Fiction Writing Tip - Collaborate with Your Villains

If you are stuck in the middle of a manuscript, uncertain where to go next, before you call it a Writer’s Block --- by the way, many writers do not believe there is such a thing --- then it’s time to seek help from your villain. First, you do have a villain, right? It doesn’t need to be a bad person. He just needs to have some *irreconcilable* conflict with your protagonist. It doesn’t even need to be a person. It can be an animal (like a monster), the weather, the society, anything, but it’s most helpful when it’s a person, because humans are the most creative beings, right?

Just think about your villain for a moment. What is he doing now? Is he happy? Most likely not, because your protagonist is somehow in his way. What is he going to do to kill/defeat/deceive your protagonist in order to achieve his goal? If his *biggest* goal has nothing to do with your protagonist, then he’s no longer qualified for a role in the book.

Always keep your villain in your mind, whether your protagonist is celebrating, idling, or talking to others. You don’t need to bring your villain up, but by simply remembering his existence, what you write will read differently. Writing is a subtle thing, in which our subconscious does a lot of work for us, and usually the greatest. A description of your protagonist’s mundane dinner at home will have an ominous atmosphere, if you, the author, know what the villain is up to hundreds of miles away. Try it, and see if it works!

Book Review - The Strategist (Author: John Hardy Bell)

Rating: 5/5 stars

As a debut, the book is surprisingly well written. It’s not a CSI-typed story trying to dig up the truth. It’s more about fighting the wealthy and powerful who are able to corrupt any aspect of our public and personal life.

My only complaint is that sometimes there are excessive dialogue exchanges, especially in the first eight chapters before crises and actions take place. After that, I could not put it down. The characters are very realistic. The rascal cop who “intimidates people simply by the way he wears his badge”, the woman politician who answers every question by not answering the question … I especially like the way the devils are brought down - not by justice, but by the selfishness of their own people. That’s the sad reality!

I hope the author will keep producing good work like this!

Sophistication in Fictional Writing

One of the most useful tips I learned in creative writing was from the book, Self Editing for Fiction Writers, by Renni Browne and Dave King (their chapter 11). Basically, if you want to deliver a message, describe a feeling, or characterize a trait, doing it once is enough. Why is it so bad to be repetitive? Because after you've told your readers the first time, they know it. Why would they want to spend time on something they’ve already known?

I’ve seen great descriptions, witty dialogue, dramatic conflicts done by novice writers, but the lack of sophistication is a common flaw. When we write, we need to trust our readers. Trust their intelligence. The modern readers have seen everything. If you plant a foreshadow earlier on, they’ll know what to look for later. Be subtle. Be implicit. If you underestimate your readers, if you think you are the only one who could come up with such a complicated plot, you’re not respecting your readers, and they’ll know it.

A related issue is over-characterization. For example, if you want to describe a character as a baseball fan, simply showing him wearing a shirt of his favorite team is enough. Do not make him talk about the games all the time as if he knew nothing else, or he’ll end up as a cartoon character. “Characterization is an accident that flows out of action and dialogue.” (Jack Woodford) Be subtle. In addition, people often deny some of their personalities (such as men who love fancy clothes). Have the character say something untrue, and have his actions betray him. Make the readers feel that they know more than the character knows himself. Offer them clues, enough, not excessive. If they feel “good” reading your book, they’ll come back for the next.

The Starlight Fortress - Portland Book Review

Rating: 4 out of 5.

In The Starlight Fortress, young Queen Geneva of the Alliance battles it out with the Imperial Forces while navigating through a life filled with the various suitors and pregnancies. The story opens in the middle of a conflict between the two forces. which represent the forces of good, The Alliance, or democracy, represents the forces of good and the Empires represents the evil totalitarian state. Geneva, although a queen, has limited power--her state is more a republic than monarchy. The backstory emerges gradually. Geneva and her allies and enemies are descendants of humans who destroyed the Earth, scattered throughout the universe and have been engaged in various battles since. Geneva leads the “good guys” and the mysterious Pompeii the “bad guys,” or the Empire. In addition to the various aggravations that the tirelessly diplomatic and compulsive eater Geneva has to deal with is “A Second Chance,” an environmental group intent on limiting the RA’s abilities to destroy another planet or planets. Geneva remains a skilled and brave soldier throughout, working with the various forces to broker peace.

The novel is well-written. The author has a skillful style and knows how to build scenes and conflicts. Her characters are also three-dimensional, not cartoons representing good and evil. The plot, although well-worn, takes on some variation in its conflicts, and a powerful statement about peace is made. However, one area of concern is how busy and complicated the plot becomes. It is very hard to keep track of all of the characters, their interests and cultures and the conflicts involved. I was well into the first quarter of the novel before sorting out the major RA-Empire conflict. This may be endemic to the genre, however when a reader opens a fantasy novel, she enters a new culture that she must acclimate to--even though its inhabitants also go on shopping trips and celebrate Christmas.

Midwest Book Review - The Starlight Fortress

The Starlight Fortress is a science fiction novel revolving around gaming, battles, and epic confrontations, telling how different nations attempt to survive war. At the heart of the story are an ineffective queen and an emperor who is a wicked gamer clever with war machines and technology.

The Starlight Fortress is the one device which could change the rules of such a game: it's a giant space structure with the capability of becoming the ultimate weapon and the powers it wields will prove enough to change the face of combat strategies.

Time travel, treachery and military confrontation permeate a saga that begins with political posturing and very different personalities but soon evolves into not just a multi-faceted novel of cat-and-mouse war games, but an examination of the roots of war in the personalities of its participants.

What keeps The Starlight Fortress from being another predictable military fiction story is its focus on the human elements involved in war, strategy, and the efforts of both sides to win in conflict: "War is about the people who fight it. When they fight together with the same belief, they form a single entity. That’s why heroes are never singular events; they are always followed, repeated, exceeded. I have hope because once the fire has started, it’ll stop at nothing until it takes over. I need to say no more. The game is on. We’ve made our choice. Everyone’s effort will count, every hope will open a possibility, and every pain we’ve suffered … will add to our strength.”

There are changing scenarios with allies on all sides and there are battles between groups - but there are also efforts on the part of Queen Geneva to understand changing sides, the roots of aggression, and changing relationships and techniques of confrontation.

From murder attempts to lives changed by parenthood, The Starlight Fortress dances deftly between the personal and the political, drawing neat lines of connection between the two and creating scenarios in which key players are changed by each other's perspectives and goals.

Readers will ideally be versed in and appreciative of military science fiction, and will find the protagonists and changing perspectives of The Starlight Fortress provide an engrossing saga that moves beyond military might and strategy alone to probe the heart of war's origins.

San Francisco Book Reviews --- The Starlight Fortress

Star Rating: 4 out of 5

Taking place far in the future, long after the earth has been destroyed, The Starlight Fortress focuses on an ongoing war between planets. Our protagonists are the queen of Sunphere, Geneva, and her newly appointed military assistant, Sterling Presley. Both are considered too young for their jobs, and both are about to prove that age has nothing to do with talent.

As the war with the greedy, rapacious Pompey intensifies, so does the relationship between Geneva and Sterling. Dramatic, edge-of-your-seat space battles are intermixed with quiet scenes involving flirtation, jealousy, and growing attachment. These scenes play nicely off each other. There is never too much fighting or too much time without it; there is a beautiful balance here. Also, we get to see the queen in her official role as statesman and then contrast that with her private self, raising interesting questions about power and the responsibilities that come with it.

Mostly, though, this book is just fun. The first chapter has a massive space battle. The discussions of military tactics introduce brilliant plans of attack. The queen is so darn likable, with her insecurities and her love of food. My only complaint is that things happen a little too quickly. There isn’t any downtime between plot events, and the rapid pace with which things happen feels a little overwhelming. The book could benefit from additional descriptive passages, more narration, or something else that would simply slow down the story just a bit. This would make the characters, and thus their struggles, seem more real and more meaningful.

While this isn’t a book that’s likely to inspire deep emotional connection with the characters or extended musings on life, that’s ok. In fact, that’s wonderful! The Starlight Fortress is a fast, entertaining read that feels a bit like a roller coaster, pulling you along at breakneck speed through twists and turns that you never saw coming. In the end, you are a bit disoriented and fully exhilarated. This is Space Mountain in book form, and it’s fantastic.

Book Review - GABRIELLA

Book Review - GABRIELLA

Rating: 4/5 stars

Before I read this book, I didn’t know that books can be written this way. I am reluctant to call it erotica, which typically contains little character development. The characters in this book are far from perfect, but I cared about them. I wanted them to succeed, to get what they want and defeat their opponents. Above all, I wanted them to be able to change their lives, their predetermined destinies for the classes they belong to. Despite a seemingly happy ending, however, what we learn is they can’t.

The tension, jointly created by sports and love affairs, is skillfully maintained throughout the book. I also like a lot of the descriptions in which words are accurately chosen. I was somehow disturbed by the frequent changes of point-of-view, though, especially during the first quarter of the book. There are advantages of knowing exactly what everybody is thinking; on the other hand, sexual play is at its best when the situation is ambiguous. And for a “chinless wonder” like Algy, there is no need to go inside his head to know what he’s thinking. The actions are enough.

Overall, there is a lot of drama in the book, which isn’t likely to happen in real life. But there were moments when I saw the clamor fading away, and the dark, cold reality behind. There is nothing wrong with being naked in public; it is only wrong when people aren’t given a fair chance to prove themselves. For anybody who thinks there is no literary value in erotic stories, I suggest that they read this book.

Link to Amazon

Result of the Kindle Countdown Deals promotion

(Follow up of an earlier post ...)

My Kindle Countdown Deals promotion ended on Sunday evening. Sold a total of 26 e-copies of my book, The Starlight Fortress, in 5.5 days, during which there were about 5,700 discounted books on that special webpage. Now the number decreased to 3,500. I guess a lot of authors began and ended at the same time, without too many new (eligible) authors joining in. Even though the royalty can barely buy me a decent meal, I am still very happy with it. It felt different from hosing a free-download promotion.

Every author enrolled in the KDP-select should give it a try!

Book Review: Into the Vast

Rating: 5/5 stars

This is a *real* science fiction that is built on advanced yet reasonable scientific concepts at a future time when world is filled with hazardous environments, savageness, and inhuman technology. The descriptions are so vivid and detailed that reading the book is not very different from watching a movie. The author has obviously put a lot of effort in exploring the boundary of the technology and its consequence on human life and ethics. Yet what determines the fate of the human race in the end is love, friendship, faith, rather than technology itself.

The concept of the esolace sometimes reminded me of the movie MATRIX, which makes us question about the differences between illusion and reality, or whether these are indeed two different things. The science is not told as a matter of fact. Rather, it is gradually revealed through dramatic conflicts, and even mystery detection. In the end the plot became kind of complicated that I was sometimes confused by what the hero was supposed to do (according to someone else’s plan for him), what he intended to do, vs. what he actually did (it solved the problem in a rather unexpected way).

Except some awkward phrases and repeated narratives, this book is on a par with most of the contemporary sci-fi bestsellers.

Link to Amazon

Kindle Countdown Deals, try it!

I was just about to opt out of the KDP Select when I received an email from Amazon, informing me that they had started a new promotion tool called the Kindle Coundown Deals. I immediately went for it, and I urge that any author/publisher who meets their stringent rules gives it a try. Why? Here is what I found based on my experience and observations in the publishing world:

Any new promotional program will work when it’s first launched. None of them will work forever.

This is what happened with the KDP-S free promotion tool. Giving away freebies generated sales after the promotional period and customer reviews, well, in the past! Now readers are used to free books and they don’t read most of them. They hardly finish any novel. Whenever they are bored by a book, they jump to the next one. Too many freebies, too many deals. Bad reading habit. Spoiled! The strategy hardly works anymore.

It’s not the fault of KDP-S. It’s just there are way too many books now! I’m glad to see that Amazon learned its lesson now: you have to meet several criteria before you could enroll in this Countdown program, such as

1. Your book has been enrolled in KDP Select for 30 days or more (This is okay.)

2. The digital list price for your book has not been changed for 30 days or more (This is a bummer! Many books will not meet this criterion.)

3. The latest end time for your Kindle Countdown Deals promotion is 14 days before your KDP Select period ends. However, if you renew your book in KDP Select for another consecutive 90-day period, the latest end time of your Kindle Countdown Deals may be the last day of your current KDP Select period.

Alright, now, each Select period is 90 days. Rule 1 tells you that you’ll have to be inside KDP-S for >30 days, and rule 3 tells you <90-14=76 days. This way Amazon controls the number and optimizes the effect. And I can imagine that many authors will be tempted to renew the Select. Good job, Amazon!

A trick: The first time I tried to enroll in the program, something weird happened and the system wouldn't let me do it. I contacted Amazon and they told me to delete the cache and cookies to see if this resolves the problem.

I just enrolled my military science fiction from Nov 3 to Nov 10. I’m eager to find out how it goes (I’ll post a report here on Nov 11. I promise!)