Downing Your Word Count

Good Wednesday,

Writing is the delicate process of stringing words together in an order that appeals to the reader.

On this note, there are several words that can be largely eliminated from pros. A few are below.

-Had – Unless meant in the past tense of have (“I have a pen” “I had a pen”) this three letter word usually isn’t necessary.

-That – This word can be eliminated pretty often. “I was worried that it wouldn’t work.” Or “I was worried it wouldn’t work.”

-Was – Mainly as a helping verb. There are times you can’t help it. “It was on my left.” K, now a situation where it can be helped. “I was feeling lost.” “I felt lost.” In this situation “I was lost” also works, but, when in doubt, use the stronger verb.

-Could – “I could if I wanted to.” That’s fine. “I could hear you.” Try “I heard you.”

Generally, helping verbs make sentences weaker. While “I was driving” is a perfectly respectable sentence, when writing pros “I drove” equals fewer words and a more vivid picture.

Happy writing

Writing 2013

Hello folks,

I spent the bulk of this weekend sleeping. This is because I spent the bulk of last week not sleeping.

I’m back, and I’d like to take this Monday to reiterate just how amazing Seton Hill’s Writing Popular Fiction program is.

As always, I learned a ton during residency. Topics ranged from world building to trends in fantasy to plotting a mystery novel to genre vs. literary fiction. One of the week’s highlights was the sensational speech given by Kevin Hearne, author of the New York best-selling Iron Druid Chronicles. His take on fantasy and the publishing industry restored my faith both in my urban fantasy project and epic fantasy thesis. Here’s to a productive year of publishing in 2013!

Now, I want to focus on the other side of the spectrum. It’s often said that writing is a solitary career. While this can be true, it does not need to be. As I said above, I didn’t sleep last week. I didn’t sleep because I was up till odd hours socializing with my friends, who are all writers. Introverted we may all be but when you bring us together, it’s a mess of fun. There were genre dinners, overall socials, and even an unintentional adventure caused by my friend’s GPS having some major issues.

The point is, it doesn’t need to be solitary. Even outside of a residency-type situation, there can be fun.

Before leaving for SHU, I made a short list of New Year’s resolutions that included publishing, writing a ton, and getting back onto friendly terms with my thesis. In addition (now that residency is over and I once again remember that writing is social) I propose that 2013 be a year of group writing. It’s a new year, and it’s a new time to engage writers and make friends and connections.

In closing (as always) I need to stress how awesome SHU is. If you are serious about pursuing a career as a writer of popular (genre) fiction, this program is for you. I learn something new every semester, and I leave residency a better writer for it.

Check it out here.

Thanks for listening.

Happy New Year!

A Present before my Temporary Absense

Good Friday,

I am shortly leaving for the airport to begin my trek to January residency for Seton Hill. So pumped!

So on this lovely Friday, I leave you with an interview of me posted a couple of days ago.

Last week, erotic romance author Rachell Nichole guest posted here at the Lockbox. This week, she interviewed me.

Check it out here.

Since starting in a few hours my free time will average at about zero, I won’t be posting on Monday or Wednesday of next week. Due to traveling and such, I might post Friday, I might not. So at the latest, I shall return on Monday the 14th.

Have an excellent week!

Types of Magic-Users

Good Wednesday,

Magic—it’s found in just about every fantasy novel out there as well as a good helping of paranormals and even mixed with the occasional science fiction story.

What do you call your magic practitioners, though?

There are several options, each with its own connotation and background. I have listed some of the more common below with short descriptions and links to more comprehensive sites.

Note that my descriptions and the explanations on the links provided are subject to interpretation. These are the common ways in which these magic-users are portrayed. Conventions are made to be broken.

Hope you find this helpful.

-Wizard

Derived from “wise,” wizards are often portrayed as the quiet, studious type. The line seems to be split 50/50 in terms of natural magical capability that is enhanced by study and the learning of how to manipulate the elements purely through education. (In the case of the latter, the wizard gains his power from study and is a normal human until he begins his learning.) An in-depth analysis of the wizard and his main roles in fantasy literature (the hero, the mentor, and the villain) as well as information on limiting the wizard’s power can be found here.

NOTE: A female wizard is sometimes (but not very often) referred to as a Wizardess in fantasy literature.

-Sorcerer/Sorceress

Sorcerer’s have natural talent. Unlike wizards, sorcerers do not need to engage in long years of study before they can throw their weight around, magically speaking. In the Dungeons and Dragons world, sorcerers gain their power from natural reflection, which enhances the power already flowing in their blood. A bit more about sorcerers can be found here.

-Warlock

The title “warlock” seems to be associated more with dark magic. The word itself translates literally to “oath breaker,” and it was the name given to wiccans who left their coven. Warlocks are often portrayed as villains and have a tendency to be the magic-users that cross over into the warrior realm. In Dungeons and Dragons talk, we call that multi-classing, but warlocks are hardly that. They just break less easily than wizards or sorcerers. And speaking of wizards, here is a article about the differences between warlocks and wizards.

NOTE: Warlocks (except in fantasy literature) are not male witches.

-Shaman

Shamans are good, pure and simple. They usually live among nature (very removed from society) and take their duty to both nature and the spirit realm very seriously. Here is a very detailed analysis of the role shamans play in fantasy literature.

-Druid

Druids are not shamans. Where shamans commune more with the spiritual realm of nature, druids are more connected to physical nature. Dungeons and Dragons (back in the day) referred to them as nature priests. Their powers include (but are not limited to) divination and shapeshifting into one or more animal forms. A bit more about fantasy literature druids as well as information about real druid groups can be found here.

-Necromancer

They deal with dead things—summonings, communication with spirits, reanimation of corpses, etc. Like warlocks, necromancers are often thrust into villain roles. It’s nothing personal, really. As may be expected from anyone who interacts more with the deceased than the living, necromancers in fiction are often portrayed as at least a little unhinged. That makes them great bad guys. Wikipedia offers an interesting article on the history of necromancy and how it has been viewed over the centuries.

-Witch

There isn’t much to be found on the interwebs for the role of witches. Perhaps this is because their role seems self-explanatory in the wake of “The Wizard of Oz.” In keeping with the stereotype, witches are often portrayed as evil, as flying on a broomstick, and as wearing a pointed hat. With the expansion of contemporary fantasy, witches have changed and now the title seems to be a catch-all for magic-users (usually women) in modern settings. I guess it sounds more up-to-date than sorceress or wizardess.

NOTE: The witches of fantasy literature are not to be confused with Wiccans (practitioners of Wicca). Information about Wicca can be found here.

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Other names for magic-users are listed below with a bit of casting info.

Enchanter/Enchantress – cast enchantments (“enchantment” is used very often in fairytales)
Charmer – cast charms (charms are often either weaker spells or the blanket term for controlling animals)
Mage – magic (Note that prefacing mage with “arch” denotes a more powerful practitioner.)
Spellcaster – spell (spell seems to be a generic term applied to the castings of most magic-users)
Magician – magic (often associated with one who does magic tricks, not actual magic)
Witchdoctor – Oo ee oo ah ah ting tang…just kidding. Go with spells or charms.
Magus – magic (variant of mage)
Occultist – occult magic

Here is a bit more about wizards, warlocks, and sorcerers.

Book Blast--The Silver Sphere

Good Monday,

Goddess Fish Super Book Blast Tour for:

Michael Dadich’s “The Silver Sphere”
A young adult fantasy

BLURB
Shelby Pardow never imagined she could kill someone. All she wants to do is hide from her troubled father… when she is teleported to awaiting soldiers on the planet Azimuth. Here she is not a child, but Kin to one of the six Aulic Assembly members whom Malefic Cacoethes has drugged and imprisoned. He seeks to become dictator of this world (and then Earth by proxy).

His father, Biskara, is an evil celestial entity, tracked by the Assembly with an armillary device, The Silver Sphere. With the Assembly now deposed, Biskara directs Malefic and the Nightlanders to their strategic targets. Unless….

Can Shelby find the other Kin, and develop courage and combat skills? Can the Kin reassemble in time to release or replace the Assembly, overthrowing Malefic and restraining Biskara?

Author Information
I’ve been writing since first setting pencil to steno pad at age 8. A year later, I began developing the world of my current series-in-progress, and even created its title, The Silver Sphere. Now, with the support of years of experience, those early maps and back stories have progressed into what I hope is a fresh and entertaining take on the classic young adult fantasy adventure.

Despite my frequent escapes into parallel worlds, I root myself firmly in my very real family and community. When not pacing the yard maniacally after every few pages of writing, I spend as much time as possible hanging out with my studly 9-year-old son, and my inspirational wife Jenna. I also coach several local youth sports teams in Beverly Hills, and alternate between yelling at my two crazy Corgis and hiking with my trained German Shepherd.

For more, join me in my favorite fantasy worlds, from Lord of the Rings to the creations of C.S. Lewis, Anne McCaffrey and Terry Brooks. Even more importantly, stop by and say hello on my Facebook page at AuthorMichaelDadich, tweet me at @MichaelDadich, and stalk my website at thesilversphere.org.

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Hey readers,

I am just one of several stops on today’s tour. Check out the others here.

And don’t forget to leave comments on this and other tour stops! Michael will be giving away a $75 Amazon or bn.com gift card to one randomly selected commenter during the tour.

A Year in IntREVIEW

Good Friday,

Often it is said just before New Years that it is a time to think back on the previous year.

As 2012 draws to a close, I intend to do a variant of just that.

A Year in IntREVIEW

Since creating the Lockbox back in May, I’ve interviewed several writers. This being the last Fiction Friday of the year, I’d like to take the opportunity to revisit all of those interviews. They are listed below.

I recommend, when you have the time, that you read through these. They are well-thought out responses about interesting people and works of fiction and non-fiction.

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-7-13-12
Amarilys Acosta: Young adult adventure/romance

-7-20-12
Matt O’Dwyer: Fantasy

-7-27-12
Tiffany Avery: Fantasy

-8-10-12
Heather Sedlak: science fiction and fantasy

-8-17-12
Rachell Nichole: Erotic Romance

-8-24-12
Natalie Duvall: Regency romance

-8-31-12
Stephanie Wytovich: Horror/dark fantasy

-9-7-12
Jennifer Loring: Horror/dark fantasy

-9-14-12
Craig Grossman: Neo-noir suspense

-9-21-12
Sally Bosco: Young adult dark fantasy

-9-28-12
Erin Bales: Epic fantasy

-10-5-12
Joe Borrelli: Horror

-10-12-12
Lori Pollard-Johnson: Mystery and other

-10-19-12
Samantha Holloway: Fantasy

-10-26-12
David Wilbanks: Humor

-11-9-12
Sandra I. Bordenca: Memoir

-11-16-12
Ethan Nahte: Speculative fiction

-11-23-12
Rachel Robins: Urban fantasy

-12-14-12

Jason Blatt: Comic fantasy

-12-21-12
Anna Zabo: Paranormal and fantasy romance

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It was a pleasure interviewing these writers, many of whom I know personally.

Expect to see more about authors in the future. I enjoy this type of thing so much that I’ve partnered with Goddess Fish Promotions. Come back on Monday for my first post with them.

For now, since this is my final free post of 2012, it’s been a great year. In terms of writing, I made great progress on my Seton Hill thesis, and I finished my urban fantasy. Looking ahead, the querying of the urban fantasy begins when I return from my January residency at SHU.

It’s been fun, 2012.

See you out of the box.

Guest Post--Rachell Nichole - Writing a Good Erotic Romance

Good Wednesday,

We have a guest today. Please give a warm welcome to erotic romance author Rachell Nichole. She’s here today to talk both about her recently released novel, “Spicy with a Side of Cranberry Sauce,” and the nuts and bolts of writing an erotic romance.

Welcome, Rach.

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Hey Mary,

Thanks so much for having me stop by today. And hello readers, I’m glad you tuned in to hear what I have to say about writing a good Erotic Romance.

Writing a good erotic romance is equal parts really easy and really hard to do. First let’s chat a bit about the erotic romance industry in a post-Fifty Shades world. After the book blew up all over the place – hitting best-seller charts, spotlighting at many a book club, and being talked about everywhere – there was a huge change in the way erotic romance was shelved in bookstores, at least the ones I’ve encountered since then. Erotic romance was suddenly front and center in the middle of the romance section, right alongside paranormal, Harlequin’s lines, and sweet romances. That’s a big deal. But as many readers will tell you, the Fifty Shades books are not the best books ever written. So now, we turn to how to enjoy this surge in the industry and produce excellent books!

This is the easy part… and the hard part. To write a good erotic romance, you have to do everything you have to do when you write a good book, no matter its genre or subject matter. That’s it folks – write a good book, with lots of hot sex and a happy ending.

Of course, that’s much easier said than done, so I want to share a few specifics. I’ll give some examples from my current book, Spicy with a Side of Cranberry Sauce since I know the book inside and out and I want to share a bit about the book with you all.

1 – Plot – the book has to have a plot line. It can’t just be a bunch of love scenes connected by a few pages of dialogue and characters walking down the street for absolutely no reason. In my book, the plot revolves around a couple, Amy and Mason, who meet in a grocery store and feel an instant affinity for one another. They quickly realize though that their parents are dating and Mason’s defensive attitude and Amy’s determination to make things perfect lead them on a wild rollercoaster ride that lasts from Thanksgiving through Christmas. When Mason’s mom realizes he’s been sleeping with Amy, she calls off her relationship with Amy’s dad and it’s up to Amy and Mason to work together to fix it. See? Plot. Things happening, for a reason, outside of the sex scenes, of which there are many.

2 – Characterization – the book’s hero and heroine, or heroine and heroine, or hero and hero, or whatever, must be likable and they also must not be perfect. No one wants to follow along on the shoulder or in the head of someone who is perfect. Perfect people are annoying. Perfect characters even more so. Amy and Mason are seriously damaged characters. Amy lost her mom when she was a kid and hasn’t celebrated or planned ahead for pretty much anything else since then. Mason’s been carrying the guilt of his father’s affairs on his shoulders for over a decade and is convinced that he’s just like his father.

3 – Conflict – this kind of goes along with plot (what happens in the book) but it takes that concept a step further. Without conflict, everyone can be happy right from the start of the book. As a professor of mine says, “Only conflict is interesting.” Who wants to watch a football game in which nothing happens, or where one team is so far out of the realm of the other that we all know what is coming next. For Amy and Mason – the conflict is almost as instantaneous as the attraction. Mason doesn’t want Amy and her Dad spending the holidays with his mom. He knows she’s been hurt enough and fears the new man in her life is taking advantage of her frail emotional state. Amy is determined to win Mason over, even when he’s rude to her. She wants her dad and Martha (Mason’s mom) to be together. And she wants to celebrate a perfect holiday with this family.

4 - Love – the book MUST have a love story, an emotional element even among the hottest of scenes. It also must have a happy ending. This is where the line is drawn between erotica and erotic romance. An erotic romance must be a romance first and erotic second. If the people don’t get together in the end and stay together, the book is not a romance. The book starts with attraction, with love scenes, but there’s a steady building of admiration and love between Amy and Mason, until neither can deny their feelings for the other and decide to stick together despite their own damage and fears that it won’t work.

Those are really the big ones that every book needs, no matter the genre. Love is the only requirement added for romance. And sex is the only additional aspect for erotic romance, and while these scenes may have a lot of page time, they’re not the main part of the book. Past that, the book has to be well-written in terms of grammar, consistency, concision and all of that jazz, but all of those things happen during revisions and editing.

Thanks again Mary. And thanks readers. Do you think I missed anything?
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Thank you, Rach. Looks good to me, and it’s so nice to actually see it said that there’s more to an erotic romance than sex, sex, and more sex. 

Spicy with a Side of Cranberry Sauce is on sale at Loose Id, All Romance Ebook, and Amazon.

You may recognize Rach’s name from an interview she did with me back in August about her book “An Affair Across Times Square.” Check that out here.