The Art of Effortless Writing: The Flow

We have a guest blogger today, Kirra Sherman, who is all about keeping positive during the writing process. I hope we hear more and more from this talented writer!--Mary Ann

It sounds almost too good to be true, but there is a space where writing almost writes itself. Most writers at some point stumble on this flow of creativity where the words just flow effortlessly.

It's as if one idea leads to another, and one word leads to another until there is a gorgeous piece of writing that almost miraculously flowed out of thin air. The truth is that it did. What do you think creativity is? It’s the space of imagination, and it is both empty and full depending on how you look at it. It’s full of infinite ideas, but it requires you to be empty in your mind. 

To write from the space of flowing creativity, the space in your mind must be clear to access all possibilities. When you’re open to all possibilities, you allow an idea to come into your space, which is likely something you love to express. And when you write from that space, you don’t need to know the whole story, or how it will end, or what the ultimate message will be because it’s moment to moment.

Effortless writing is about writing vulnerably, which sometimes emerges emotions into the writing by connecting with the feeling that wants to be expressed through a message, or characters, or a story. It can be cathartic writing in this way, processing the reflections from your own life experiences.

Writing in the flow is accessing that one message wanting to flow authentically from your fingertips. It requires your presence, willingness, and the ability to put aside judgment of what it is that’s being written through you.

When you write from the space of creativity, rather than your mind, it’s going to be a very different experience, too. It feels differently in the body, and in my experience, it’s much more enjoyable. It’s enjoyable because from moment to moment, I, as the writer, am on the edge of my seat waiting for the message to unfold. And it feels like a flow is coming through my body, not just floating thoughts in my head. In fact, there is no thinking whatsoever.

When the flow takes over a piece of writing, it’s as if it’s a whole body experience because the flow is a part of my whole being. And while this is the experience you have while you write, inevitably it affects the reader in the same feeling way. It can be a powerful experience in how it inspires you as a writer, and how it feels to the reader.

How do you access the flow in writing and what gets in the way?

 

1) DECIDE – Sometimes a writer puts a pen to paper, but still hasn’t made a whole-hearted decision to write something of value whether it’s for the writer or the reader. Decide with your whole being to write your message, dance your dance, and sing your song.

2) Get present – put your energy in your feet and feel the sensations in your body. The flow is found by connecting with your being-ness.

3) No judgment – Let go of what you think the message is and just open up your mind. Notice any limiting thoughts and embrace them rather than resisting them, but bring yourself back to presence.

4) Don’t write until the message finds you. You don’t find creativity… creativity finds you when your mind is empty.

 

Kirra Sherman is an Intuitive speaker and coach who shares about writing and living Intuitively to feel more alive. She works one-on-one and in small groups to guide you to follow your inner feeling and make your choices from love. Follow her writings and learn about her Intuitive Guidance sessions on www.RevolutionOfSelf.com.

 

 

Andy Gavin Stops by All Things Writing for an Interview!

Today I have the pleasure of welcoming Andy Gavin to All Things Writing. I read his book, The Darkening Dream, as part of his Innovative Online Book Tour, and jumped at the chance to ask him questions about it and his second novel, Untimed.
Check out his bio!


Andy Gavin is a serial creative, polymath, novelist, entrepreneur, computer programmer, author, foodie, and video game creator. He co-founded video game developer Naughty Dog and co-created Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter. He started numerous companies, has been lead programmer on video games that have sold more than forty million copies, and has written two novels including The Darkening Dream, a dark historical fantasy that puts the bite back in vampires.

Mary Ann: Welcome, Andy! Thanks for joining us today!

Tell us a little about yourself. I see that you are the creator of a well-known video game series, but how long have you been writing novels?

Andy: I’m a lifelong creator and explorer of worlds. As far back as first grade I remember spending most of the school day in one day dream or another. I had a huge notebook stuffed with drawings, story bits, and concepts for an elaborate Sci-Fi/Fantasy world I cobbled together from bits of Star Wars, Narnia, and Battlestar Galactica. By fourth or fifth grade not only was I loosing myself in every fantasy or Sci-Fi novel I could, but I was building Dungeons & Dragons castles and caverns on paper. Then from 1980 on the computer.

Over the following decades I wrote dozens of stories and created and published over a dozen video games all set in alternative universes. And as an avid reader (over 10,000 novels and who knows how many non-fiction volumes) it was no surprise that I eventually decided to write some books of my own.

 

Your novel, The Darkening Dream, is listed on Amazon as dark fantasy. How did you come up with this storyline and is this your typical genre to write in?

 

There are two answers to that, the visceral and the cerebral. The visceral part was this image I had – and some might consider me disturbed – of a dead tree silhouetted against an orange sky, a naked body bound to it, disemboweled, and bleeding out. The sound of a colossal horn or gong blares. The blood glistens black in the sunset light. Bats circle the sky and wolves bay in the distance.

But sacrifice isn’t just about killing. It’s a contract. Someone is bargaining with the gods.

And on the cerebral side, I’ve been obsessed with vampires for decades. Not because they are romantic, but because they are undead – and I really mean undead – and because older ones are creatures that have stretched across the centuries. But it always bugs me in stories full of supernatural where they touch on the historical roots of superstitions but don’t bother to do the research. I always felt that, as they say, “truth is stranger than fiction” – if, like me, you count myth as truth – and so I wanted to write a fast paced supernatural action story where the spooky stuff is all based on real spooky stuff. And truly, the real deal is much more creepy.

 

Who is your publisher? How did you make that connection with them?

 

I own the publishing company, Mascherato. With both of my novels I used top flight professionals for the entire process. This started with the editor, and continued with cover artist, illustrators, and book designers. Untimed, for example, has a lavish production including a cover by award winning fantasy artist Cliff Nielsen and twenty-one gorgeous interior illustrations by Dave Phillips.

 

  Is it easier or harder to make the transition to writing from the world of gaming?

 

As a serial creator (having made over a dozen major video games) it was interesting how similar the process was to any other complex creative project. Video games and novel writing are both very iterative and detail oriented. They use a lot of the same mental muscles.

 

 What's your take on getting an agent? Do you currently have one?

 

I have a really terrific agent, Eddie Schneider of Jabberwocky Literary. They represent Charlaine Harris and Brandon Sanderson among others. I can’t say the process of getting one was a whole lot of fun, although it was pretty smooth with Eddie in particular. I sent him a query for Untimed, he asked for the book a couple weeks later, a couple weeks after that he called and offered to represent me. Before that, I had the usual frustration that included at least 100 query letters and a dozen MS submissions. But getting an agent is just one hurdle. After that you still have to get an editor to offer, and an offer I’d want to take at that.

Some of the typical “features” of traditional publishing offers, like low e-book royalties, non-competes, and most painfully, 18-24 month publishing schedules, are pretty hard to stomach.

 

What do you think the best promotional tool is for an author?

 

I wish I knew. I do a bit of everything. Sending your book out exhaustively for review helps. Some promotions help, but not most. Advertising is mostly a bust, and I’ve tried a lot of it. Publicity in high traffic web sites REALLY helps, but is hard to come by. I have a very active website and social presence, about a million views a year and over 40,000 Twitter followers. Still, it’s hard to get conversion from reading a blog to purchases. Only a tiny percentage of the thousand or so visitors a day to my blog actually buy the book (at least then and there). Visibility on Amazon itself is huge, but also hard to come by.

 

Your book The Darkening Dream is a dark fantasy, vampire novel. Untimed sounds very different since it deals with time travel. As a writer, do you have trouble switching back and forth between genres?

 

I have fairly broad interest within the wider genre of speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror etc) and really consider these all to be close cousins. That being said, different books have different moods, and even more specifically different voices. It’s this last thing that can be a little tricky to switch hit on. The Darkening Dream was written in a number of different third person points of view, and with Untimed I wanted a more immediate, more focused, voice. I went with a very tight first person present. It can be a bit of a brain flip to toggle between past and present tenses in rapid order.

 

How long does it take you to complete a novel? How many drafts do you have to go through before you feel that it's ready to show a reader or editor?

 

I tend to do two drafts before sending it to my editor. By the time you get to the end of the first draft there is always a pile of stuff you need to do, and if you know you need to do it, you should do it before showing the work to anyone serious. I’ll get notes back and do a big revision based on the notes, then a minor cleanup pass. With The Darkening Dream I ended up doing a lot of revision, nine major drafts in total. Untimed was only four. The thing with TDD was that I knew in my heart that certain big changes had to be made, but I resisted. I believe in revision. For me it would be impossible to have a first draft with excellent characterization, until you get the plot all the way to the end it’s hard to know what the character is totally going through.

 

Time travel is a fascinating subject! How do you keep your time lines straight? Does your MIT background assist with that?

 

First of all, I had to come up with a unique new system that allowed multiple visits to the same time period, but wasn’t too overpowered. If your characters are too powerful, there is no jeopardy. So I had to invent all the restrictions and deal with the issues of paradox (and I think I have a crafty new solution there). Then I had to figure out how to make returning to the SAME action actually interesting for the reader. That was even harder.

 

What is your favorite time travel movie or story?

 

Back to the Future is certainly one. It’s not the most realistic, but it is one hell of a fun ride and one hell of a well crafted screenplay. Robert Zemekis and Bob Gale did some serious revision too because I’ve read an old draft of it that was hugely different. No DaLorean!

 

Who would you say influenced you the most as a writer when you were a kid? Would you still consider them an influence as an adult?

 

As an early teen, some of my favorite authors were Piers Anthony, Jack Chalker, and Orson Scott Card. I’ve outgrown most of these (possibly not Card) as I no longer prefer pure adventure stories where character is secondary. Now I like characters put in really dramatic circumstances! These days I’m more influenced by the likes of George R. R. Martin and Tim Powers. But I read a lot, at least 10,000 novels, so I have a lot of influences.

 

 

What advice would you give for a young writer who is just starting out?

 

Read, read, write, write, edit, edit, edit. And hire good professional help too. Friends and family can give you a sense of how the book reads, but they can't usually tell you how to fix anything serious. I've read a lot of half-decent Indie books on my Kindle that are at their core good, but just need some serious tightening and polish. Hell, I've read plenty of big-six bestsellers you can say this about.

 

 

Monty Python or Seth MacFarlane? Which type of humor floats your boat more?

 

Monty Python any day. ‘Tis just a flesh wound! Come back here and take what's coming to ya! I'll bite your legs off!

 

What's next for you?

Right now, I’m writing two more novels and adapting Untimed into a screenplay. The new books are the Untimed sequel and a totally separate short novel that involves old school fairies and iambic pentameter.

Thanks again for joining us today at All Things Writing!

To learn more about Andy Gavin check out his links:

website: http://all-things-andy-gavin.com
 FB: https://www.facebook.com/andygavin
 Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/andygavin
 GR: http://www.goodreads.com/asgavin
 Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/andrewgavin/
 Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Gavin

The Plotting Process

I'll continue this week with processes that a writer uses. 

First, a few words on actual structure. I'm coming at this from a mystery writer's perspective, so my notes and sources are generally skewed in that direction.

For physical structure, I like to use the W plot. Kris Neri first introduced this to me, but many writers use it. It's very hard to find a good picture of it, but this site includes a simple diagram a little over halfway down the page. For mystery fiction, it's useful to put one more hump in it. Point A starts at the top left, B is the bottom of the first downstroke, then C is up, D is down (but not as far down as C), E is up (but not as far up as D), F is way down, and G finishes with a big upstroke.

A: Begin and immediately start a struggle for your protagonist

B: Pull the rug out from under her

C: Allow her some progress toward her goal

D: Give her a hurdle and make her think that her goal will be in sight once she leaps it

E: Move her close, but then make things worse

F: This is the low point of her struggle, she despairs that she will ever reach her goal

G: She finds a way to prevail

This works for a broad overview of the plot. You can also use one for each subplot and plan where they'll overlap and/or intersect.

I like to brainstorm with myself a bit and set up plot points. If I can end up with at least 12, I distribute them into Act I, Act IIA, Act IIB, and Act III. If I can work from point to point, putting at least 5400 words between points, I know I'll end up with a 65,000 word novel on first draft. From there, I usually layer in some texture. I revisit dialog and description, and try to put as many of the 5 senses into each scene as I can. I make sure each scene has a goal, conflict, and resolution. That last should lead to another goal set up to keep the story going.

Sounds simple, but the plot points tend to morph during writing. Some don't work out, others have to be added, always paying attention to the ebb and flow of action that some call scene and sequel. Character refuse to play the role you've assigned to them, and other characters pop up unbidden and interrupt things. Yikes! How did I ever write a novel?

So, I guess, it's complicated. I'm open to suggestions on how to plot here! It's good to see how others do it.

To prepare this blog, I googled around and found some sources new to me. These folks have some good thoughts on plotting for fiction:

http://www.fictionfactor.com/articles/plot.html

http://www.fictionforum.net/writers/articles/plotting-the-basic-pattern-writing-plots-129.html

http://sylviajshipp.typepad.com/novel/2007/06/jk-rowlings-plot-chart-for-fiction-writing.html

http://www.writingeducatorssymposium.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/andrews-socratic.pdf

http://www.slideshare.net/amyd22/elements-of-a-plot-diagram

Here's a fun one:

http://weirdfictionreview.com/2012/05/flow-chart-of-the-damned-stephen-graham-jones-on-weird-fiction/

Less Is More by Clive West

It's an old adage, isn't it? It actually comes from Robert Browning's poem, Andrea del Sarto which was written in 1855.

Who strive - you don't know how the others strive
To paint a little thing like that you smeared
Carelessly passing with your robes afloat,-
Yet do much less, so much less, Someone says,
(I know his name, no matter) - so much less!
Well, less is more, Lucrezia.

But this is poetry – how does it apply to prose writing?

Less is more, in the context to which I refer, describes the decision of what to leave in or leave out in the written depiction of an action, item or thought process.

You see, in the passion of the moment, it's easy for an author to get carried away with detail and I well recall reading a certain bestseller (which can remain nameless) that spent 3 pages describing a carving. Of course, if this was a book about carvings or if this were some mysterious artifact in a Dan Brown book then fair enough, give us all the details. As part of a crime story (which is what it was), it would have been more than sufficient to just to comment on the skill of the carver, the color of the wood and the shapes that had been depicted.

When you edit your work, ask yourself if you are guilty of being too self-indulgent. Have you allowed yourself to get involved in lengthy (and probably deadly boring) descriptions of things, conversations, etc which add nothing to the plot.

For example, let's say your story takes the main characters into a restaurant:

·         Do you really need a running commentary on every dish?

·         Do you need any of the dialogue at all?

·         Do the meal's details add to the story?

·         When it comes to the synopsis of your story that you upload to Amazon, Smashwords, your friendly publisher/agent, will you be including it?

If not, then you probably don't need it and it sounds like a candidate for dropping.

There's a fine line to be trod between making the story too bare and causing it to become bogged down with irrelevancies. Think again of the adage, "less is more". What does a watercolor painter do? Do they attempt to depict every detail in the same way as your 12 Megapixel digital camera might? No, they concentrate on getting the general hues and shapes correct and let your eyes deceive your brain into believing that there is much more detail in the painting than there actually is.

The net result is that a good watercolor will tell you all that you need for your brain to recreate a full picture - the mood, the shapes, the colors, what is going on etc.

On that same subject, it's also fair to say that most photographs benefit from cropping otherwise the picture's focal point can be easily lost amid extraneous and confusing background detail.

Your writing must strive to provide the imagery needed to allow the reader's brain to turn your story into an audio-visual experience. Save where you deliberately intend to confound the reader, that imagery must be clear and assimilable. As an author, it must be your primary objective.

However it's also possible to go to the other extreme and leave out key details. How often have you read a book which in almost 'deus ex machina' fashion skips from A to D without any mention of B and C? In honor of my commercial background, I call them the 'we got the contract' devices. I'd spend weeks or even months trying to negotiate a contract while 'our hero' simply just announces, "Hey, we got the ...". It doesn't have to be a contract, any situation where it's not a foregone conclusion that 'success is on the cards' is valid.

Of course, if it's merely an ancillary thing then let it be, but if it's an intrinsic part of the story then it should be covered. If you skip over this nicety, your writing will come across as trite and implausible.

Yes, less is more but notice that 'less' does not mean insufficient. Striking this balance separates a competent author from a great one.

Author Profile: Clive West

 

Clive West was born in the West Country of England in the early 60's. He was educated at a traditional English public school before going on to university to study civil engineering. Over the years, he has worked as a civil engineer, tutor of maths and science, schools quiz-master, employment agency boss, and writer.

His work includes a collection of short stories with twists called Hobson's Choice, a full-length novel called 'The Road' about the consequences of corruption on ordinary people and an accessible job hunting interview guide (based on his years of experience as the boss of an employment agency).

He has also written a book about lymphedema. This is a disfiguring, life-threatening and incurable disease he now suffers from and which his experience shows that most fellow patients have (like him) been abandoned by their respective health services.

Clive now lives in a rebuilt farmhouse in the Umbrian region of Italy along with Damaris, his writer wife of 22 years and their three rescue dogs. Apart from his fictional work, Clive also writes commercial non-fiction on a variety of topics but especially relating to business and employment. He and Damaris run an indie publishers called Any Subject Books Ltd – www.anysubject.com

You can also follow Any Subject Books on Facebook – www.facebook.com/anysubject

Clive is now disabled but, aside from his writing, he also enjoys playing the keyboard, listening to music and reading.

Contact details: books@anysubject.com

 

 

The Short Story Process by Jack Mauro

The second I saw Jack Mauro's book, Beautiful Man, listed with IO Book Tours, I knew we had to have him do a guest post at All Things Writing. I was intrigued by the synopsis of his book which is a collection of short stories. Short stories are often a thorn in my side, something I continually labor over and totally suck at creating! Putting together stories last year for our anthology, All Things Dark and Dastardly, was a major chore for me--though I loved the end result. In today's post, Mr. Mauro is going to talk about the process he used to create  Beautiful Man.---Mary Ann

The Short Story Process by Jack Mauro

I am lately inclined to think that short story writers are either very clever or really, really fortunate.  Because, if the stories in any way translate human experience, the collection creates itself.  It's wonderfully pragmatic. You know you have one, not when a theme or motif is nicely traced and explored through ten or twelve stories, but when the tenth or twelfth story is done.  The novelist can't enjoy this luxury because the novel, complex or basic in structure, pretty much has a core to maintain and a single reality to present.  We writers all walk just a little behind the process, and beg the creative impulses to slow down and let us catch up.  The writer of the novel, then, runs a long and exhausting race indeed.  There is always the Big Picture to consider, as each chapter and character must in some way serve it.  The story collection, on the other hand, gets to exploit an excellent thing about life, in that truths resonate with one another and offer their own connections.  With stories – God bless them – the writer is allowed to only peer through a window blind, rather than throw the whole thing open.  Metaphorically speaking.

The downside, of course, is that each story is utterly unconcerned with the rest of the collection, and good had better be good, no matter the form.  If the writing exists, again, to explore human experience – and all good writing must – economy is as essential as soul to the short story.  Given the messiness of human existence, and the immense importance to it of seemingly random occurrences, the short story writer is then no one to envy.  The perhaps extraneous scene in the novel is all right; in the story, it can be fatal.  Or the extraneous scene alone is, to the story writer, a universe in itself to be mined for riches.  Oh, no, nothing is easy in this odd sphere, for anyone.  And I would like to briefly splash around in this process, based on my own, new collection.

Did I intent to write a collection at all? Oh, yes.  Why?  Because there is so, so much to write about. There was no plan, except a foundation of setting of my beloved Knoxville, Tennessee.  Then there came the sort of thrilling awareness of possibilities, or rather the urge to open my eyes wider and recognize the stories around me, or known from my past.  Then there came Caroline, who would become the central figure in “Beautiful Man.”  I saw her, a little lost, standing in Market Square, and I knew something was about to occur to her.  She was stubborn, Caroline. Her course was not revealed to me, in fact, until long after most of the other stories were motoring along.  But I have written long enough to know that failing to attend to a persistent character is dangerous, and the story is maybe my personal favorite.

I try to remember who or what followed, and things gets hazy. “Emilia” came out of the blue and in the middle of the night, only as an image I try to recreate in the story's closing paragraph.  “Christmas for Mo” was also an early effort in the collection, and fueled by my absolute faith that, once I threw this family into the back of a horse-drawn carriage, they would each almost violently assert themselves (in lighthearted ways).  So, too, with “Kerry Barry.”  Here, I saw the boy and knew nothing about him.  Until – and drawing on a less than admirable personal experience – I threw him into jail for a night.  Here also was I compelled to challenge story structure.  It seemed to me that confinement needed to define the story and his experience, yet people and a scenario outside of the jail became urgent, and had their way.  Economy.  It's not easy, my friends.

I can imagine that other story writers work on several at the same time.  I cannot.  More exactly, I dare not, because writing is as much a matter of taking in information as it is of translating it, and I shudder to think of what I will miss if I weaken my attention on anyone moving through my pages.  I am occasionally lucky in that, as with “Emilia,” visual prompts stirred up in my brain help.  Occasionally.  The occurrence is not mystical, nor does it equate to a great story, by any means.  But I trust it when it happens, as little as it gives me.  As when, long ago, I was walking down Knoxville's Gay Street and saw in my mind a woman and a little girl on a corner.  The woman – the mother? - was pointing at a building, and I knew she was lying to the child.  That was all I knew or felt.  It led me to “Faith,” my best story in Gay Street, my first collection. 

Beyond anything else, however, it is character that must justify the work for me.  More to the point, I can go nowhere if Caroline or Andy or Kerry is not breathing.  In creating a story collection, this is the true criterion, simply because no story I write can have quality if this is not the case.  I have in my time dreamed up exciting and interesting characters.  When they fail to gain dimension in my eyes – and they often do – they lie flat on some shelf in the closet.  This is why, in Beautiful Man, I chose to rewrite and add two stories that were actually chapters from an aborted novel.  “Jack” would not go away because of Ruby, not Jack, and the odious Colin of “Cousin Mary,”, meant to be a bit player in the novel, was too vivid for me to discard.  We wander in the dark a great deal, as writers; all the more then, I rely on those faces and voices in the shadows.  They are not real, of course.  But they represent human reality in a way I can hold in my hands, question, poke, and record. 

Almost done.  I want to dive a little deeper into that character aspect, though.  A friend said that, in all my stories, it seems that the characters are not what they appear to be.  This gave me pause, and made me feel a bit devious, somehow.  Is it true? Well, maybe.  Kerry certainly is not quite the charming, roguish boy people take him to be.  Mo Lackland is by no means entirely the unyielding family matriarch even her family thinks her, and Ashley Willis, we discover, has more than a layer or two to her being. Stephen Kingsolver, my “beautiful man,” may be the most striking evidence of this claim.  But I honestly now do not see a writer's agenda here, as it were, but a focus, and one I rather like.  More to the point: in my life, I have seen that the true natures of people often go unseen, or are revealed only when circumstances allow.  They do not change; they are simply exposed in another light.  This is what stories permit, in their glorious limitations of space.  This is what I urges me on, all the time, to capture as best as I can. 

Book Blurb for Beautiful Man

Twelve short stories, all set in modern-day Knoxville, Tennessee, and each exploring the rhythms and currents of relationships, encounters, and the conflicts within characters themselves.  From the reality beneath the surface of a hotel manager's charm, to the sadly funny and complex clashes between a family on a holiday carriage ride, Beautiful Man and Other Stories probes the fascination of lives as shaped by Southern, and all too human, forces.

BIO:

Jack has been writing professionally for fifteen years, with work ranging from a guide to Internet dating (from Simon & Schuster) to liner notes for Oscar and Grammy winner Carly Simon.  His first love, however, remains fiction, and of a very Southern kind.  Beautiful Man and Other Stories marks Jack's return to the form after ten years.

Amazon Paper Back Link

Amazon Kindle Copy

An Interview with Paul T. Harry

I love getting to interview authors. It's always interesting to learn how other writers handle both the process and business of writing. Paul T. Harry is currently doing a book tour for his science fiction novel The 5 Moons of Tiiana. Today, we get to visit with him at All Things Writing and we're doing a giveaway of his book. Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter below this interview!

Mary Ann: Hi! Welcome to All Things Writing. We're glad to have you as a guest today!

Tell us a little about yourself and your latest novel, The 5 Moons of Tiiana.

Paul: Well for starters, I grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada when it was a small, dusty town of about 60,000 in population. Our home was situated on the outskirts of town, surrounded by desert and there wasn't a whole lot to do. Back then, there were only three television stations and they went off the air fairly early, though that didn't matter as I didn't get to watch a lot of TV anyway. My father wasn't a big fan of the idiot box or the boob tube as he called it—he was a reader.

I can't remember exactly how young I was when he first gave me a book to read, but I do remember the book itself. It was A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. That book opened up the universe for me. It was unlike anything I had read before and I was smitten. From that point on, I devoured every book in the series, and from there I went onto Burroughs’ Tarzan series. Along the way, I took in books by Asimov, Frederick Pohl, Robert Heinlein and many others. These were the writers that inspired me and filled my head with dreams of fantastic ambition. They were the cornerstone for me wanting to become a writer—that and the other curse my father gave me. He insisted that I learned how to type.

I didn't actually begin writing until I was in college, and I didn't start off by writing science fiction. During my high school and college years I was involved in theater, and my first piece of writing was actually a rock opera that I co-wrote with two other individuals. Later, after college I got married, and it was then that I ventured back into writing as more serious endeavor. Still, it wasn't until I started writing screenplays that I obtained a small measure of success.

Most of my screenplays and short stories at that time revolved around science fiction concepts, but it was also around this time, the germ of an idea began to form for The 5 Moons of Tiiana. I think it lay in my head for a good 10 and 12 years smoldering and developing until I realized I needed to sit down and write it.

As for the novel itself, here’s a quick teaser.

The 5 Moons of Tiiana is a science fiction narration on a soldier caught up in the middle of an interstellar war, faced with rescuing the princess he loves, and solving a 2000 year-old mystery that just might yield the secret to bringing peace to both sides of the galaxy.

Captain Rez Cantor is a commander in the Imperial Army’s Shadow Guard, and the personal attaché to Princess Leanna, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the Emperor, and sole heir to the Melelan throne.

On the eve of a treaty signing ending the twelve-year-war between the alien-hybrid Relcor and the Empire, Rez learns that the Imperial family has been slated for death. Under orders from the Queen, Rez is given his final command–save the Princess at all costs.

Faced with overwhelming odds, Rez abducts Leanna from the Imperial palace, and the two flee Melela along with others of the Imperial guard. Unfortunately, their ship is nuked as it enters warp, creating an event horizon that sends the ship 128,000 light years across the galaxy to the Moons of Tiiana. It is on one of these moons that Rez awakens upon a beach–injured and alone–without the Princess.

So begins the sojourn of Rez Cantor upon the Moons of Tiiana: Five moons stagnating from a 2000 year-old war that has left its alien races in limbo and decay. Five moons that crave a hero bold enough to lead its people out of the darkness. Five moons that hold the future of the Melelan Empire deep within the ashes of war.

So there you have it—pure adventure with hostile alien races and bizarre landscapes, a man searching for a young princess, but instead discovering a beautiful woman and a perilous mission where the fate of the galaxy is at risk.  It’s all here for your reading enjoyment.

Is science fiction your main genre or do you like to experiment in other areas?

For the most part I have stayed within the field of science fiction. It’s not that wouldn’t like or try other venues, it’s just that I enjoy tinkering with the “what if” factor too much.

According to your author bio on Amazon, you also write screenplays? Is The 5 Moons of Tiiana something you've also written in that format? Is it hard to switch from screenplays to novels?

No, The 5 Moons of Tiiana has not been written as a screenplay, not as of yet, anyway. For one thing, the scope of the story is far too large to be put into just one movie. It would have to be a series of movies. Additionally, I'm considering writing a prequel and a sequel to the book to fill in the back story on the Relcor (the bad guys) and the continued adventures of my hero, Rez Cantor. So, with that said, putting The 5 Moons of Tiiana on the big screen would take an effort equal to that of Star Wars.

Now regarding the second portion of your question—I don’t think switching from a screenplay to a novel is any more difficult than determining how you want to tell the story. Okay, I can see some of you rolling your eyes, so let me clarify that statement. It goes without saying that screenplays and novels are drastically different birds of a feather. Each venue holds its own format, point of view, nuances, and the method of delivery must be crafted precisely if the story is to be successful. And yet, it just really depends on what you want to accomplish as a writer, and how you see your story unfolding. For me, I saw The 5 Moons of Tiiana as a novel. It was too expansive a story for a two hour screenplay. And honestly, I think screenwriting has become too competitive today; it’s much more difficult than ever before. Twenty years ago, before the advent of the internet and e-publishing the reverse was true. Back then it was it easier to penetrate the facade of Hollywood. Additionally, I think the biggest drawback for screenwriters is giving up ownership to your writing. If you write a novel, a short story, or novella, the work is yours, minus the edits and corrections by your editor. With a screenplay you can end up with twenty fingers in the pie and still not get greenlighted.

 Okay, your protagonist, Rez Cantor, sounds like a bad ass! He reminds me of an Indiana Jones type in space. How did you go about creating his character?

The truth is I borrowed a lot of Rez from Edgar Rice Burroughs’ character, John Carter of Mars. I wanted to take the reader back to a time where the protagonist was swashbuckling hero, intelligent and honorable, if not flawed. I wanted him to be smart, cool, and calculated, but with a certain level of charm. With that said, I actually owe a lot to the development of Rez to Dr. Jennifer Dare. She was the English professor I ran the story by when it was in development, and because of her Rez became stronger and more rounded as a character.  What I like most about Rez is his ability to adapt to any given situation.

I always like to know what other authors are reading. What's the latest book you've read that really grabbed your attention?

Destiny of Souls by Dr. Martin Newton, PH.D., and before that, Journey of Souls by the same author.  I found his research into our lives between lives astounding. His work gives real meaning to the adage: fact is stranger than fiction. Of course, not everyone will agree to his hypothesis, but still it’s a fascinating read.

I gotta ask: Agent or no agent? What's your take on authors and agents?

If Hollywood is on the line offering you an option on your book or screenplay, get an agent or better yet, an entertainment attorney—just make it one who is a Writer’s Guild affiliate. Truth is, I can’t really say. The last agent I had I fired because he was an idiot.

Thanks for being with us today. Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?

Yes. In addition to my earlier comments about writing a novel verses a screenplay I stated that the writer needed to determine the right voice for his narration. That was especially the case with The 5 Moons of Tiiana. It was my first narration written in first person and it worked far better than I could have ever have imagined. It was a blast to write and I think that comes through in the prose. I do hope all of you will give this novel a read and let me know what you think.  And thanks for having me!

To learn more about Paul T. Harry or to purchase his book from Amazon, click on the following links:

Amazon code:

Paul T Harry Online:

Website http://5moons.com/

Twitter https://twitter.com/RezCantor

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6423562.Paul_T_Harry

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Q & A with Travis McBee, Author of the YA Science Ficition Novel, Bridgeworld

Mary Ann: Hi, Travis! Thanks for joining us on All Things Writing today.

Tell us a little about yourself. How long have you been writing? What genre do you work the most in?

Travis: I’m twenty-two and I’ve been writing seriously for about two years now. I don’t really pick genres, either when I’m reading or writing. I get ideas that come to me and I start writing them. I don’t really ever stop to consider what genre it is until I’m done and I need to classify it so that I can query it. It’s the same way when I pick up books to read, I just look for a good story. I guess I’m weird that way.

Your novel, Bridgeworld, is YA Science Fiction. How did you come up with this storyline?

The inspiration came from a book I had read years before called “The Dark Side of Nowhere” The book was about a small town whose residents were actually aliens who had crash landed there decades before and raised kids who they disguised and raised as humans. I was thinking about the book when I wondered what it would be like if one of the kids was forced to reintegrate into his parents’ old society.

Who is your publisher? How did you make that connection with them?

My publisher is Hydra Publications. I found their listing on durotrope and sent them a query—along with a dozen or so other houses. I got interest from several different houses, but Hydra was extremely straightforward with me and seemed to be genuinely excited about the possibilities “Bridgeworld” presented. I went with my gut on it and chose them. I couldn’t be happier.

What's your take on getting an agent? Do you currently have one?

It’s difficult. I got rejected about fifty times before I decided to just go the small press route. I’ve been offered representation since I’ve first been published, but the agents who have offered it have poor track records—most of their clients are only signed with small presses so they wouldn’t be able to offer me anything other than taking a share of my royalties as I see it. I still query some legitimate agents with most of my projects, but I’m in no hurry to sign with just anyone.

What do you think the best promotional tool is for an author? Is it easier or harder to promote science fiction to young adults?

I think the best tool is just getting out in your community. I’ve gotten more fans and readers from doing book signings and going to conventions than from anything else. It’s great to actually meet the people who like your work and talk to them as well.

What's next for you and where can our readers learn about you and/or purchase Bridgeworld?

Well writing is still just a hobby for me, but I would love for it to become a career. I’ve  sold four novels since publishing “Bridgeworld” so it’s definitely something I love. You can find out anything you want to know about me at www.TravisMcBee.com and  you can buy a copy at

http://www.amazon.com/Bridgeworld-Academy-ebook/dp/B005IAZEYO/

Thanks for having me on!

Here's an excerpt from Bridgeworld by Travis McBee! Enjoy!

Will’s birthday had always been an eventful day. The town would break into a large scale celebration with hotdogs grilling in every backyard and bands marching up and down main street in a massive parade. When the sun fell the occasion would be punctuated with the rolling thunder of fireworks which lit up the sky in fluorescent flowers of brilliance. Yes Pleasant Valley did enjoy Will’s birthday, because it also happened to be the Fourth of July.

“…Happy birthday to you!” the chorus of voices finished. Will took a breath and held it for a second as he made his private wish and then with a sudden burst of wind he released the breath upon the fifteen candles that were staggered about the cake causing the little flames to flicker and disappear on each one.

“What did you wish for Will?” his mother asked from the other end of the dining room table. She asked that same question every year.

“Can’t tell you that,” Will replied as he always did when his mother asked but smiled none the less.

“Stop pitter pattering around and cut the cake Will,” His father chuckled from his mother’s side, his eyes yearning for the chocolate cake with the still smoking candles.

Will grabbed the knife and slid it through the cake in clean, neat, strokes and ladled four pieces of the sticky chocolate cake onto four milky white plates that his mom saved for special occasions. He slid the plates around the table and only the etiquette of birthday boy first kept the cake from being torn apart by his apparently ravenous father. Abby flashed a smile of gratitude when he slid her a piece and looked at it closely. Will picked up his fork and dipped a piece of the spongy cake into his mouth. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the sweet ecstasy sweeping across his tongue in moist waves of delight.

The entire table followed suit with Abby and Mr. Haynes digging in with the most fervor. Abby had developed a taste for Earth food and had yet to find something she didn’t like.