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Post by Daniel on Feb 6, 2015 15:39:01 GMT -5
Write the Book You Want to Read (Beta Lessons 7)Published February 6, 2015The beta comments I got back on First Moon got me thinking about why I write stories the way I do. As it turned out, the feedback I disagreed with was the most enlightening.
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Post by Becca Mills on Feb 7, 2015 13:09:44 GMT -5
Write the Book You Want to Read (Beta Lessons 7)Published February 6, 2015The beta comments I got back on First Moon got me thinking about why I write stories the way I do. As it turned out, the feedback I disagreed with was the most enlightening. <waves> I'm that first beta-reader. For the record, my worry was not that Kyle was "beta" (a term I actually find sort of offensive when applied to men, as I think I mentioned). I know there's a market for "normal guy" heroes, and I certainly prefer them myself. My husband would fit that description. My worry was more that Kyle was ULTRA-beta, guided and, one could argue, even controlled by women throughout and never given the opportunity for a Spider-Man moment, as it were. That made him different from Jaylan, for me. Don't get me wrong -- I liked Kyle and the book. But I worried I liked it because I'm an feminist who loves to see gender stereotypes subverted, and that other readers would have a problem with it because they don't feel that way. Needless to say, I'd be delighted to be wrong about the market. There's no reason at all that women shouldn't be the movers and shakers of a story, and the prevalence of those "alpha" stereotypes in our culture has got to be damaging for men. Heck, look at the way Superman's physique changed from Christopher Reeve to Henry Cavill! If that's the standard of physical "manliness" these days, a lot of people are going to be made to feel inadequate. So, you know ... good for you for going for it. My worry was just that you seemed to be going for it extra-strongly compared to other "normal guy" heroes in the genre -- Mason in John Levitt's series, for instance, or Connor in Mark Del Franco's. |
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Post by Daniel on Feb 7, 2015 13:45:53 GMT -5
I hope you didn't think I took your suggestions poorly or that I was arguing very strongly against them. I actually think you're right about the expectations of Contemporary Fantasy readers, given what's popular right now, and I did take your observations seriously. Please don't stop giving me feedback like that. In fact, I'm going to see if I can give Kyle more opportunities to be heroic. The point I was trying to make in my article was that I'm not sure I can write the kind of character (or story) that will take off in the CF market, and even if I could, I don't think I want to do so. I'll have to be satisfied with the subset of readers who can understand or relate to Kyle and his situation.
On a positive note, most of my 5 beta readers responded well to the story (except one, who absolutely loathed Kyle--for "feminist" reasons, ironically), so I'm hoping at least a subset of CF readers will enjoy it too. More than one of you said it kept you up late reading. I view that as a high compliment.
Honestly, I have a similar style problem with The Vaetra Chronicles. But my trilogy was able to find an audience in spite of it being a different kind of story from what's popular in High Fantasy these days. It's probably most telling that it has appealed to non-fantasy readers. I was told, "I don't normally read fantasy, but I enjoyed your story," several times. (I'd be willing to bet you get the same kind of feedback on Nolander.)
So, First Moon won't be a bestseller, but it's the kind of story I like to read and the one I wanted to write. That said, there's always room for improvement!
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Post by Becca Mills on Feb 7, 2015 14:55:53 GMT -5
Don't worry, Daniel -- I know you value my feedback! I just didn't want you to think I was asking you to write an "alpha" hero. I know you don't want to do that, and I'm glad you don't.
I think there's a continuum between the two kinds of heroes in their extreme forms, and the question is how close to one extreme or the other you want to position your main dude. Jaylan is kept away from the super-beta (still hating the term) end of the continuum, IMO, by the fact that he begins the series already highly competent in a very "manly" profession (soldiering). He may be a newbie when it comes to magic and he may need the guidance of a woman, but when it comes to physical bravery and know-how, he's a proven quantity. Kyle doesn't have that sword-wielding foundation.
But yeah, overall I do hear you on the frustrations of having what you want to write being at least somewhat mismatched with what readers are looking for. I agree with your choice: I think it's best to accept the situation and write what you want to write (unless you're financially dependent on your writing ... that changes everything). It's got to be much more satisfying to have a smaller readership that likes reading what you want to write than to have a larger readership and not feel good about what you have to produce for them.
I'm curious to hear the feminist objections to Kyle. Do you feel free to share the specifics? Feminism is a diverse movement, and different people embrace different aspects of it, but I'm having a little trouble imagining what's so bad about Kyle, from any angle.
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Post by Daniel on Feb 7, 2015 15:21:04 GMT -5
I'll PM you with an edited version of her overview remarks. As for the comments interspersed throughout the text, let's just say I had to stop reading them after a couple of chapters because they were bumming me out so badly.
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Post by Daniel on Feb 19, 2015 16:12:19 GMT -5
The Obelisk Portal: A Fantasy Adventure Short StoryPublished February 19, 2015I wrote a short fantasy story based on a montage I created at the most recent meeting of my local writers group. I think it was the first time I've used imagery as a story prompt, and it turned out to be a lot of fun.
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Post by Daniel on Jun 15, 2015 14:02:41 GMT -5
A Little Romance with Your FantasyPublished June 15, 2015Guest post for The Enchanted Word, author Juli D. Revezzo's blog...While I lay no claim to writing romantic fantasy, I do believe that every story (of any genre) benefits from including a little romance. As a reader, I don’t care much for obsessive swooning, but nothing does more to make a story a page-turner for me than putting a relationship or love interest at stake...
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Post by Daniel on Aug 14, 2015 8:07:21 GMT -5
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Post by Daniel on Sept 26, 2015 18:13:24 GMT -5
After several weeks of annoyances and interruptions, we finally got our WordPress sites moved to a new hosting company. We didn't want to mess things up while the sites were in transition, so I've held off posting anything for a while. Things have finally settled down, so I finally posted an article that has been ready to roll for a while now. Golden Dragons of the American SouthwestPublished September 26, 2015Adding dragons to a western may strike some readers as an odd thing to do. But if there’s anything the Southwest has, it’s heat and lizards. I think fire-breathing dragons fit right in. |
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Post by lou on Sept 27, 2015 9:16:11 GMT -5
Interesting! BTW, if you need any on-site research here in your real-world setting, let me know. I can't do much about finding dragons for you, though.  |
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Post by Daniel on Sept 27, 2015 19:04:39 GMT -5
Interesting! BTW, if you need any on-site research here in your real-world setting, let me know. I can't do much about finding dragons for you, though. Thanks, Lou. The story is set in Cochise County, and I'm pretty familiar with the area and its history (more so now, of course). In fact, the "Dragon Mountains" of my story are really the Dragoons. Are you close to that area? |
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Post by lou on Sept 28, 2015 4:12:45 GMT -5
Not far at all as the crow (or dragon) flies.
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Post by Daniel on Oct 18, 2016 11:36:53 GMT -5
Jaguar of DestinyPublished October 18, 2016Clarissa, the sexy female antagonist in the first act of First Moon, gave me an excuse to research the E-Type Jaguar of my dreams.
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Post by Pru Freda on Oct 19, 2016 2:14:50 GMT -5
Nice post, great photo, Daniel. The E-type has to be the sexiest car ever built. Odd, then, that it was British!  The only time I've ever travelled at over a hundred miles an hour (short of on an aeroplane) was in a Jag - an earlier model than the E-type but at about the same time, late sixties, early seventies. It was as illegal then as it is now, but it was late at night on a virtually empty motorway and the guy I was with let her rip - for about ten miles. A shame you couldn't find an owner prepared to take you for a spin. Perhaps next time you're in England, you can hire one! Over here, the E-type remains an icon, much cherished, still thought of as all that's sexy, all that's cool in a car. Hovever, when I came to give my heroine's sexy old flame a vehicle, I made it a Maserati. Can't remember which model, but may have been the Mistral. |
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Post by Daniel on Oct 19, 2016 8:38:45 GMT -5
Thanks for reading the article, Lynda. I'm glad to hear the E-Type is still an icon in Britain. It deserves to be! Every once in a while, style and steel come together to produce something aesthetically breathtaking, and the E-Type is that for me.
I've never driven at 100 MPH that I recall. I managed to get my old Mustang up to 90 MPH once on a downhill where I could see for a couple of miles ahead, but that's the closest.
The Mistral has nice lines. It has the look of a Bond car. It's a little boxy in the rear seat area for my taste, but the answer to that is to get the convertible version!
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Post by Miss Terri Novelle on Oct 19, 2016 9:00:26 GMT -5
Nice article and gorgeous car. I have driven over a 100 mph. We used to have a '78 Camaro and before that, I had an '87 model that I bought new. It was a sweet ride, cornered like a dream, and I had her up to 120 on the highway a couple times. Regarding the spam thing with comments, there is an option that I used to use on client websites to keep spam to a minimum. It makes commenters fill in a captcha, but it's pretty effective. wordpress.org/plugins/si-captcha-for-wordpress/If you prefer no captcha, this one has also worked well for me. wordpress.org/plugins/wp-spamshield/ |
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Post by Pru Freda on Oct 19, 2016 9:13:02 GMT -5
It is one of life's little ironies that, by the time one is old enough to afford a sports car, one is also too old to get in one! If I was going for a Maserati these days, it would have to be the four-door sedan, ridiculously named Ghibli. link Just listen to that purr. A snip under 50K GBP. Hmm. Must sell more books. |
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Post by Daniel on Oct 19, 2016 15:35:26 GMT -5
Regarding the spam thing with comments, there is an option that I used to use on client websites to keep spam to a minimum. It makes commenters fill in a captcha, but it's pretty effective. Thanks for the tips. Tools can do a good job of stopping automated spam, but that's only part of the problem. Spammers hire humans too, and they sail through all forms of CAPTCHA. I used to have CAPTCHA, but turned off comments entirely when the number of spam comments entered by the spam data entry people exceeded the number of real comments from site visitors. Without CAPTCHA, you really end up with a mess. Once the spam bots identify you as vulnerable, you get inundated. |
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Post by Daniel on Oct 19, 2016 15:39:27 GMT -5
If I was going for a Maserati these days, it would have to be the four-door sedan, ridiculously named Ghibli. link Just listen to that purr. A snip under 50K GBP. Wow! That is one of the nicest looking four-door sedans I've ever seen. |
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Post by Rinelle Grey on Oct 27, 2016 1:34:57 GMT -5
Askimet is awesome at removing spam! As for travelling at over 100 miles an hour, I'm just going to step away, and pretend I can't do the conversions.  |
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