Building a world - by Michael E. Gonzales

Building a world.

I have received several compliments on the “worlds” I have built for my story and characters to live in.

“Mike, how do you do it?”

Well, first it should be known that I read a lot of books, and articles on the internet, about writing in general, and world building specifically.

But, of course it all has to start in the mind. For me, I must see every detail come to life. The dark void in my mind must fill with the visuals in extreme detail.  I sit and imagine the set where my drama will play out. I close my eyes and see the places where my adventure will occur.

Latter, I’ll go on line, find images that look as I see them and then, in photoshop I alter them to better resemble my invented locals. I do this to assist me in visualization and thus description.

But eventually you have to put it all down on paper.

A general map of the entire planet (if your going all over it) or just the area of the world where your story unfolds. Mountains, lakes, streams, rivers, seas, and of course the cities and towns, and give a name to each.

If the story takes place in just one town, you need to draw out the city plan, mark the important structures, and give a name to every street. The same is true for the larger world, even if you don’t plan to use these details go on and name the lakes, streams, rivers, and adjacent habitations. Determine the distances between the locations.

All this will aid you in maintaining consistency and continuity in your story.

Worlds, even those in science fiction and fantasy have more to them than just terrain features. You must consider the flora and fauna. If the world is…other worldly, then you must dream up plants and animals that fit your world.

For example, in The Vampires of Antyllus the planet orbits a red star binary system and the planet is smaller than Earth. These two facts dictate a lot about the flora and fauna. Red stars (the most plentiful type of star in the galaxy) do not put out as much light as our own sun and in a different wavelength.  So, day time on Antyllus will be just a tad brighter than twilight. This means the plants will be darker in color. Shades of dark blue, mostly, but also black, burnt orange, deep red, these colors will absorb more of the stars energy which is necessary for photosynthesis.

The trees, generally, will be taller, due to the low gravity (smaller planet, remember?) and so will the animal life, they will be bigger, stronger, meaner.

 This applies to the anthropoid life as well.

Let’s call the anthropoids “people”. These people will have their own civilization, their own culture, their own religion. It’s really important that you invent and detail all of this.

And of course, the people from Earth are not living in our “universe”. The civilization and culture they live in will not be that which we are familiar with. So, this is where you must employ a bit of speculative fiction, and guess either about the future, or invent a new Earth culture from the ground up.

Create as much detail as you can before your start. However, as we all know, things happen as you write, new places and things spring forth from your fertile imagination that might just change the course of your story. When this happens, go to your records and to your map and make note of the new additions.

As for the stuff you don’t use, it’s okay, leave it be. You might have call to reference those notes in the future.

For me world building is not only critical, but a great deal of fun as well. On your first draft, go crazy, you can always readdress it later.

With your pen, or your computer, you can wield the power of creation!

Please visit my Web Site:  http://www.mikegonzalesauthor.com/home.html

And follow me on Face Book:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010275572869

Thank you!

 Dark Moon Rising, Battle of Broken Moon, Across a Sea of Star, The Vampires of Antyllus, Action, Action Adventure, Alien worlds, Aliens, battle, Dark Moon Rising, FireStarPress, Michael E. Gonzales, mikegonzalesauthor.com, NewRelease, Romance,science fiction, syfy

New Release -- FULL CIRCLE by Linda Swift #firestarpress #romance #prairierosepub

Joanna and Pete were high school sweethearts who once believed they would be together always. Then Pete was drafted, unaware Joanna carried his child. Her domineering father forced her to give up the baby then relocated the family to keep Pete from finding Joanna.

Years later, they meet again. Pete is a prosperous farmer, a widower with five children, and Joanna is an unmarried, big city, college professor.

In the same city, a young woman named Beth desperately searches for her birth family while her adoptive father is determined to stop her.

Can Joanna and Pete overcome the obstacles which now separate them? Will Beth find what she seeks? Does fate complete the circle of these diverse lives to bring happiness at last?

EXCERPT

     "What was it like, Pete? The war, I mean."
He took a deep breath. "That's hard to explain. It was a whole different world, Joanna. I was just a kid who'd won a few ballgames and thought he was a big shot. Then I found myself facing bullets and land mines, and life wasn't a game anymore. My girl back home wasn't answering my letters and I couldn't figure out why."
     She started to speak, but changed her mind.
     "It seemed like an eternity until I got leave to come home. That's when I found out you'd moved to Tennessee. I thought maybe that was why you hadn't written—that you'd never gotten the mail I sent."
     There was a long pause while he dealt with his painful memories, but she remained silent.
     "So I went to Jackson and finally found your house." He stopped, clenched his fists. "Your father saw to it I didn't find you."

     

'Give Me Tomorrow' by Kaye Spencer #upcomingrelease #prairierosepubs

Release day countdown begins…

Give Me Tomorrow, my paranormal-lite cowboy/vampire novella set in 1990 Colorado, releases through Fire Star Press on September 27, 2018 just in time to kick off the October spooky reads of the Halloween season. Yes, Halloween is a month-long season at my house that begins with sundown on September  30^th  and ends at sundown November 2^nd.

But more on my Halloween obsession at a future date.

Give Me Tomorrow tells the story of what happens when two mismatched people meet and fall in love despite their mutual determination to stay out of Cupid’s arrow range.

Lissa Price, a veterinarian, is a centuries-old vampire. Her heart has hardened over the years out of self-preservation brought on by years of loneliness compounded by the necessary isolation of being a vampire.

Jaxon Granger is part-owner of his family’s thoroughbred racehorse boarding and layover facility. Bachelorhood is his religion, and there isn’t a woman alive who can make him a one-woman man.

That is, until the woman he falls for turns out not to be alive in the strictest sense of the word.

Between now and publication day, I will share more about Lissa’s and Jax’s story on my Fire Star Press blogging days:

July 23^rd

August 27^th

September 24^th

Until next time,

Kaye Spencer

Writing through history one romance upon a time

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Images Credits:

Fotolia.com - spells and woman in black (purchased-royalty free license)

Openclipart.com - heart with arrow (Creative Commons Zero 1.0 License)

New Release - The Shadow Cabinet by Harol Marshall #firestarpress #prairierosepub #thriller

What if the greatest conspiracy theory of all time became reality? A take-over of the United States government could never happen…or could it?

Secretly appointed by Congress and housed underground at FEMA’s Mount Weather facility, members of the Continuity of Government initiative prepare to carry on government functions in the event of a catastrophic national emergency. 

But COG President Fred McGuire has other ideas for THE SHADOW CABINET. His thirst for power translates into a cold-blooded plot—one that will certainly end in murder… 

Agent Dan Chavez will do whatever it takes to prevent the intricate plan from reaching the inevitable, unthinkable end—a power grab that would be the greatest political coup in history. But will he be able to stop McGuire and THE SHADOW CABINET from seizing control of the most powerful country in the world?

EXCERPT

     He’s talking to me like he’s a damned therapist and I’m his patient.
     “I did a workaround,” Malcolm took a deep breath, hoping Shotgun wouldn’t report his hacking of Agency files, “which gave me access to some of the files, but not all. I think we’ve got an honest-to-god conspiracy emanating from inside the Agency,” Malcolm took an anxious breath, “aimed at political targets.”
     This seemed to catch Shotgun’s attention. He sat forward leaning closer to Malcolm. “A conspiracy. What kind of conspiracy?” 
     The comforting therapist voice again. “Assassination plot.”
     “An assassination plot hatched inside the Agency. Is that what you’re telling me?”
     Malcolm found Shotgun’s response unsettling. Did he already know about the plot? Were his people investigating it? If so, I can keep it under wraps until he decides to release the information. If that’s what he wants, he should say so. Disconcerted, Malcolm hesitated. “Are you sure I can’t get you a drink?”

     

Changing the World Through Fiction, by Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer

The following is a summary of the presentation I gave recently at the Cat Writers' Conference in Houston Texas.



Today’s society calls for more from a fiction writer than a fluff-piece. It’s our obligation to bring light to the causes and conflicts of our world. In my presentation, Changing the World Through Fiction,  I offer methods that even the coziest of writers can implement to gently present their values within their story.
……………………………………………………................................................................



If you feel something strongly, it’s easy to talk about it. Sometimes ad nauseam. I’m like that when it comes to cats. I love cats, have cats in my home, I foster sick cats and volunteer at a cat shelter. I attend classes about cat health and behavior. I write cat mysteries and cat poetry as well as a little cat fantasy sci-fi.
It’s not just a cute kitty thing with me; it’s a lifestyle, a relationship, and with it comes responsibility. A lot of bad things happen to animals in this world, and that must change. Indian visionary Mahatma Gandhi said, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” I’ve chosen to be a cat advocate, both in real life and on the page. It may come down to saving one cat at a time, but it’s okay. No kindness is ever too small.
Sometimes I get carried away talking about shelters, rescues, or animal aid. People’s eyes glaze over, and they begin to hear only the words: cat cat cat cat cat. If that happens at a meeting, they can just walk away, but if I bore them on the page, they will put the book down and may never pick it up again.
As fiction writers, it’s important to remember the point of our writing is to tell an entertaining story, but that doesn’t mean we can’t educate and enlighten at the same time, without using soapbox rhetoric or putting our readers to sleep.

1. Pick your battles, and your cause. You can’t champion everything. Choose 1 or 2 matters significant to you.

2. Tighten up. Keep your cause-talk short, but make every word count.

3. Establish your place. Use epigraphs, quotes, or an afterward as the vehicle for your cause.

4. Why so serious? Don’t forget to include your cause’s lighter components.

5. Show, don’t tell. Weave the cause into your story instead of pitching it on its own.

6. Whisper, don’t shout. Be subtle: don’t give in to the urge to lecture or preach.

7. Write to entertain. Make it fun. After all, that’s why people read fiction.

“Eliminate the negative.”

As my father-in-law often sang:

   “You've got to accentuate the positive,
Eliminate the negative,
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In Between.” 

    –Music by Harold Arlen; lyrics by Johnny Mercer; singer: Bing Crosby 1944 
All causes are based on something bad that needs to be changed, but keeping your attitude “positive” will leave your readers feeling optimistic about both your cause and your book.



Thanks for playing along, and please let me know if you have any questions. Now, go out and change the world!

Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer
www.lecatts.wordpress.com

How Does Your Personality Type Affect Your Writing?

We’ve all heard of the introvert and extrovert personality types, and ambivert refers to a fairly even mixture of the two.  So in what ways do these personality traits affect an author’s writing?  I recently read that finding out where you are on the personality spectrum can improve your writing skills by helping you recognize your strengths and weaknesses as a writer.  

This raised my curiosity, so I took a quick (and I’m sure not very scientific) personality test online.  It confirmed what I already knew - that I am an introvert - and provided the additional detail that I am an ISTJ Introvert(41%)  Sensing(44%)  Thinking(19%)  Judging(44%), for whatever that’s worth.  (Interesting that ‘thinking’ is my lowest percentage!)

It generally appears that introverts desire quiet concentration, while extroverts find energy by being around other people.  Therefore, introverts may prefer to work alone, while extroverts may enjoy working in writers’ groups and generating ideas through discussion.  Check.  I like to work alone and the thought of working in a group is daunting to me, although I’ll admit that I’ve never tried it.  Working in a group may be something for me to explore.  

(I might not mind working with my cat.)

Another trait of introverts is that they may generally find it difficult to ask for feedback, while extroverts value oral feedback on their writing.  Check again.  

Further, introverts might generally follow a typical structure, such as outlining, while extroverts may write with little planning.  No check here.  I am a “seat of the pants” writer or “pantser,” so have never used an outline - at least so far.  Maybe I have a little extroversion in me, after all!

I also wonder how being an introvert or extrovert affects the characters an author writes.  Does an introvert write best about introverted characters, or can an introverted writer use her characters to break out of her own personality type and live like an extrovert through a character or two?  I feel like my cat detective character, Li’l Tom, is pretty extroverted, so perhaps I live vicariously through his exploits.  (I also wouldn’t mind living like a cat, but I don’t think that will ever happen.)  I am currently writing a mystery involving four women as the main characters.  I know how I think of them in terms of personality, but am not sure how they might come across to readers.  Perhaps it’s time for me to learn how to do the extroverted thing and ask for feedback.  

Finally, being an extrovert might be an asset these days since a writer is often expected to be a public speaker, and a marketer and promoter of his work.  I’m always up for a challenge and usually won’t turn down an opportunity to speak in public when it presents itself, although I’ve never been too comfortable with it and am usually a bundle of nerves before and during.  They say practice makes perfect, but the nervousness has never gone away for me.  

What do you think?  How does your personality type affect your writing and your characters’ personalities?  Do you find it nerve-wracking to speak in public at book signings, conventions, etc., or does it come naturally?

Angela Crider Neary is an attorney by day and writer by night. She is an avid mystery reader and especially enjoys reading novels set in interesting locales. She was inspired to write her first mystery novella, Li'l Tom and the Pussyfoot Detective Bureau: The Case of the Parrots Desaparecidos, by one of her favorite areas in San Francisco, Telegraph Hill.  Her second book, Li'l Tom and the Case of the New Year Dragon is now available.  To learn more, visit her on Facebook and Amazon.

Book review: The Vampires of Antyllus by Michael E Gonzales

Blurb:

A distant world in orbit around a binary red star set, light years away, holds the promise of humanity’s future. It also contains a deadly secret that unleashes the worst of all greed and the unthinkable—those who would kill for blood.

When Lieutenant Colonel Kathy Selina is offered the choice to relocate to the Antyllus colony, she hardly has a choice. The military has not only training and time invested in her, but she’s also been given a new SUB body to defeat the deadly disease that would have killed her, as a human. Kathy, along with her executive officer, Major Dave Mitchel, a handful of SUBs, and the members of the Colony Defense Force, must pit their skills and abilities against the most malevolent enemy the universe has ever faced.

Failure will mean a terrible end for the planet’s native inhabitants, those who’ve come to colonize Antyllus, and certain death for the small cadre of defenders, as well. In a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, how can Kathy, Dave, and their band of soldiers defend an entire world against THE VAMPIRES OF ANTYLLUS?

My review:

This was the first book of Mike Gonzales that I had the opportunity to read, and I was pleased to discover how much I enjoyed traveling to a new planet and imagining what might enfold.

Kathy and Dave connected as they journeyed to a new world. Once there, they adjust to their future, establishing friendships, building relationships, and discovering some hidden treasures. They also learn of an evil plan and lead the way to eliminate that horror with the help of some unlikely allies and new friends.

I was amazed by the world built around me -- so much detail and such creativity from the tiniest plant life to the amazing wonders in the sky! All the twists and turns kept me at the edge of my seat, ready for when the dust would settle.

If you’re a fan of adventure with an other-worldly twist, you won’t want to miss this!

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