Hazardous Tales

by Nathan Hale

Nathan Hale is an artist, turned author. I love his books, which include illustrating RAPUNZEL’S REVENGE and CALAMITY JACK and writing YELLOWBELLY AND PLUMB, and THE DEVIL YOU KNOW. With his Hazardous Tales, Nathan Hale makes history fun, for all ages, especially for children. So far there are two tales, ONE DEAD SPY, and BIG BAD IRONCLAD! These are graphic novels that will catch anyone’s attention and leave you wanting to know more about what happened.

ONE DEAD SPY is about Nathan Hale, not the artist, but the first American Spy. During the Revolutionary War, Nathan Hale was an officer. He is also the man who said “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” Though he ended up being hanged by the British (you learn that at the beginning of the book). There are quite a few amazing stories that happened during the war that people may not realize. My favorite is about moving large cannons across a frozen river.

BIG BAD IRONCLAD! takes place during the Civil War. It involves a man who has to invent the Ironclad, but has a short timeline. There is also a man by the name of William Cushing. He is pretty much a Navy Seal before there were Navy Seals. He was also a huge prankster and ended up using his pranks to help sway the tide of battle. One of the pranks include making a fake Ironclad. Nathan Hale even gives directions for making an Ironclad out of Legos.

Both books are historically accurate. Nathan Hale, the author not the spy, lists the books he used as research. There are some parts, including a magic history book, that is definitely not true, but it is always obvious when he is taking liberty with the dialogue. I love these books, and though I don’t have any children, they will be added to my library. I really hope that he does more in the future. I only wish they were around when I was in school.

Hiatus

I have reached the point where I don't really have anything else to say about writing. I am still learning how to be a better writer. I am going to take a hiatus from writing tips until I learn more. My last piece of advice is that writing takes practice. The more you do it, the better you'll get. This is especially true if you have a writing group to help. Writing takes time and effort.

*Willing Sacrifice

Intro: Something on the darker side. Sacrifice is in the eye of the beholder.

The waves crashed against the cliff sending the salt spray up towards Silver. With his arms tied above his head, Silver stared at the ocean below him. The ropes cut into his wrists, rivulets of blood ran down his arms and body, dripping from his toes. Another wave crashed. The salt burned the sores on the bottom of his feet.

The crowd at the top of the cliff cheered. Silver looked up. The Behemoth approached. The red wave of its destruction moving before it as an omen. The stench brought tears to Silver’s eyes. He had just enough sense to hold his breath as the putrid water enveloped him. His wounds burned. She was going to pay for putting his name forth. He shouldn’t have accepted the wine from her. She was being too nice last night. That should have been a clue.

His breath gave out and he gasped, just as the water receded. The water from his hair dripped into his mouth. He coughed. The action caused him to sway. His body bumped against the cliff. Silver’s attention was focused on the monster between his feet. The rows of teeth were black and rotted. The stench was almost visible.

“Please, no.” Only the words didn’t come. Before Silver had been dropped down the cliff, his tongue had been cut, than seared to prevent him from chocking on the blood.

The Behemoth rose. Its forelegs reached up for Silver. One hand grabbed Silver while the other snapped the rope above his head. He screamed as he fell into the black jaws.

***

The villagers moved away from the cliff. The masks over their noses and mouths kept them from saying anything. The Behemoth had accepted the sacrifice. The red wave brought the needed chemicals to run their reactor. The new widow stood with her child looking down at the broken rope.

“Why did Daddy die?”

She pulled him close. “Because other people wanted him to.”

“Did you?”

She ran a hand down her bruised arm. “It doesn’t matter. He volunteered. That is what the record will show. We all have to make sacrifices.”

“He didn’t sound willing.”

She pulled her son away. “Sometimes sacrifices are more painful for some than others. “

He looked up at her with his one good eye. The bruises would finally have a chance to disappear forever. It was worth the sacrifice.

Fleshing out the World

When creating a fantastical world it can be hard to paint a clear picture for the reader without including your entire worldbuilding bible. No it isn’t alright to do this despite how cool you think it might be. What I have heard from various places is to flesh out the world by adding small details. It is in the little everyday details that really grounds your world. You can specify that they drink coffee and have moon rock powered reactors. You don’t have to explain the reactors but by adding the moon rock portion it gives us an idea of the society. This society is different than the societies that use enslaved magicians and only drink water from a unicorn spring. Through the course of the story you can explain more, but it is small details of everyday life that help define what the world is like. I’m not saying that you can’t have long descriptions about the world, but just don’t include every piece of research that you’ve done. As readers we don’t need to know and it can bog down the story.

Self-Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing

This weekend I attended the annual League of Utah Writers Roundup Conference. I didn’t have much time to spend in the classes, but I wasn’t really expecting to. I did get to listen to the keynote speakers on both Friday and Saturday evening. I enjoyed both nights, but today I am going to talk about my impressions on the Saturday evening speaker, Barry Eisler. If I sound smart, that is because of him. If anything I say doesn’t sound right, that is probably my misinterpretation of the information.

Barry Eisler switched from traditional publishing to self-publishing. This is because he realized the audience that favored digital was larger than the audience that favored paper. He still has paper books, but they are done print on demand. One of the perks to the traditional publishing houses are the distribution channels. It is difficult for an author to get their books on the shelves when you have a name like TOR or Penguin backing you. If you don’t have interest in having your books on the shelf and are content with the digital world, then self-publishing may be the way to go. Amazon offers a hybrid approach. They buy the rights, but you do everything yourself.

The biggest thing you have to remember is the fact that you have to write and finish a good book. That isn’t just saying that you write your novel and as soon as you are done get it out there. You need to make sure it is the best thing that you can produce and then post it. Then write another book. The best marketing you can do for yourself is to have multiple books for people to stumble upon and look up.

Digital won’t completely replace books. There will always be a demand for paper books. Though that demand will be less as the years continue. (That isn’t just from me. He said it, I swear.) Because the demand for paper will go, the way an author interacts with their readership will shift. There are various programs out there that lets an author digitally sign the ebooks. Bookstore signings may decrease over the years, but that depends on who the author is, and what the readership wants.

Either way is good, you just have to figure out which way will get you to where you want to be. There is a place for both. Moose has learned he prefers ebooks while I am pretty sure I will always prefer paper. I hope that publishers really do offer an option that when you buy the hardbound book you get a digital copy as well. That is perfect for our circumstance.

Paying it Forward

I have had the privilege of working with an amazing author by the name of Paul Genesse. I love his books, and he is the editor of the Crimson Pact volumes that my short stories are in. I have heard him speak at multiple conferences and one of the things that he supports is the idea of paying it forward. He had friends who helped him with his writing career and now he helps hopeful authors, like me.

Getting into the publishing world is hard, ask nine out of ten authors. A lot of authors receive help of some sort from others. I don’t feel like I have much to offer, but I try to do everything I can for my friends. As writers we should band together and support each other in any way we can, even if it is just commiserating over a cup of hot chocolate.

Sensory Writing

Writing descriptions is important for any story. Unlike movies, as authors we can’t always rely on stunning photography or pictures to depict our character and scenery. With science fiction and fantasy our characters and settings aren’t always earthly so learning how to write clear vivid descriptions can be even more challenging and important. For the majority of us, 50 percent of our sensory input is sight. Colors, shapes. People are easy to describe as having blue hair and brown eyes, but a lot of people can be described that way. A crystal blue lake surrounded by green lodge pines. That could be a lot of places. So instead of just relying on sight, think of the other senses. The sounds, the smells, the feel, and even the taste. By throwing in the other sensory details it can bring the story to life. The readers will be able to picture what is going on better than just static image thrown together by a few visual descriptions.

Neighms

I love to read fantasy. I love science fiction. I hate trying to figure out how to pronounce the thirteen letter, twelve syllable neighm. I used to joke with my family that I was going to have a son whose name I spelled S-A-M but it would actually be pronounced Bob. While it makes it seem more exotic to have a new unique name, you don’t want to hang up your readers. You may argue that they won’t be reading the book aloud, but even when reading silently to yourself, a new word, or confusing name will cause a break in the reading. One or two unique names isn’t bad (think Hermione, Ron, Harry). If you have magical terms or places, then keeping the names simple may be the best bet. Spelling the names in different ways is a good option, but you don’t want to get too extreme. Creating new names that are only one or two syllables are safe. Just make sure that you don’t go overboard and lose readers because they can’t even begin to picture Xirchezsith.

Vote for Monarchy

I did a lot of thinking this week about the different forms of government, this is probably because I've been working on a story where the ruling body plays an important role. It seems that there are some expected governments with the different genres. (There are exceptions to all of these.) In fantasy you often get a monarchy. Dystopic you often get a ruling body who started out as a democracy but ends up almost communistic. You probably get the idea.

When choosing a government it might be a fun idea to choose an a-typical government. An epic fantasy that has a republic. A dystopic that isn't dystopic because of the government but maybe because of the geography or the magic system. Don't feel limited to the typical governments. You can always create your own. Just like everything else, you have to keep to your own rules. L.E. Modesitt, Jr. does a good job of government in his SAGA OF RECLUCE series. This series is especially good because his books span thousands of years so you can see the changes that are made.

Blood Sacrifice and Deities

A lot of genre fiction has some sort of religion in it, especially fantasy. There is just something about the magic systems that seem to revolve around religion. I tend to avoid putting in any kind of religion, especially real world religions. At this point in my writing career I don’t feel confident enough to pull it off with any sort of finesse. For the most part I avoid it completely. I’m a religious person and I like reading about well-crafted religions in fiction, but that’s the key. They can’t be half formed and change with the plot line as the author needs a deus ex machina. I think Brandon Sanderson’s books are really good examples of how religion plays an important role and you can tell that he put a lot of effort into it. Take his book WARBREAKER, for example. They have a whole conclave of Gods who each have their own followers. There are different levels of belief from the devote to those who are only followers by convenience.

There are several reasons why adding religion can strengthen a book. People fighting for religious causes. Magic systems that revolve around religions. Political systems based on religions. Divine troubles. Religion breakoffs. Religion can be good bad, or even neutral, or any combination of the three depending on how your characters view it.

I will say that you have to be careful when putting in real world. There is a fine line to walk and you will always offend people, but it seems that every book offends at least one person. Just make sure that your religion follows its own rules.

Fan Fiction

I think that everyone has a book that they remember as the one that changed how they viewed books and reading. The book for me was THE BLUE SWORD by Robin McKinley, though THE OUTLAWS OF SHERWOOD by the same author is the one my friends and acted out for years. A lot of the books that I wrote when I was young were influenced by them. I even used the name Aerin. My younger sister did something similar using the RANGER'S APPRENTICE series by John Flanagan. Fan fiction is a good way for people to get their feet wet with writing. World building is intimidating and some people get world building disease, which means they never actually get to writing the story.

It is important to create your own stories, but sometimes it can just be a nice release, or a good jumping point. Just remember that while there is a market for a lot of fan fiction, mostly online through forums or with friends, there is a bigger market for original work.

Family Relations

I have an unusual family. It's not just because we have some unusual interests (I mean I grew up without watching much television and instead spent my time reading. Very few of my friends liked to read and the other kids in my school thought I was odd because I carried a book around with me.) There are five children in my family and the amazing thing is, we all get along. There are a few instances in my childhood when we didn't get along, but I don't ever remember truly disliking any of my siblings. I am also happy to say that my parents have been married for over thirty years.

I bring this up for several reasons. A lot of movies and books show discord between siblings. This is true in a lot of instances, but it isn't always the case. The movie MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO shows two little girls who actually get along really well, and the amazing thing is, there is still plenty of tension. There are times when having tension between siblings is appropriate. (Heirs often come to mind.) But sometimes it is nice to have the siblings support one another and I think it really reflects well on the characters.

The other thing is two parents being around. I remember attending a panel on no more dead moms. Once again a lot of people use a dead parent to draw sympathy, or to give the child freedom. A single working parent is easier to sneak away from. This kind of goes back to my post on adults in young adult stories. A parent is a good way to give advice and it can add a moral compass for the youth character. I'm not saying that every book needs to have a happy family relation, but it is something to consider on the development of your characters. (Think of the Weasely family as a good example.)

Elves, and Dwarfs, and Orcs . . . Oh My

Elves, orcs, and dwarfs were made famous by J. R. R. Tolkien. While there is nothing wrong with these fantasy races, they have become tropes. So many stories use them that it can be difficult to make them original. And, if you deviate too much from tradition, some readers will feel betrayed and complain about the deviation from mythology. I'm not saying that people should no longer write stories about elves, orcs, and dwarfs, but that you have to be careful and not limit yourself to these races when writing epic fantasy.

If you want some examples of good epic fantasy that don't involve the customary races I recommend reading Brandon Sanderson's books, especially THE WAY OF KINGS. Though some of the books are slow Robert Jordan's WHEEL OF TIME series has some great races and magic systems. SONG OF ICE AND FIRE by George R. R. Martin is also a good example, but I must give a content warning. There is some strong language and situations that is not suitable for everyone.

The same can be said for YA fantasy. HARRY POTTER is a great series, but that doesn't mean it should be used as a template for every other fantasy series. Make your story your own, and if you use some of the more common tropes, make them individual (but not too original that you alienate your readership.)

A Future of Despair

With a lot of fantasy books there is an element of prophecy. There is an oracle or seer or magic user who looks into the future and predicts utter destruction unless there is a chosen one. The prophecy normally predicts that there will be a backstabbing of some kind and leaves a lot for interpretation. The problem is that the prophecy doesn't normally add much. Most stories are about good versus evil and if the good fails then there is destruction. Why does it being said in a prophecy make it any more important? And throwing in the backstabbing. The author should be able to create characters who are deep enough that the reader doesn't need a prophecy to give them ideas about what the characters are capable of. Instead of creating a prophecy that leaves everything open try taking it another way. Make a prophecy so specific that you make the reader think there is only one way to fulfill it and surprise them. Or make it so the characters fight it the whole way and beat the odds. Just make it original and not the same old same old generic prophecy that applies to all of the fantasy stories that are out there.

Individual Twins

I don't like how a lot of authors write identical twins. Just because they are identical in appearance does not make them identical in personality. Fred and George from HARRY POTTER are a little too extreme for my taste. (That is not to say I didn't like them.) One did not appear without the other. It was as if they were one character with two bodies. Think of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern from HAMLET. Tom Stoppard wrote a play called ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD. The joke is that even the two characters can't tell themselves apart because they are always together. This is not a good thing. Your twins should not be like these two.

When writing identical twins keep in mind that personalities can and should vary. Ask anyone who has identical twins in their family and they will tell you there are a lot of differences between them. Even if your characters are identical your readers should be able to picture your twins between them. They should exist independent of one another. (And never, ever make one person fall in love with identical twins. That is the most pathetic romantic love-triangle ever. And you all know how I feel about love triangles.)

A Character's Education

I love ENDER'S GAME, but it is a bad example of child characters. His characters are small adults. This works for his stories. He explains that the children are geniuses so I can accept the fact that they don't act like normal kids. This doesn't work for every series. I can understand in middle grade and juvenile that the children don't always have the luxury of being children, but that doesn't mean they should have all the experience that comes with growing up. They still need to make mistakes and develop. You can't have an average child who speaks like he graduated from Oxford (unless they did).

It is important to note that even adults can have a low education, if their circumstances are such. This is especially true in epic fantasies. There aren't many schools around when it comes to a medieval setting. Farm boys and girls have an education but it isn't typically book smarts. Their language and demeanor should show education level. You don't have to make your characters sound like complete idiots but once again they shouldn't be educated in everything. Give them street smarts.

Pink is not Weak

There seems to be a trend that make female characters, especially in YA, in order to be strong they are more likely to be tomboys. I am guilty of this at times. Being feminine is not being weak. There is nothing wrong with heroines liking the color pink and wearing dresses.

There are times when having a tomboy character is very applicable, Kat from HUNGER GAMES. But I wish there were more female characters that were strong even as they wear pink or a dress. Being strong isn’t about physical strength, or tough attitude, or hating the color pink. It is about knowing what you want and going for it. There are times that women do need to be physically tough. One of my favorite examples of a strong female character is Miss Parker from THE PRETENDER television series. She is not a tomboy, by any stretch of the imagination. She is very feminine and yet you know she will get what she wants.

Next time you are writing a female character, especially a teenager, think for a moment if it would add more depth to your character to make them a tomboy who wears baggy jeans or if they are feminine. Keep in mind that feminine is not ditsy or prissy. Think of Jane Austen’s characters or even Katara and Suki from AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER. You don’t have to make an effort to point out that maybe they like shopping but you don’t have go out of the way to say they hate the color pink and wouldn’t be seen dead in a skirt.

Adding Romance

I just finished reading a new YA book and once again I was bothered by the romantic plot line. It seems to me that the most common romance seen in YA today involves a love triangle. This does cause a lot of tension and can leave the readers guessing. But my own personal feeling is that it weakens the characters. I get tired of wishy-washy girls who can’t choose between two guys. That isn’t to say that there can’t be more than one guy involved, just that the girl only likes one at a time. There are plenty of other ways to add romantic tension. Think of the Jane Austen stories and how there are two men, Darcy and Wickham, but Jane doesn’t like both of them at the same time. Fairy tales are another good example of different romantic scenarios that don’t involve multiple parties but just two people.

I’m not saying that love triangles are always bad, but just think about how many love triangle are currently out there. It might be time to choose another romantic plot line to keep your audience from feeling like they’ve read the story before.

Negative Critiques

I’ve had a lot of really good critiques that just left me feeling positive. There have been other critiques that just left me feeling frustrated. What follows is a critique that I received from a fellow writer. “Terrance” knew what he was talking about when it came to grammar. What I want people to understand is that the way the information is delivered could be a bit less abrupt and not all of the information was good. Since I felt like his critique didn’t help me in the long run, I thanked Terrance for his time, and then never asked him to review another story.

When you are critiquing: Even if you hate the story, never, ever rewrite the story. Give feedback on what you feel comfortable, or you can just explain to the author that it wouldn’t be a fair critique because your opinion is biased.

Once again, Terrance did give me good feedback. I was able to make some good changes, but there is some unnecessary criticism that he could have left out which is why I stopped using his services.

Edgar the Elephant

This is an interesting story, and would make an interesting picture book. However, as a parent I wouldn't buy it for my child. I want even picture books to be a bit realistic if they take place in this world.

Edgar the Elephant was depressed. Work was not going well.

The first assignment from work started smoothly enough. He picked up the package and began walking to Cambodia. The African scenery was beautiful as he trudged along.

One of his co-workers flew by. “Hey Edgar. Get a move on if you want the package to make it on time.” With a chirping chortle, he zipped off. Edgar didn’t let it bother him.

By moving at a consistent rate, he would get there eventually. At the coast of Somalia, he used his trunk to hold the previous (I am assuming the bundle is a baby. Therefore, should that last word be "precious" and not "previous"?) bundle while swimming. It was difficult but made the journey shorter. (After swimming the Arabian Sea, did Edgar stop in India and talk with the elephants about their small ears, and then swim the Sea of Bengal?)

Tired and bedraggled, he finally reached the small hut in Phnom Penh.

As he tiptoed up to the window, he accidentally crushed a fence around the house. (Is this a hut or a house? A hut is usually one room, and a house has many rooms. Or, do you mean home rather than house?)The noise of the splintering wood brought two young children to the window.

A lone tree in the yard offered a little cover. When the children couldn’t see anything, they turned away. (It must be terrible dark if the children couldn't see the elephant behind the small tree.)

More nervous then ever, Edgar crept around (Is Edgar inside or outside this hut?)the small hut until he found a room with a crude crib in one corner. Very carefully, he placed the package in the crib. As he drew his trunk back, he knocked a chair over. (In this case, the word "over" is a preposition, and needs an object. Perhaps better wording would be "...knocked over a chair.)

The racket woke the infant. Edgar crouched down by the side of the house, covering his face with his ears. While the occupants were busy with the infant, Edgar crawled away.

He was too tired to swim so he went by land.

By the time he made it back to Kenya, he realized maybe his co-worker was right. This was a difficult job for an elephant to do.

Edgar didn’t want to give up easily but the next package was for Anchorage Alaska. The thought of traveling halfway around the world was unpleasant.

With great reluctance, he turned in his resignation. He was sad because he wanted to be a STORK (Is this an acronym for something? If so, please write it out in full.) deliveryman.

After a moment of thinking Edgar smiled and picked up the package. He would drop her off on the way to North Pole, to be a Santa’s Little Helper.

(Finally -- the shortest route from Kenya to Alaska is over the North Pole, unless, of course, Edgar walks across Africa, swims the North Atlantic, and then walks across North America to Alaska.

I do like the idea of Edgar wanting to do a job and then realizing he can't. Every child needs to learn there are jobs they want to do and can't, but must keep going on in life. However, the distance just can't be than great. By the time Edgar would reach Phnom Penh, the child would almost be old enough to ride on Edgar's back (except that African Elephants don't usually get trained for riding). Perhaps he needs to attempt to deliver fruit over land but it spoils before he gets there, or he eats a bit now and then "because no one will miss just a bit". He could still do some swimming -- across a crocodile infested river.

Page Layout

I have no desire to ever self-publish. That is because I need an editor. For those of you out there who are able to self-publish, then more power to you. As someone who self-publishes you have to wear a lot of different hats. (Unless you want to pay someone to do it for you, which is a valid choice.) Though I may not know much about setting up the various accounts to sell the novel, I do know something about document design. I’ve done page layouts for a lot of different types of books. Some of these only pertain to printed books while others are for both eBooks and paper books.

Font Size: Don’t go too small. You may think you are being clever and keeping your page count down by having small font. With eReaders people can increase the font size but if you are only concerned about eBooks than page count doesn’t matter. And as someone who prefers to read printed books, I hate trying to focus on small print and I don’t even need glasses to read.

Font Spacing: Give the words room. It doesn’t have to be double space but don’t go down below single space. If you have the lines too close together it makes it difficult to read. White space is good for documents.

Font Choice: Don’t go fancy. People don’t want to spend hours reading a fancy font. They want to read the story. Don’t let the font get in the way of the story.

Page Numbers: Two things. All books need them. Don’t move them around. If you have them in the upper outside corners, leave them there. You don’t have to have them on the first chapter pages, but don’t leave them out.

Headers: These aren’t as necessary as page numbers but a header is a nice way of putting your title and your name on the pages.

Margins: For printed books margins are important. You don’t want inside margins to be so small that the words are slipping into the spine, but it is nice to be able to hold the book open with my thumbs and not cover half a dozen different words.

These are just a few basic guidelines for doing page layout. The main idea is don’t let the text get in the way of the words. If you make your readers work at reading then they won’t enjoy the book as much.