Writing
a great story is like drawing a beautiful painting. Sometimes an artist will
use a favorite color, and at other times a lesser favorite. Why? Because all
the different colors are needed to complete the artwork.
The Prologue
Writing a prologue for a science fiction story is apparently a big no-no. Well...whatever. Whoever came up with this idiotic "rule" is a shithead! Several comments have been made about my prologue, questioning whether it's necessary to my story. How can anyone know? Have they read the entire story? Of course not; I haven't published them all yet.
Actually, the prologue to Nastragull is very necessary for the overall story—and when I wrote it; I sure didn't know that I'd broken any unwritten rules. Then again, even if I had known, I would probably have written it anyway.
The Prologue
Writing a prologue for a science fiction story is apparently a big no-no. Well...whatever. Whoever came up with this idiotic "rule" is a shithead! Several comments have been made about my prologue, questioning whether it's necessary to my story. How can anyone know? Have they read the entire story? Of course not; I haven't published them all yet.
Actually, the prologue to Nastragull is very necessary for the overall story—and when I wrote it; I sure didn't know that I'd broken any unwritten rules. Then again, even if I had known, I would probably have written it anyway.
Show & Don't Tell
This is a very important rule for me as an author, and even though I feel that I have found my own authorial voice, I'm still learning. I prefer detailed descriptions that give the reader an experience through action, thoughts, feelings/emotions etc. rather than through my description or summary.
This is a very important rule for me as an author, and even though I feel that I have found my own authorial voice, I'm still learning. I prefer detailed descriptions that give the reader an experience through action, thoughts, feelings/emotions etc. rather than through my description or summary.
However, In Hunted there are a couple of sections where I choose to break that rule. I felt it would be necessary for the reader to know what was happening around the near universe, while the main plot was focused on the story's characters in the story. If I hadn't done this, none of you would have read Pirates yet—I would still be writing it. Hopefully I will develop and learn as I go, so please be patient!
Sex & Violence
There are parts of my story that I didn't enjoy writing, but I wrote them anyway, because they were necessary—especially the detailed acts of violence, and the sex scenes. All of them are part of the story; and for that reason, I wrote them and will keep writing them. There are many great authors out there who sometimes write things I dislike; they glorify violence to an extreme, at times turning it into comedy. Hence the reason I write the way I do.
I
don't and I won't glorify violence in my stories; I want the reader to be disgusted
by it, and realize that violence exists all the time, everywhere, in real life:
from wars to domestic violence. Any form of violence is to be avoided if
possible; however, sometimes it's necessary to use violence in self-defense and
protection of others...and not just in a novel.
The sex scenes...well, what can I say? Love scenes offer an excellent means of character development and make the story more interesting reading, I think—and frankly, you rarely see them in science fiction stories.
There's a section in Hunted that will make some people ill, and I expect it to generate even further discussion -- and disgust. On more than one occasion, I have discussed with my editor and one of Hollywood's more successful producers—both of whom have become mentors to me—whether I should remove several paragraphs and tone certain scenes down, because they are very gruesome and graphic. Both of my mentors, who know the story, insisted that I keep it just the way I had intended, and so I did. So yeah—you might not want to eat before you read the last chapter of Book 2.
There have been a few reviews comparing my first book, Nastragull: Pirates, to porn, and BDSM porn at that. Well, the Nastragull series is not porn; nor should it be compared to such, because the sex scenes are there for entertainment and character development only—not as the main thrust of the story (if you'll excuse the pun). If you're into porn, then my books will disappoint you.
The sex scenes...well, what can I say? Love scenes offer an excellent means of character development and make the story more interesting reading, I think—and frankly, you rarely see them in science fiction stories.
There's a section in Hunted that will make some people ill, and I expect it to generate even further discussion -- and disgust. On more than one occasion, I have discussed with my editor and one of Hollywood's more successful producers—both of whom have become mentors to me—whether I should remove several paragraphs and tone certain scenes down, because they are very gruesome and graphic. Both of my mentors, who know the story, insisted that I keep it just the way I had intended, and so I did. So yeah—you might not want to eat before you read the last chapter of Book 2.
There have been a few reviews comparing my first book, Nastragull: Pirates, to porn, and BDSM porn at that. Well, the Nastragull series is not porn; nor should it be compared to such, because the sex scenes are there for entertainment and character development only—not as the main thrust of the story (if you'll excuse the pun). If you're into porn, then my books will disappoint you.
One
of my favorite authors is Wilbur Smith. When I was young, my parents insisted
that I read as many books in English as possible, and eventually Smith became a
favorite. Many of his stories have some sexual content and detailed
violence/gore. To me, these scenes enhance the story, as is their intent. Nastragull
is similar; when there is violence, it will be violent—to discourage such acts,
not encourage them. When there is sex, there will be sex, more to encourage
than discourage such a wonderful gift from Mother Nature. All this will be part
of the series. Some volumes will have more than others, and it all depends on
the story context, nothing else.
Bad Reviews
There have been three one-star reviews thus far for Nastragull: Pirates (knock on wood), and one of them is actually pretty well-written and useful...while the other two are attempts at sabotage. If you weren't aware of it, Pirates—my first book—is something of a bestseller of Amazon, and some people don't like it when another writer fails to "pay his dues" with several failures first. We all know what this is about.
One reviewer insists that "Pirates" is filled with nothing but filthy porn, and from what she's written, it's apparent that she never finished the book. Now, this is all right; she's entitled to her opinion, and I as a new author have to accept that. I won't respect the opinion, though, because I don't believe she finished the book.
There is, however, one reviewer who attacks you, the reader, and not me. That is so very wrong on so many levels. Labeling an entire group of people is WRONG! During our last World War there was a "political party" that labeled other groups of people, making them wear different symbols on their clothing for easy identification— anything from a red triangle to a yellow star. This reviewer is attempting to do the same thing; labeling anyone who happens to like the Nastragull saga with a scarlet letter of shame, accusing them of being sadistic sociopaths if they happen to like Pirates. This anonymous attempt to discourage new readers from purchasing my book was written by a typical totalitarian thinker*. Good examples of these sad creatures are the last two little bastards who have ruled the Northern part a certain Asian nation, one of whom threatened to start World War 3 back in the beginning of this year because someone from the West apparently had the audacity to turn off his access to computer porn, or some such...
Bad Reviews
There have been three one-star reviews thus far for Nastragull: Pirates (knock on wood), and one of them is actually pretty well-written and useful...while the other two are attempts at sabotage. If you weren't aware of it, Pirates—my first book—is something of a bestseller of Amazon, and some people don't like it when another writer fails to "pay his dues" with several failures first. We all know what this is about.
One reviewer insists that "Pirates" is filled with nothing but filthy porn, and from what she's written, it's apparent that she never finished the book. Now, this is all right; she's entitled to her opinion, and I as a new author have to accept that. I won't respect the opinion, though, because I don't believe she finished the book.
There is, however, one reviewer who attacks you, the reader, and not me. That is so very wrong on so many levels. Labeling an entire group of people is WRONG! During our last World War there was a "political party" that labeled other groups of people, making them wear different symbols on their clothing for easy identification— anything from a red triangle to a yellow star. This reviewer is attempting to do the same thing; labeling anyone who happens to like the Nastragull saga with a scarlet letter of shame, accusing them of being sadistic sociopaths if they happen to like Pirates. This anonymous attempt to discourage new readers from purchasing my book was written by a typical totalitarian thinker*. Good examples of these sad creatures are the last two little bastards who have ruled the Northern part a certain Asian nation, one of whom threatened to start World War 3 back in the beginning of this year because someone from the West apparently had the audacity to turn off his access to computer porn, or some such...
And
that's all I have to say about that.
*"Some people think in extremes. They just
don't allow any middle ground. It's kind of like 'you're either with me or
you're against me' or 'you're either part of the solution or part of the
problem.' A person with this 'either/or' and 'all or none' mentality can be
very demanding, requiring total allegiance. Any hint of deviation is paramount
to a total abdication of that allegiance. A spouse may become insanely jealous,
to the point of violence, if their partner is perceived to be paying attention
to another person. It is, in the mind of an 'all or none' thinker,
inconceivable that a spouse could be friendly with many different people of
both sexes and still absolutely devoted to the partner. The perfectionist also
often suffers from totalitarian thinking when they say something like 'I should
have done better, I'm such an idiot.' It's as if you're either an idiot or
perfect, nothing in between." -- Kenneth Fields, MA, NCC, LMHC
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