Judging A Book By Its Cover, Or Why I Love Michael Whelan

Today’s post is all about pretty pictures. Actually, make that amazing pictures in the form of cover art.
We all have a favorite cover artist. The one we’ve dreamed of having design our own cover. For me, it’s Michael Whelan. His work is breathtakingly gorgeous and brilliant, and I think I might give a non-essential organ for him to do my cover.

Just for fun, here’s the link to his gallery.

I also really love the work of Christian McGrath. I first saw his stuff on Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series, and recognized his hand on The Song of Scarabaeus by Sara Creasy several months later. I’d love this vibe for a steampunk I’m working on. (Edit: I just now realized he’s done all the Dresden covers too!)

Link to your favorites in the comments trail and I’ll add ‘em here!

Steampunk Costume Bonus!
Also, this really doesn't belong in the same category as the beautiful pics above, but this was my fantabulous steampunk costume for Halloween. Gotta love Goodwill - I made the whole thing for under $30.

Mapping Your World

I realized it’s been a while since I did a world-building post. Earlier this summer, I was fleshing out the world for my latest WIP, so I thought I’d share a bit of that process.

Start with a Map...
It’s one of the oldest epic fantasy clichés in the book, but it works! I started with a basic map to identify:

- Country borders
- Cities and towns
- Key landmarks like mountains, rivers, lakes and forests
- Distances and travel times between places (I’ve calculated times on foot, on horseback and by sea for my various WIPs. It’s actually a blast and helps prevent plot holes related to timing.)

...Then Add Layers

Topography
This goes beyond just key landmarks. The physical layout of the land influences the type of dwellings, people and culture of an area.

Commerce
What does each region focus on for jobs and money? Not only should this match up with the topography and culture you want, but it helps ensure the country (ies) as a whole have essential supplies like food and clothing. Is there enough fertile land for farming and food to sustain the population? Are there specific areas the lend themselves for mining, crafts, horse breeding, fishing?

If you’re creating a dystopian world or a world torn by revolution, a commerce map can help identify why there’s NOT enough of one particular supply or another.

Population
How many people are in each city or village? Can those populations support themselves with the commerce around them? Once you have an approximate country population, you can use it to estimate army size if you need an army – about 5-7% of the overall population.
Here’s a great resource on calculating accurate population numbers (at least by early European standards): http://www.writing-world.com/sf/hordes.shtml.

Battles
I also do a separate battle map for each battle in my WIP. They tend to look like those old civil war battle maps, with dotted lines and arrows indicating troop advances and retreats.

This layer highlights who comes in where, in what waves, with what kind of numbers and weaponry, and when. Then, I overlay these on top of the topography, commerce and population maps to answer questions like:
  • How does the land affect the battle approach? Flat open grassland offers a far different battlefield than a thick forest or rocky mountainsides.
  • What types of supplies will be close at hand? If there’s something missing, how will the troops get it? From your villain’s perspective, how can you cut off those supply lines?
  • Will the battle take place in a highly populated area? If so, how will it affect the people who live there?

City Sketches
Okay, this one technically isn’t a map, but we all know that you can’t understand the real flavor of a city simply by reading its name on paper. NYC ain’t LA, and both are far from a small village in central Europe or a bustling city in India. That’s why I do a separate “character sketch” for each major city or place.

Is it rural, modern? What’s the architecture like? Is it a diverse place? What’s the overall attitude of the city? If you lived there, what would be the best and worst things about it?

So there you have it! I’ve found that using layers helps me not only create a world, but refine my plot, too. Plus, one of the best things about a map is that it’s visual. You can glance at it quickly and ensure that your scenes fit your world.

Good luck!

True Confessions: What Crazy Things Have You Done Because of Your Characters?

As writers, we can do some strange things because of our characters. We spend countless hours with them and know them like old friends. I notice that when I’m working intensely on a character, I’ll begin to dress, walk and act a little bit more like them.

I once transitioned from writing a confident, passionate but skeptical character to writing a young, energetic character with a fresh, unjaded perspective on life—my own clothes changed, too. They became less preppy suit and more carefree bohemian.

I’ve also been known to change my hairstyle to match my main female characters’. That could get a little tricky for a space fantasy I have in mind—the MC has white hair with streaks of purple. Yikes! :)

Once, I barely stopped myself from dating a guy who had my hero’s eyes. Mind you, by this time the novel had been completed for years and it was still the first thing I noticed about this guy.

So, what about you? What crazy, embarrassing things have you done in the name of your characters or your story?

I Get to Play Publisher!

Sometimes, my job is just so cool! Last year, I helped a client edit and publish a healthcare business book. It had great success and is currently sitting at about #50,000 on Amazon (a year after publication!).

Well, last week, I was working on a marketing plan for the sequel, due out early next year. It was such a neat opportunity for my two worlds—writing and PR—to overlap.

Here’s what happened:

  • I was perusing Janet Reid’s blog, as I always do, for my own nefarious writing purposes, and happened to read her post about NetGalley.

  • Writer/Reader Nicole thought: What a neat site, why have I not heard of this yet? How can I get me some of those ARCs? Books! I love ‘em.

  • Business Nicole thought: This is a perfect way to expand our community of bloggers and reviewers for the forthcoming sequel. Thank you, Oh Master of Sharkiness, for this serendipitous bit of insight! I’d better find out more.

  •  I emailed Netgalley and received lots of fabulous info I can use to advise my client.

So, to sum up:
  • I found a resource wearing my reader/writer hat
  • Got to interact with them as a publisher for my client (or at least as the duly appointed author rep.)
  • And will apply all that I learned back to my reader/writer side

It’s a glimpse of the kind of decisions and interactions I hope to do with my own published material someday. *cross fingers*

Odes to Our Fave Authors

Have you ever incorporated a secret “author ode” in your writing?

Here’s what I mean. I admire a lot of different authors, and on occasion, I weave a sort of acknowledgement into my writing for savvy readers to discover. It could be a turn of phrase that they use or a character’s name in honor of them, etc.

For example, I think M.M. Kaye is a brilliant writer and these simple lines of dialogue from The Far Pavilions have always stuck with me:

Juli: “I know very well he will not want me back, for after this who is there who would wish to marry one whom the Rana [prince] has rejected?”

Ash: “There is one.” *

I loved the power of those lines so much, I mimicked the “There is one” idea in my WIP, in a completely different genre, setting and circumstance. Honestly, I doubt many readers will pick up on it or make the connection, but I’ll always know it’s my secret little nod to M.M. Kaye (and now, so will you!).

What about you? Do you do this as a writer?


*Ash is a soldier in the British Corps of Guides in India c. 1857 and Juli is a half-caste Indian princess who's been promised to the Rana as an add-on deal during the marriage of her younger sister. This is part of their last conversation before Juli's arranged marriage takes place. It's all very romantical!

Best Critique Advice I’ve Received

I’m lucky enough to have been part of some amazing crit groups over the years! My fellow critters are some of my closest writing friends. Yet, on my first night at our local writing studio, I was unsure, hesitant and scared. I didn’t know them and had never before shared my work on this level. At the time, I was a newbie in a crowd of veterans…and then, they gave me the best advice about accepting critiques.

 “Don’t take anything we say personally, but always take it to heart.”

What a powerful little piece of encouragement and affirmation! I try to apply this to any editing I do and for all the new writers I meet. For me, it hits on two key points:

There is a vast difference between YOU and YOUR NOVEL
In a critique session, no one—not a friend, not an agent, not an editor—should be critiquing you. All the advice and comments should be directed to what’s on the page. So, you never have to worry about being hurt personally.

Sure, some things will be hard to hear. You might really need improvement in certain areas. But advice about those trouble spots comes from a place of kindness and helpfulness. It’s meant to make you a better writer, not to malign you or belittle you as a person.

Once you realize that, it frees you from many of the common fears about getting critiqued.

Don’t ignore a critique
Occasionally, out of fear, uncertainty or arrogance, we brush off comments from critters. There are a million excuses we use to justify this: No one else has mentioned that point. The person just didn’t get what I was trying to do. It’ll take too much work to change that – I bet it’s not that big of a deal.

I try hard to always take someone’s critique to heart, because even if it’s just one person’s reaction, it made them stop and stumble as a reader. And I want to avoid that at all costs. As authors, we should always be listening to our readers. Yes, in the end I may decide to ignore the suggestion, but I am careful to give it due diligence before making that call.

Critiques can be great (and humbling) learning opportunities. I think the best approach is to accept them gracefully, review them carefully and apply them.

How about you? What are some of your favorites lessons about critiques?

Do You Ever Feel This Way About Your Writing?



Because it's Monday, and we all need a laugh, and let's be honest, who hasn't felt this way about a WIP at some point or another. :)

JKR Bonus Link
For those of you who haven't stumbled across this yet, JK Rowling has posted her outlining method and samples online. I found it through this Absolute Write thread, but I know there are other links floating around, too.

What a great tool! I use a similar approach during the editing process to double check my timing and my sub-plot layers, and it's so helpful.

Also, The Capillary over at Circulation in ACTION gave me a Versatile Blogger Award. Thanks for the shout out, and watch for some fun facts soon!