me as well, like 'Proper Noun Mad Libs', 'Real World Equivalency', and the 'Plot Development Treadmill', but I think those pretty much speak for themselves.  I also get irked when novels go on and on, poetically describing a summer glade, and then only use character dialogue for clunky exposition, but that's just this grumpy old man grousing to hear himself speak, I think.

To be sure, these thoughts about the preceding subjects are entirely of my own opinion, and I hope I haven't offended anyone who disagrees with my take on them.  But, heck, if it motivates you to post a comment with your own thoughts on the subject (0 comments yet recieved in 3 1/2 years of doing this blog!), then it was at least worth it to spark a discussion on the matter.  We all have different opinions, and just because these things stick in my literary craw, doesn't mean it has to be that way for everybody.  Maybe some positive, constructive discussion would make me see things differently?

Show or Tell

There's a little trope in storytelling known as 'informed attributes'.  It's when the story explains to the reader/viewer/listener subjective definitions of a character in the story instead of demonstrating such definitions through the storytelling.  In short, it's when the story (or a character in the story) says that the princess is arrogant or that the vagabond is hilarious, rather than showing those characters to be so through their own words and actions.

Informed attributes are almost always to be avoided by writers, and yet sometimes they are incredibly hard to resist.  The standard rule of thumb when crafting a narrative is "Show, don't tell", but it can be so much easier for the writer to just mention to the reader that the the little orphan girl is clever, rather than trying to contrive a scene to demonstrate her cleverness and hope that the reader catches the insight on their own. 

For secondary and background characters, it is sometimes unavoidable to resort to informed attributes.  In some cases, it can be necessary to simply tell the reader information about the character, and when this information is not subjective, (i.e. that they are tall, or strong, or have a booming voice), it is perfectly reasonable to add such things to a narrative description of the character in order to help the reader paint a mental portrait of them.  Even the subjective descriptions of a character are acceptable, so long as such descriptions of them are coming from another character in the story, so that it's their own opinion of that character which they are voicing, and not the iron-clad truth that it would be if it was the Narrative Voice of Absolute Fact proclaiming that the scientist was as brilliant as Einstein.

Showing or telling of a character's attributes is just another narrative land mine to be navigated as a writer stumbles his or her way through their story.  It can seem so much quicker and easier just to mention what a character is like to the reader, rather than taking time and energy away to contrive a situation where that character is shown to be how you created them.  Still, such clunky little diversions in the tale can sometimes grow into gems of their own, and you never know what you might learn about all of the characters involved, and of the writer's own perceptions of them.

Why We Write

I've been writing for quite some time now. Ever since my 6th grade teacher praised me for my very first "novel", called Journey to Cowland (though it's possible that I misspelled "Journey"), I've found a great deal of pleasure showing off my active imagination. Art class was always my favorite in grade school, because it was the only class where I was regularly free to express myself creatively.

Now that I'm into adulthood (far further into adulthood than I care to admit to myself), I still look for new creative outlets where I can. I still like to paint and draw and work with clay, though my skill with each is extremely limited. I also have a recurring itch to learn to play a musical instrument, though I've consistently find I lack a certain discipline to make much headway (along with a bit of a tin ear). My favorite toy as a kid was Legos, and I still have a weakness for building plastic brick wonders with my surviving collection, and my room is decorated with various lumpy ceramic knick knacks and cartoonish pictures I've made over the years. This, along with a host of video cassettes and DVD's of movies I've helped make with friends, from humiliating productions as a gawky teen with dumb jokes, to a still-pretty gawky young man with somewhat more sophisticated humor.

Yet still, with all of the creative avenues available to my restless imagination, I always seemed to come back to writing. I often wonder what it is that continues to draw me to writing novels (along with the occasional short story) rather than finding other medians to express myself. I wonder if it's the same impulse that attracts every writer to it, or if it's something different for everyone. Whatever it might be, I think it's very important for anyone who is or wants to be a writer to know why it is that they write.

For me at least, the compulsion to write comes from an intense desire, even a need, to tell a story. I suppose it's possible that I selected prose writing over poetry, painting, and the other expressive arts because fiction writing is the method which I've expressed the greatest aptitude, and as they always tell you, you should play to your own strengths. Being a shy, introverted kid through most of my childhood and teenage years, I had lots of time to myself, and I often spent that time daydreaming and creating characters and worlds to escape to whenever I felt burdened by the perils of everyday life.

That need for escapism eventually led me to be attracted to books, and later to forming my own ideas into complete stories. By the time I started my novel, The Other Side of the Gate (available on Barnes & Noble.com!), I never questioned that novel writing was my favorite and most effective means of expressing myself.

For me, it isn't just a desire to tell stories, but it's also the need to find a story that I think is worth telling. Every time I start a new writing project, I will ask myself, "what makes this story worth hearing above all others?" Is there a more interesting story within this tale - another character, another subplot that overshadows the one I'm trying to tell? If so, why aren't I writing that one instead?

Usually though, I'm right on target with the story that interests me the most. It's the tweaking and molding the plot and the characters that's the fun part. That and the actual writing. When I've finished that really good scene in the wee hours of the morning, and I just have to go back and reread it again before bed, just for fun ... that's what it's all about. That's why I write.

Writing Comfort

My old computer finally went kaput about a month ago. It was an old computer which I got as a refurbished discounted model, and was always tempermental. In fact, when I installed a graphics card in it a couple of years ago, I found that I could no longer get the outer casing to close all of the way. I suppose I've never been a perfectionist, so I closed it as best I could and left it as it was. Frankly, I'm surprised it took this long for it to finally die on me.

Anyhow, my inert desktop computer sits lifelessly on my desk now, in the vain hope that I might somehow Frankenstein it back to life with the power of positive thinking or something. Meanwhile, I've been working off of my mother's old laptop, which is even older, but at least it works (and its parts aren't exposed to the elements). I have, however, found it to be sorely wanting as a writing computer.

Some of the problems are just little things, and others are faults of the laptop itself, such as the fact that some of the keyboard keys won't always work unless you pound on them. One of the keys is the space bar, which doesn't always register when struck on the left-hand side. As a lefty, I'm used to using my left thumb to hit spaces, which makes typing even brief e-mails and posts like this one an ordeal. There are also ergonomic issues involving sitting posture and hand position that make extended typing on this replacement computer uncomfortable.

One thing that appears to be unique to me is that the background screen color is white. For years, I've always had my MS Word and other document writing backgrounds automatically set to a green backdrop. I just find it far easier to read from a green screen (with either black or white lettering, depending on the shade of green), which is easier on my eyes. After a while, the brightness of the standard white background tends to give me a headache, and I've been working off of my old computer and its customized settings for so long that I'd forgotten that it wasn't how all computers are set up.

I've wondered if these things are just me being hyper-sensitive and picky about my own comfort level when I write. But for me, the writing process can be very draining, and maintaining a certain level of physical comfort is what keeps me going with it sometimes. I don't know if that's just being weak or lazy - I wonder if I could write back in the olden days when it was a quill and ink bottle under candlelight that were the writer's tools. Here I am griping about the ergonomics of the portable word processor complete with easy to use deletion and copy keys, as well as an automatic spellchecker and of course, the occasional computer game to entertain me during those times when I choose not to write. I wonder what Thoreau would have done if I'd given him my Mom's laptop to write Walden with? He'd probably beat me over the head with it.

Even so, I think it's important to have a certain comfort level when you're doing some serious writing. I don't know if it's true for everyone, but most of the writers I know tell me that they have a tendency to "nest" when they write, either typing or longhand. Some of them make a whole production out of it, getting a cup of tea and/or cookies, or perhaps some mood music going, and wrap themselves up in a blanket before they settle down to write. Part of it might simply be ritual, but whatever the reason, I think one has to be comfortable in his or her own skin before they can tap that creative part of their brain.

A Brief Introduction

Hello there. As is likely obvious from your end, this is my inaugural blog post. My name is Craig M. Curtis, and I'm a writer whose second novel, The Other Side of the Gate, has just been released. I'm very excited about this book, and I wanted to share the writing experience here with other writers and (especially) readers!

I'll be writing here about several different topics, particularly involving my story and other projects which I'm involved with. I would also like to explore a few more general notions about writing and storytelling with others here. I heartily welcome your thoughts and input as I go along, and am always happy to hear from others involved in the creative community.

In my next post, I'll be talking about my book - what it's about, and of course, how you can purchase it! (*ahem*) Until then, I'll simply bid you a good morning, day or evening - whichever pertains to your own circadian rhythm.