N: Names

It's been said that you can tell the quality of a fantasy story by the quality of the names of the people and places within. Tolkien, for example, has some of the most evocative names on record today, and his books are still the gold standard by which other fantasy stories are measured against. By contrast, I once joined a DnD game for a single session, and was handed a paladin named "Sherman." Not even making this up. He was named after the tank.

Of course, picking good names for your characters is always a challenge, whether you're writing in fantasy, or in any other genre. Writer's methods range from the laissez-faire to the deeply thoughtful. Some people don't name their characters until everything else is done. Another school of thought holds that names should be symbolically significant, or contain within them tricky allusions to other relevant works or philosophies.

For myself, I sometimes feel that the best names I come up with are not created after long and careful consideration, but come to me when I get my mind into 'the zone,' that magical place where you have your feet in the dream world, and your hands on the keyboard, and the world comes to life for a little while.

What's your theory? How do you come up with names for your characters? Any names you are particularly proud of? A technique you would like to share?

M: Morris, Dave

The other half of the Fabled Lands team (in addition to Jamie Thomson, who I spoke about last week), Dave Morris is a British gamebook author with a truly impressive list of titles to his name.

Dave Morris might be my favorite gamebook author to-date. Admittedly, he wasn't in the team that wrote Talisman of Death (childhood favorite), that was his friend, Jamie Thomson, with another collaborator, but he pushes the boundaries of what gamebooks can do. Furthermore, he is, at least by my definitions, a literary author, not just a gamebook or fantasy author. He writes Mirabilis, Years of Wonder, a comic book epic that mixes fantasy, young adult fiction, and edwardian england. He wrote Heart of Ice, one of the most thoughtful gamebooks to date, with an intriguing, post-apocalyptic setting. And recently, he put out Frankenstein--an interactive re-visioning of Mary Shelley's classic, in which the reader interacts with the text not by stepping into the shoes of a lead character, but by speaking directly to the lead characters. Sometimes, they say no!

To my knowledge, no one has ever done that before. It appears not to be to everyone's liking, judging by some mixed reviews, but I think it's fascinating.

He recently had Minotaur at the Savoy available for free via kindle, and it's still a very reasonable price for a good read.

I find that many gamebook authors are game-designers first, and not as adept as writers. Alternately, many authors are writers first and don't really know how to include an engaging, balanced game into their story. Dave Morris is one of those treasures who can do both.

Check out his blogs at http://mirabilis-yearofwonders.blogspot.com/ or http://fabledlands.blogspot.com/.

L: Literary Lightbulb jokes

So, I came across the writercize website today due to the A-Z Challenge, and she had put a challenge forth to writers to make up some jokes. Since I've been thinking about humor in stories lately, I decided to take a stab at it. As far as I know, these are all original.


How many writers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
Three. One to do it and two to critique the work.

How many mystery writers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
One, but he'll turn it very slowly to keep the reader in the dark, until a surprise twist at the end illuminates everything.

How many romance writers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
Only two, but it better be a big lightbulb.

How many science fiction writers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
Five. One to do it, one to criticize the pedestrian technology, and the rest to speculate on the laws of a world that has no lightbulbs.

How many fantasy writers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
The Darkness can only be banished by the Chosen One.

How many existentialist writers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
The dying of the light is a metaphor for human existence. Why bother to fight it?

How many horror writers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
None; horror writers do it in the dark.

How many literary writers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
Literary writers can't afford lightbulbs.

K: Kylarra

Kylarra is not a name that will mean much to most of you at the moment, but hopefully it will someday. Kylarra is the name of one of the two leads in the novel I'm working on. This is a character profile.

Kylarra is a woman of indeterminate age, with the beauty of youth, but without the soft edges. She is a sorceress from an ancient bloodline, exiled from her ancestral homeland due to the crimes of the forefathers of her particular branch of the family. So she lives as a wanderer, traveling from place to place, earning her living through song and, when a buyer can afford it, her magic.

As we get to know Kylarra, we discover that she has a troubled past. As a woman, travelling alone along the Barren Coast, she has seen her share of uncouth men and foul language. Her magic and power have protected her--from all but one man, her equal in power, charisma and seduction.

What the reader will discover is a dark tale of desire and betrayal that left Kylarra a damaged woman. She managed to extricate herself from a situation that had spiralled into abuse, but only barely, and the scars from that time are still livid upon her soul.

As the story progresses, the ghosts of Kylarra's past rise up to threaten her. Due to her magical bloodline, she has power, but there is danger in that power. If she overextends herself, magically, the Beast of Magic could enter her, pushing her out of her own body and turning her into a demon-woman of terrible power and overwhelming evil. 

With her emotional state becoming frayed by reminders of her past, Kylarra struggles to keep hold of her sanity, and keep her magic under control. When her best friend, the person who is her best and only link to the world, is threatened by the same evil man who hurt her, will she be able to master her own power and rage long enough to execute a rescue, or will she succumb to the desire for revenge?

There you have it, ladies and gents. Overly dramatic? Maybe. WTF, it's a practice novel. We'll see.

J: "J" names in gamebooks

I'm a little late getting this post out (surprise surprise), but I've also been thinking about this challenge. I've written some fairly thoughtful posts already, but I have now said most of the heavy stuff that I have in mind. Furthermore, I'm trying to complete a novel by the end of the month, and that takes a lot of time and energy.

So, the rest of my posts for this event will be a little shorter, often linking to someone else awesome or relevant. This time, we have three "J" characters to discuss, two of whom are real people, gamebook authors, and one of whom is the lead character in a gamebook.

JJ Shultz: The lead character of "Getting Dumped," JJ Shultz breaks the mold by being a romance heroine, rather than an action hero. I, personally, am thrilled to see gamebooks branching out into other genre's, and all congratulations to Tawna Fenske for taking that step. Furthermore, JJ is a charming character: a girl's girl who likes to go out in pink hardhats and operate heavy machinery to crush things. Check out the reviews for "Getting Dumped" on Goodreads.(Although be aware, this is different from most gamebooks in that you only get to make a few choices. It's mostly straight text. But I think that's also a valid, and very interesting, way of doing it.)

Jonathan Green: Jonathan Green is one of the most established gamebook authors today, with a long line of works written for Fighting Fantasy, the recent, award-winning "Temple of the Spider God," and many other works, some gamebooks and some straight fiction. He is also one of the go-to authors for writing Warhammer novels (dream job, right???) Check out his blog at http://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.com/. He is also participating in the April A-Z challenge.

last but not least...

Jamie Thomson: Jamie Thomson has an impressive portfolio of gamebooks under his belt, including Duel-Master, Falcon and Way of the Tiger (all co-written with Mark Smith), and Fabled Lands (co-written with Dave Morris). He's also written for Fighting Fantasy, including being co-author of Talisman of Death, my 10 year old self's favorite gamebook of all time. Oh, if only I had found some of his other works when I was that age. He recently published Dark Lord: The Teenage Years, under the auspices of his own new publishing house, Fabled Lands LLP. Go check out a review for Dark Lord: the Teenage Years, which is supposed to be hilarious. Can't wait to read it myself.

 

Catch you all next time!

I: If you've never read a Gamebook

If people are wandering here through the A-Z challenge, it's possible that you've never heard of gamebooks, and never read one before. What is this strange genre? you may be asking yourself. And, where can I get one?

If you've never read a gamebook, I've got good news for you: You've got some fantastic reads ahead.

They come in all shapes and sizes, in all genres, and many of them are available free or inexpensively for your reading enjoyment. Here's a short list of suggestions to get started with:

Classic Fantasy Adventure: See the Lone Wolf series, available for free on Project Aon.

Pulp Fantasy: Check out Temple of the Spider God by gamebook author Jonathan Green, published by Tin Man Games. It's not free, but it's definitely worth it! What's better, play it on your smartphone!

Post Apocalyptic Science Fiction: Try the brilliant Heart of Ice, by Dave Morris, which he is giving away for free on his website. This is his own favorite of the gamebooks he's written; high praise indeed!

Space Opera Science Fiction: See Infinite Universe, the latest gem from Tin Man Games. Try it free on your smartphone!

Romance: Yes, there is gamebook Romance! Check out Getting Dumped by Tawna Fenske, an author who has utterly charmed me with her wit and good humor. This is "Active Fiction" rather than strictly a gamebook, and the choices are few and far between, but personally, I'm delighted to see interactive fiction branching into other genres.

Historical Fiction: Set in the courts of a pseudo-renaissance era Spain, Affairs of Court holds romance, politics, duels and magic. You can also try it free on their website at choiceofgames.com!

Pirates! Take on the role of a young, British naval officer in Choice of Broadsides, as you navigate politics, pirates, betrayal and bad weather to rise to power and glory.

There--hopefully between the options given above, there should be something for everyone. Pick a genre that you like, and give it a try! Then, come back and let me know what you think ;)

H: How to Write a Gamebook

I know this topic has been covered before, by other capable bloggers, but I'll go ahead and throw in my two pence, for what it's worth.

Here's, my 8 step process to writing a gamebook:

1) Core Idea

First, come up with your idea. For me, this is usually a setting, or a character, or a certain decision I'd like to throw at the player, or some combination of the above. It usually starts small, but it can grow from there.

2) Flesh out the Story

For me, this step involves a lot of creative planning and random brainstorming. Sometimes I'll do free-writes on the computer. Other times I'll scribble all over whatever piece of paper is handiest. You want to answer the following questions:
- Who are the main characters?
- Why does the reader care? What challenges do these character face?
- What important choices will the characters face, that you can torture the reader with?
- What kind of setting will provide the best backdrop for the story? Ideally it should be both colorful and thematically appropriate. Sometimes, especially in science fiction, the choices a character must make are only possible given the inherent laws of a certain setting.
- How many major diverging branches to your story do you want to tackle? Strike a balance between replayability and how much you're willing to ask of yourself. Take your own limits seriously; it's easy to say, "I'll do it all!" but gamebooks will bloat rapidly if you let them, and every human, even you, has a limit. Make sure big branches in the story are based on important decisions.
- What will the ending be? This is often a chance to pop the "Big Question" of your gamebook, or to throw a Boss Battle at the player, or both.
- Where do you want to begin? Beginnings should introduce the most important characters, and set the tone for the rest of the gamebook.

3) Notes! Notes! Notes!

In step two, we did some heavy brainstorming and started putting it all together and answering the big questions. Now, write it all down. Compile final-ish information about...
- The Setting
- The Hero or Heroes
- The Villain(s)
- Supporting Characters
- Technical information about the world (how magic works, what spaceships are available, and what the differences are between them, how the system of mystic seals that grant shapechanging ability really works, etc.)
- Maps and place names
- Etc. You get the idea. Different stories will have different requirements for notes, with some areas being well-detailed, and others left more vague.

4) Plot the Flow-Chart

This is a critical step, like storyboarding for a comic, or outlining for a novel. You  usually don't want to just jump in, because you might write yourself into a corner and find that you don't have a way out of it. I didn't learn to write long-form until I learned to outline. Before that, I would run into a problem I hadn't anticipated, not know what to do next, get frustrated, and the story would go to the back-shelf graveyard.

In this stage you want to get a big white board, or a sheet of graph paper, or some appropriate computer program (I don't have one, but I assume they exist) and draw out the path of your story, including major branches and decision points. You don't need to work out every detail at this point; you can write in chunks, ie. "Explore dungeon #2," and the possible outcomes of those chunks, ie. "If find the jade statuette, go to reward sequence, if lose the statuette, go to the docks scene for fight with villain." Draw the lines connecting all the options. It's a big "if-then" logical flowchart.

This step is the essence of writing the gamebook. It's hard, but if you tackle it as it's own problem, you may find it easier than you think. Once you complete this step, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to finish your gamebook.

5) Write the puppy.

If the flow-chart is storyboarding, then writing is penning and inking. At this point, you should basically know what needs to happen in each scene, and you have a rough idea of about how many sections you have to allot to each scene. You'll do another mini-flowchart for each scene, either formally or just in your head, and then just sit down and write it out.

At this point, you've done the hard work. This is the fun part. But a warning: Make sure to leave enough ambiguous that you still have room for some creativity in the final writing. I've tried plotting out every single paragraph section before beginning the writing process, and it can be kind of boring to plod through writing all the sections, when you've already decided what happens in each and every single one of them.

6) Revise

Send it to all your friends and beg them to tell you the worst things they can think of about it. Then suck it up and listen to their advice. It's probably good.

At the end of the day, no one can tell you what to do with your story. You have to decide for yourself which advice is worth keeping, and which you can safely ignore. But think very hard every time someone voices a complaint and you don't take steps to make that aspect of it better. If one person has a problem, others may as well, and all it takes is one critical problem to make people hate or, worse, forget your creation, no matter how precious it is to you, or how much brilliance the rest of it has.

You may also be informed of things that you never thought of during this stage. Like, "why didn't the hero just get off the ship after the pirates threatened him?" Sometimes this will have an easy answer. Like, "oh, I forgot to mention the ship had sailed out already by then," or "There are sharks." Other times, you'll need to seriously re-think your plot.

Don't be afraid to hack and chop and make serious changes. Text that's lost when you re-write whole chapters is not wasted. If you'd never written it in the first place, you wouldn't have known how to do it better the second go-round.

7) Randomize and Sort the Numbered Sections

Up until now, almost everything could apply to any writing process. This is one that uniquely belongs to gamebooks. Maybe other people have other ways of doing it, but I number the sections more or less in the order I write them, as I go along. If you do it this way, then when you're done, you need to go back and randomize all the numbers, so that the reader won't be able to see the results of both choices he's facing by simply looking at the next two, consecutive entries.

This is a big chore. Be meticulous. It's important! Otherwise you'll end up sending someone who walks through an inn-door into the dragon's lair on another continent. What I do is make a big chart and map every  section number to a new, randomized section number, then carefully go back and change all instances of the original section number to the new number. What I've discovered is that if I append multiple zeros (ie. 0012 instead of 12) to every section number in the first draft, then I can use find-replace much more effectively during this stage.

Unlike other steps, this step is consistently harder and more annoying than you anticipate. No matter how careful you are, there will inevitably be mistakes. Go through it with a fine-toothed comb, and you should get most of them. Hopefully your publisher will be nice enough to let you go back and correct the minor errors that remain, later.

8) Final Editing

This is the final round of editing, and if there is any stage to NOT skip or skimp on, it's this one. Send it to all your friends again, and ask them in your nicest voice to read it one more time to look for any errors at all. You may want to offer cookies.

Alternately (or in addition) it's worth it to hire a professional copy-editor to take a look at it. Nothing says amateur and shoddy craftsmanship like having a text that's full of grammatical and spelling errors, in which the numbered links don't take you to the right place.

At this point, avoid making any major changes to the story flow. You will probably realize it's not perfect. Bite the bullet and accept it's as good as it's going to get. No artistic project is ever done, it's only good enough.

Once you've gotten the text as clean as you can (resisting the urge to make any major changes), then you're done. Congratulations! You've just written a gamebook! I honestly believe most people have stories to tell. Yours is probably good; probably better than you think. Send it out there and see what the world thinks of it!

That of course, gets into marketing, which is a whole other beast. My suggestion: start with some competitions. If you can win, or at least get recognized in some writing competitions, it will be a lot easier to get publishers to take you seriously. The Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction is currently open for submissions, and is a great place for amateur gamebook authors to showcase their works!

Good luck, and let me know how it goes! If you ever get stuck and need some advice, or want someone to look over your works, let me know! I will read, or at least look at, anything anyone sends me :)