Today I offer a bevy of interesting links.
First, you may recall when I gushed about Star Trek Continues. Now’s your chance to jump in and lend a hand because the talented cast and crew need your help making new episodes (and possibly an engine room and planetary set if stretch goals are hit!) Stop by and check out their Kirkstarter, and if you haven’t already, watch their episodes. If you’re a fan of the original series you’ll be amazed.
Copyright Darian Jones
This being NaNoWriMo I should probably be writing helpful posts about my own revising process… but the fact of the matter is I kind of have my hands so full with revising right now I just don’t have the time. Perhaps that sort of advice will come in handy next month, when so many people have most or large portions of brand new novels written.
In any case, today I’m just going to post some links.
First, for all of you writers out there, here’s some depressing news, although most of you probably already knew it.
Second, a wonderful letter from Sam Sykes to GrimDark fantasy you definitely need to read.
Finally, some writing advice from the talented, award-winning, indefatigable Mary Robinette Kowal.
Link Man, away!
I’m deep in the midst of my new outline and have a number of errands to run, so I must keep today’s post short, although I want to give two shout-outs.
First, to Erin Evans’ Fire in the Blood. I don’t usually read epic fantasy, but I was terrifically impressed by her character arcs, driving plot, and unveiling of mystery. I’ve been trying to think my way through a succinct blurb that says all that, and I’ll do so in the next couple of days.
Second, last night my wife and I drove south to the Evansville Barnes & Noble to listen to our friend Mark Rigney read from his new Renner & Quist novel, Check-Out Time. It sounds just as fine as the Black Gate review described it, so I hope you’ll join me in picking up a copy for yourselves.
And then, for you folks reading along with Lord Dunsany, I found an interesting essay from Great Science Fiction and Fantasy Links. Take a look, and don’t forget to join in Friday for the next two tales we’re reading, “Idle Days on the Yann” and “The Sword and the Idol.”
Picture by Darian Jones.
Over the last few weeks I’ve turned up a score of interesting links, and I thought it high time to share. So, Link Man returns to provide safe, interesting and unbroken links.
Exhausted by boring links and in need of a savior? Have no fear– Link Man is here!
First, I’m not usually amused by these, but I thought the photoshopping this time was pretty good, especially up near the top of the document. Enjoy.
Copyright Darian Jones
Second, a lot of these odd products are just plain cool. I think I might want some of them. I’m not sure I need them, but I want them.
Third, I must have this. A bit pricey for a tee-shirt, but it IS my birthday month.
Yesterday I finally turned the corner on the new Pathfinder novel I’m writing. My writing process means that I go on with a very detailed plan, then write the book almost like a screenplay, mostly with dialogue before going back in to fill it up with description. What that means, though, is that I can’t be sure how well it’s really going until later in the process. As recently as Monday I was still worried about whether or not I could pull this off and get it to have the tone I was looking for, maintain the pace, and develop the character arcs.
By end-of-day Thursday I finally had the first three chapters clicking along properly, and now some of the middle sections are falling into place. Because it’s gained momentum and I’m now better acquainted with all the characters, little scenes and more climactic chapter conclusions are popping out of thin air.
I’m still hard at work on my next book, and liable to be pedal to the metal for a while. You see, ’round about the 2/3 to 3/4 mark of the rough draft I started to feel like the ground I was standing on wasn’t very firm, so I decided to go back and revise what I’d written. I discovered that the opening chapters weren’t very entertaining, so I threw them out, started from scratch, and am now nearly up to the good parts. Anyway, it’s time consuming but fun to be getting it right.
But I promised interesting links.
Copyright Darian Jones
I’m still working madly behind the scenes here, so I’ll keep things simple today. Link Man returns with some creepy suggestions today.
First, 10 Famous “Unsolved Mysteries” that are completely explainable. The one about ghosts and the area of the brain was completely new to me — check it out.
Second, and NOT for the faint of heart because this is pretty grisly, 6 Creepy Places.
And this led me to an even creepier rabbit hole.
I’m back today, but mostly with links because there is much to be done.
First, I wanted to point everyone to a wonderful review of Stalking the Beast that popped up at Black Gate. I haven’t been much involved with the magazine site for quite a while, so I had no idea that this review was coming up, or that it had even been planned. Writer Nick Ozment seemed to love the book, which pleases me mightily.
Sometimes people don’t like things you write for understandable reasons, and sometimes they don’t like things you write because they apply their own assumptions to it (not being familiar with an unreliable narrator, say, or not knowing the difference between an info dump and an Arabian Nights story-within-a-story ).
But sometimes a reviewer finds exactly what you were hoping a reader would take away from your work and then explains it cogently, and that’s what Nick Ozment did.
Howard and Saladin put their heads together.
I am crazy busy with book deadlines right now, so there’s apt to be some radio silence.
I did want to remind everyone about the Crossing the Streams contest, which is still under way. Bop over there now for a chance to win a free copy of not only a book from me, but scads more authors besides.
My Dabir and Asim stories, as well as the historical fiction of Harold Lamb and the fantasy work of Saladin Ahmed, got a call-out along with some fine fiction in a wonderful article on Silk Road Fantasy by Paul Weimer over at SF Signal yesterday.
Lastly, I sort of have a new Welcome page that newcomers might have missed. Being so busy with, you know, writing, I haven’t had time to reorganize the site so it’s easier to find. Perhaps I’ll pin it up top eventually. Anyway, it has links to many of my favorite posts, and you can find it here.
Copyright Darian Jones
I’m hard at work on several not-so-secret writing things, so I will use today to simply point you to some other cool stuff on the Internet.
Fellow original Star Trek fans should see what Alex Bledsoe has to say after re-watching the first season.
Fellow writers ought to see some words of wisdom the aforementioned Alex has about writing action scenes.
Lastly, I have just placed an order for a book written by an old friend, Marta Pelrine-Bacon. I can hardly wait to see what she’s concocted!