+

+ advice, fantasy, Fiction, Heavy Metal, Inspiration, Uncategorized, Writing

From My Writing Playlist #Writing #Author #Advice

by Unknown's avatar

 

Oh hell yeah!

This song, especially the beginning, is a battle song. No doubt about it. When the choir starts their harmony right at the beginning, close your eyes and picture too massive medieval armies lining up on either sides of a war torn battlefield. They stair each other down as the rain falls around them and lighting breaks the skies above.

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.
jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com
I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.
Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Thanks friends!
Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

+

+ advice, fantasy, Fiction, literature, Opinion, Science Fiction, Writing

Character Cameos. #Writing #Author #Advice

by Unknown's avatar

Hi Jim,

I was wondering if you had any advice on how to bring a character over from another story…

Example, Sherlock Holmes is someone I’ve always loved, so I wanted him to make a guest appearance in a mystery novel I’m currently working on that’s set in the same place.

Second example, I’ve got a character from another series I wrote, Juiliara that I also want to make an appearance, but they’re from completely different universes.

I know you write fantasy, so I wanted to see if you had any advice about how to make this work.

Thanks,
Mike

Hi Mike,

Whoa… okay, so you’re actually asking two different questions here as the examples you gave are of two completely different scenarios. Let’s take the one at a time. We’ll tackle the easier one first…

So from the sound of the second example, you want to integrate a character from a different world where… likely different rules apply and give her a cameo in your current story.

Not knowing the context or what kind of rules apply to the universe you created makes it difficult to give you the best advice I can. However, I’ll do my best. In my novel, Soul Siphon, I gave General Xaphan from Damnation a cameo and kind of made her a mentor to my team of heroes.

In the book, I didn’t give much detail into her backstory, though I did allude to the idea that this Xaphan’s backstory might be slightly different from the one in Damnation. I had the advantage that Damnation was basically a ‘behind the scenes of history’ story. The idea for that story was to write it in a way that history could still proceed normally. In other words, if you believe in religious mysticism, my story was not outside the realm of possibility.

So technically, Xaphan could reappear in the modern world, but there were still some inconsistencies. So I basically brought her back but obscured her experiences and backstory so that the reader would have to decide whether she was the fallen angel from Damnation or a General Xaphan from a different reality where the events of her life happened differently.

Using a parallel counterpart may be a good way of accomplishing your goal while keeping in-universe. Other than that, it really depends on the rules of your world. Is there a way to transport characters from one place to another, or could that character’s world plausibly be the same one?

Sherlock Holmes may be more of a problem for you. I’m not sure of the specifics, but I don’t think he’s public domain yet. The Copyright Act was extended not long ago so that the term of protection went from 75 years to 95 years.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle died in 1930 and his last work was published in 1926-1927(??). However, a recent legal ruling may have changed that.

The court case of Klinger v. Conan Doyle Estate settled the claim and actually put to rest the issue of whether a copyright claim would persist on a character even if the works that contained him/her have fallen out of copyright. The Estate tried to argue that, while the stories aren’t copyrighted, the characters still were.

I really don’t have the time or the inclination to try to contemplate the mental gymnastics around that thought process or the ramifications of someone successfully making that case. However, in rare form, the courts ruled correctly. So you may be in the clear, but I’d contact a copyright attorney on this one just be sure. There may still be some gray area there and you don’t want to tangle with the ACD estate. Even if you’re in the right, it could still cost you.

As long as everything checks out, you should have no problem integrating Holmes into your story. That being said, I’d first go through and carefully study Doyle’s works. Read them and get a feel for the character you’re borrowing. Sherlock Holmes still has a massive following 90 years later. If you’re hoping to break into the murder/mystery community, you DO NOT want to do an injustice to the biggest name in the group.

In any case, I hope this helps a little bit. As always, I’m available if you need further advice. Please feel free to email me.
Readers, do you have any further advice? Let Mike know in the comments!

Thanks!

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

+

+ Action Figues, Comics, fantasy, Movies, Opinion, Science Fiction, Skyrim

Figma Figure Review: Corrin Fire Emblem Fates #Writing #Author #Advice

by Unknown's avatar

2b26d7d8a45842a2aad7b18d27b090b4

So I promised to leave a review with my thoughts on this action figure during one of my last action figure posts, and I am a man of my word.

Finally, after a year of waiting, I got an email that the figure had shipped. It arrived at my house over the weekend much to my joy. I took her out of the box… being careful not to damage the box so that she can be repackaged later for display. She looks amazing:

20171127_132239.jpg

I’ve got a lot to say about her, so let’s dive in. I’m going to be grading on a few areas. Let’s look below…

Appearance:
This one should be obvious. These are high grade figures with a lot of detail. The eyes are great, the armor detailing is spot on, as is the face and various posed hands. Even the less conspicuous areas such as the under armor and areas behind the cape.

The sword (Yato) and dragon stone are also quite well done and very detailed. If I were to find one area to nitpick about, it’s her hair. Personally, I wish it would have been lighter in a few places, perhaps white highlights in a few places. However it’s a minor quip. I’m also not a huge fan of the joint in her hair.

20171127_132312.jpg

The other area that I find a bit off is the lower legs. They are almost  slanted back further than they should, not unlike how a horse stands. I mean I get that she’s technically a Manakete, not a human, but still. Maybe I’m wrong, if so let me know in the comments:

20171127_132252

Beyond that, she’s great. She looks exactly like the character and has clearly had a lot of work put in.

Score 4/5

Pose-ability:
As with most figma figures… these things are crazy pose-able. They can be posed any way a human can move and… arguably even more in some cases. Her cape is in two pieces on a ball joint attached to her back:

20171127_132310.jpg

Heck, even her bare feet have joints so that she can stand on her toes:
20171127_132258

She also has two joints on her waste, one on each knee, hip, a ball pivot on each elbow and wrist, and one I’ve never seen before on the shoulder. I will say that I try to keep the one on the shoulder pushed in, otherwise she looks robotic.

As you would expect, this makes trying to stand the figure up very difficult. It’s possible, but its hard to do. As a result, these figures come with stands to allow for all kinds of battle poses. That said, she has armor plating on her left hip that does impede her pose-ability on that side, slightly.

Score 5/5

 

Durability: 

I hesitated putting this category in because frankly, these action figures are collectibles, not toys. If you play heavily with these figures or give them to your kids, they will break, guaranteed. These are meant for display, and are definitely not made for little kids.

That being said, I will say that they do come with a few spare joints in case anything is lost or destroyed and the paint work does seem durable and resistant to scratching.

So based on the idea of LIGHT USAGE, not heavy play…

Score 4/5

Overall: 

I love figma figures. They’re extremely well detailed, they look like the characters in question… unlike some of the more recent Star Wars and Super Hero figures. She comes with several accessories including the Yato sword, her dragon stone, several hands that can replace the standard ones for different poses, and a clear stand to pose her on.

These figures are not for the average kid who likes figures. They are specifically designed for collectors. They are durable as they are but won’t survive heavy play. They’re not cheap, but given the quality and how beloved Fire Emblem characters are, any collector will gladly shell out the $70 for one, and I do highly recommend  it to figure collectors.

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

+

+ advice, fantasy, Fiction, literature, Opinion, Science Fiction, Writing

Audience/Reader Sensitivity

by Unknown's avatar

Hi Jim,

I have a problem I was hoping you could help me with a rather… sensitive issue. I’ve written a book that deals with a lot of cultural issues. I’ve gone to great lengths to keep my writing as inoffensive as possible, as I want people from all walks of life to be able to read it, enjoy it, and maybe find themselves in it. However… I’ve recently been getting hate mail and negative reviews from people calling some of what I’ve written offensive. I really don’t want to get into great detail for my own protection, but I was wondering if you had any advice on dealing with accusations of bigotry and negative reviews.

Thanks,
(Anonymous by request.)

Hello,

You’re in quite the bind there, I’ll definitely tell you. First of all, there’s nothing you can do about negative reviews. They’re par for the course when it comes to putting media out there for public consumption, so that’s something you’ll most likely have to live with. If you have reason to believe that the negative reviews are trolling or someone who didn’t read the book, there are methods to appeal them with Amazon, GoodReads, Etc. So you might consider that approach.

As to your other problem… having not heard the other side, nor read your work, I’m going to be functioning on the assumption that you didn’t put anything into your book that is blatantly bigoted… or if you did, you framed it in a way that was appropriate to the story. If you basically rewrote Mien Kampf, you’re getting what’s coming to you, but again, I’m going to assume that’s not the case, given what you’ve told me.

Unfortunately, in the current climate we live in, people have a heightened sensitivity to pretty much every social issue on the planet. It seems almost completely unavoidable. Some say it’s because they were raised to believe that they were special and that the world owed them something… others say that these issues have always been around, but social media just really put a magnifying glass on them.
I personally think that the truth is somewhere in between, though I would note that the debate on political correctness vs. free speech is fairly troubling. We’re living in pretty stressful times.

This is honestly part of the reason I don’t tackle social or political issues in any sort of overt way. Yes, they make their way into my writing, but not with the intention of making a political statement. I just go where my fingers take me and people seem to like my work.

Okay, back on topic. At the risk of generalizing people… likely the people you are dealing with who are calling you a bigot are one of two kinds of people;

  1. People with heightened sensitivities and insecurities. These people typically see social problems where ever they look and if they don’t find any, they’re pretty good at creating issues for them to complain about.
  2. People looking to cause trouble. Yes, unfortunately, there are people out there that actively look to spark some kind of social outrage, usually for their own gain. Either they want to get their name out in the public or they want to get something out of whoever gets in their sights.
  3. Legitimate people pointing out a problem. Again, I’m assuming you didn’t rewrite Mien Kampf. However, maybe something in your writing is unintentionally off. Maybe you unintentionally wrote a character as a bad stereotype?

I would re-read your work and if you believe #3 is what you’re dealing with… This is a little more difficult to advise on. I don’t typically recommend revising the original work, but if you’re genuinely concerned about it, you have that option.  That being said, you might consider not changing it… again, I haven’t seen your work and I don’t know what your characters are like, but writing as an art form is supposed to challenge people, it’s supposed to move them, to anger them, to sadden them, to make them uncomfortable, and yes, to make them happy. If this is the option you go with… the best advice I can give you is to grow a thick skin.

If it’s either of the other two, I recommend ‘The Rock’ approach: Ignore it.

Why do I call it the Rock approach? Well, it’s in honor of one of my favorite actors; Dwane Johnson. Arguably one of the most beloved personalities in Hollywood has come under fire recently from cultural figures, Paralympians, and environmental figures alike…

How has he responded to all of this criticism? Well, near as I can tell, he hasn’t. He hasn’t apologized or addressed it in any way. Why do I say that this is the smart thing to do? Because it takes the wind out of their sails. Look at each of these complaints. Have they gone anywhere? Have you heard of them after the initial outcry? Not likely. If you apologize to them, you’re admitting doing something wrong, even if you don’t mean to. Often times, they aren’t looking to, and won’t be willing to, accept your apology. If you try to fight back, you’ll wind up looking like the bad guy. It’s basically a power struggle, one you’ll be hard-pressed to win.

If you say nothing, do nothing, and keep your mouth shut, they’ll be yelling into an empty box and it will likely go away faster. I know it’s not an easy thing to do… take it from someone with boiling Irish blood in his veins, but IMHO it really is the correct approach.

Remember, your writing is all about you. Does it sound good to you? Do you like what you’ve written? Is your book something you’d like to read over and over? Then that’s all that really matters. Other people may like it or may not and your book sales will reflect that, but in the end, you can only write for yourself.

Anyway, that’s my two cents. Let’s open it up to the floor. Readers, what do you think our friend here should do? Should they ignore it or attempt some kind of damage control. Let me know in the comments and let’s get the conversation going.

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

+

+ advice, fantasy, Fiction, literature, Opinion, Science Fiction, Writing

Romance Stories Suck! I Root for the “Bad Guy” #Writing #Author #Advice

by Unknown's avatar

Okay, this post is actually just a rant. So if you’re looking for writing advice, feel free to skip.

I have seriously come to despise MOST romantic stories. They all seem to fall into the same damn plot…

Person 1 is in a happy relationship with Person 2. They are successful and literally have everything anyone could ever want. Person 2 has to go away or just leaves the plot for a while.
Person 1 becomes acquainted with a rough-around-the-edges or simply unconventional person. Let’s call them Person 3. Suddenly Person 1 begins to realize that they’re missing something in their lives… or something in Person 3 is something Person 1 never realized they always wanted. They start to develop a romance and typically Person 3 has no care or concern for Person 1’s outstanding relationship.

Just to make Person 1, the supposed protagonist, not look like an absolutely horrible person, the writer then makes Person 2 do something that seems incredibly out of character, turning them into the villain and justifying Person 1’s behavior.

Person 1 eventually leaves Person 2… OFTEN LITERALLY AT THE DAMN ALTER for Person 3. The story typically ends with Person 3 and Person 1 getting married or starting a relationship.

Be honest, how many of you reading this right now can name at least 20 different movies that have this nauseating plot? I bet we could all post a list of stories we’ve read/seen that fall into this plot without overlapping. Need proof?

Just on the movie side of things…

This drives me insane for a few reasons. Firstly, I actually do like romantic stories. I’m not a guy who waves them off as chick flicks and most of my own books have a romantic element to them. At the same time, Stardust is one of my favorite movies of all times, and it is a romantic flick!

The other reason I hate these stories so much is because they’re so unrealistic. Think about it. In every story where Person 1 leaves Person 2 at the altar, what’s Person 2 going to do? Bow out gracefully? Yeah, good luck with that. Try again. Person 2 is likely going to sue for every penny that they put into the wedding.  On top of that, they may actually sue Person 3 for ‘Abandonment of Affection’, depending on where they live. ON TOP OF THAT, Person 1 and Person 2 typically live together, so guess what kind of chaos that’s going to cause. So this is hardly going to end well. Not to mention that Person 3 will have been humiliated in the worst way and will probably develop trust issues where they’ll be in therapy for years afterward. Not to mention all the family and friends who will probably be affected by this, causing rude shocks and anger, even if there wasn’t a wedding involved. This is all after going through a character assassination so that Person 1 doesn’t look horrible.

So I’m sorry, but I’m completely on the side of Person 2 in these cases. I usually envision the ‘after Happily Ever After Scenes’ where Person 2 goes on to make his fortunes, does really well, finds someone who actually loves them and is far more compatible. They live out their days in success and luxury.

What happens to the breeding pair, you may ask? Heh, considering that Person 3 is usually broke, or some level of plebian, there are a few scenarios…

  1. Person 3 can’t provide Person 1 the lifestyle they’re accustomed to and their relationship eventually collapses. They go their separate ways and Person 1 sees all the success Person 2 is having and lives in despair over what they lost.
  2. Person 1 and Person 3 get close to where Person 1 was with Person 2… suddenly the same story happens, except this time, Person 3 meets their own Person 3 and before long, Person 1 becomes their own version of Person 2, and is yet again, out on the street, alone.
  3. Person 1 and 3 do work out, get married, and live a life that is nowhere near the level of quality Person 1 had always envisioned. Though happy on some level, Person 1 regrets what they sacrificed to be with Person 3.

Needless to say, it doesn’t work out well for Person 1. You may consider that petty, but I really don’t care. This plotline is terrible, yet it is continually rehashed in romance stories, particularly romantic comedies, like it’s pure gold.

Anyway, brief rant over. Let me know what you think or what stories/movies you know of that meet the above formula.

Thanks!

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

+

+ advice, fantasy, Fiction, literature, Science Fiction, Uncategorized, Writing

Long and Short of Writing Long Distance #Writing #Author #Advice

by Unknown's avatar

Hi Jim,

You may not be the right person to ask, but I thought I’d give it a shot. I’m writing a story about a long term relationship that also happens to be a long-distance relationship. However I’ve never had a long distance relationship work out. I want to write this so it sounds somewhat realistic, but it seems like the odds are staggeringly against such a relationship. Do you have any advice about how I could write my couple?

Thanks,
Lilly

Hello Lilly,

This question would probably be better suited to a relationship counselor or therapist… but I’ll do my best to help. I’m sorry to say, but what everyone is saying is correct. This is coming from someone who has been involved in two separate long distance relationships and watched both of them fail. I’m sorry to say, but I don’t have much experience in one that has succeeded for very long. So a long term, long distance, relationship (depending on your definition of ‘long term’) might be a hurdle for some readers to overcome. Mine lasted about 1.5 years at best, personally.

My advice to you is pretty much the same advice that I would give someone who’s entering into a long distance relationship. There are a few prerequisites that I would recommend before getting too serious:

  1. Frequent communication: Don’t let your characters go for too long without talking to each other. Probably a few days at most, though I know some people would say 24 hours is enough. Maybe that’s a little clingy, but if you’ve gone for over a week without speaking to the person… without any outstanding reason such as work, then are they really together?
  2. Establish a game plan: Okay obviously this isn’t something you’re going to do early on, that’s just psychotic. However, as things get more serious, if there is no plan to close the distance between the two of you, then likely you’re pretty much dealing with a pen pal, not an actual relationship. If the goal of the relationship is commitment and some kind of domestic partnership, there has to be a plan on the table.
  3. Trust and lots of it: Relationships require trust. Long distance ones even more so. If one of your characters is constantly wondering whether the other is being faithful or get’s highly suspicious of a friend of the opposite sex, it’s going to crash and burn real fast.

There are more essentials out there, but these three are the biggest ones in my opinion. Honestly, you might do better having it an on again, off again, relationship… or perhaps an open one, though I’m not a huge fan of those. In any case, I’d say you’ve got quite a bit of work ahead of you to make this something this work. If your story is set in modern times, skype and other remote tools are going to be essential.

Hope this helps, but lets open this up to our readers. Does anyone else out there on wordpress have any advice for our friend Lilly here?

 

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

+

+ advice, fantasy, Fiction, literature, Science Fiction, Uncategorized, Writing

The Last Rite Redemption #Writing #Author #Advice

by Unknown's avatar

 

Hi Jim,

I have a character in my story that I want to turn from a bad guy into a good guy. The problem is that he’s guilty of committing several atrocities including mass genocide. I don’t see how I can turn him into a good guy in a way that I can redeem him. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Linney

Hi Linney,

Oooooo that is a tough one. Redeeming someone who committed mass genocide is certainly a tall order and frankly… it’s impossible. Morally, there really isn’t any way a person can be redeemed for committing such a heinous crime. I think at most, heroes would accept that person as an ally of convenience at most.

In truth, both Lucasfilm and Marvel really seemed to struggle with this one. Lucasfilm had to find a way to ‘save’ Anakin Skywalker at the end of Return of the Jedi. This is the guy who killed multiple Jedi including young children. How can one be redeemed from something like that? Well… they went about it in kind of a weird way. It’s sort of an ambiguous explanation, but Obi Wan seems to imply that Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker are in fact two different people. Could it be that the force influence over a Jedi alters their personality when they go from light to dark and vice versa?
Luke: You mean it controls your actions?
Obi Wan: Partially, but it also obeys your commands.

Obi Wan: Your father was seduced by the dark side of the force. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father, was destroyed.

So it is kind of implied that this is the case.

Marvel really messed up on this one… everyone already knows my opinion on the Phoenix Saga, but when the writers decided to resurrect Jean Grey, they had to figure out a way to do it that absolved her of the mass genocide she’d committed as Phoenix… despite the fact that she wasn’t even really responsible for her actions. To do that, they made it so that her and the Phoenix were two different beings and the Phoenix had essentially copied her physical characteristics.

So if you’re not willing to do a workaround, and I highly advise against it, I’d say that you probably can’t absolve the character. You can have them work for good, but they’ll never be out from under what they did. At best, I’d say by the end of the story, kill that character off. Have them sacrifice themselves to save the heroes or another large group of people.
I call this particular plot device the ‘Last Rite Redemption’. In my opinion the only way to cleanse the soul of someone who has committed such horrible crimes would be for that person to willingly give their lives to destroy an ultimate evil or save an ultimate good. Even then it may not be a redemption, but that’s as close as you’re going to get.

If you’re hoping to make that character a hero… likely that’s never going to happen.

Readers, what do you think? Do you have any advice for Linney?

 

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have multiple published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

 

+

+ advice, fantasy, Fiction, literature, Opinion, Science Fiction, Writing

Idea Expansion and Growth #Writing #Author #Advice

by Unknown's avatar

How do you expand an idea? I have this idea for years now, but as soon as I try to expand it, it starts to sound boring and then I just dunno which way to go with this.

-Journal of Chrissie

Hi there!

Thanks for the question. It can be difficult and sometimes impossible to expand an idea, even if it’s a good one. Sometimes there just isn’t enough meat to expand an idea, at which point it could remain a short story or an essay. There’s nothing wrong with this, it’s just what happens sometimes.

However, if this is something you’re constantly running into, then there are some things you can do to try to expand upon it. The first thing I would do is put your ideas down on paper. Get it down and then read it, then re-read it. Try adding a line if you can here or there to see where it goes. You can also try ‘what if’ scenarios to see what would happen if the story goes a different way then you originally want it to.

While adding to the summary you’ve written, don’t be afraid to come up with characters on the side. Come up with a few main protagonists and antagonists that would work in this idea. Now answer the following questions:
What’s their background?
What are their vices?
What would you include about their backstory?
What’s their personality like?
In the antagonist’s case, what circumstances pushed this character into the ‘bad guy’ role?

If you can answer these questions, you’ve already expanded on your story. Now add them in with everything you answered in these questions and build your idea around them. There you go, you’ve expanded your idea by adding in new ideas and new topics to cover in order to enhance the initial idea.

Another thing to try is simply talking about the idea. I know that may sound obvious, but a lot of people are worried about sharing their ideas with friends or in a writing circle community due to someone stealing their idea. It’s a risk that we all have to contend with, but it’s honestly something that rarely happens in writing circles, one because litigation can happen, two because no one want’s their own IP being copied either.

Finally, and I know no one wants to hear this, but be open and willing to accept that the idea may not be great. It’s okay to have a good idea and not have it pan out into anything. Sometimes ideas will simply stay as ideas. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Anyway, let’s turn it over to my readers. Do you have any advice or anything to add? Am I right on or do you think that there’s more to it?

Thanks!

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

+

+ advice, fantasy, Fiction, literature, Science Fiction, Uncategorized, Writing

Perception of Beauty Trope #Writing #Author #Advice

by Unknown's avatar

 

I want to talk today about a trope that lately has been driving me crazy. I call it the Perception of Beauty Trope, but perhaps it would be more like ‘the attractive guy gets the girl’ trope.

This has caused so many problems throughout the literary and movie world. Let me give you a few examples:

IT (2017)–

Pretty much the one thing that kept this movie from being perfect is the infuriating love triangle, especially for those of us who read the book and saw the original. Bev seems to go back and forth between Bill and Bev… and for some reason… Ben just kind of turns the other cheek the entire time.

I’m just going to come right out and say it, even in this latest installment, BEN AND BEV HAVE FAR MORE ROMANCE THAN HER AND BILL! However who get’s to spend the last few moments of the film with her and gets the meaningful kiss? Is it the kid she first connected with, the one who wrote her poetry… the one she ends up with in other mediums? NOPE! It’s the stuttering leader. Why? Because he’s the good looking guy. There is virtually no other reason for it. (And yes, I am FULLY aware of she does in the book, but that is irrelevant here.)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame –

Yes, I know what happens in the book, but both the ’39 and ’96 versions are such a departure from the novel that I barely consider them the same story. Again, considerable chemistry between Esmeralda and Quasimodo, but does she end up with the Hunchback? Heh, please… in the animated one she ends up with blonde knight captain while in the ’39 version, she ends up with a starving Poet who pretty much stood by while she was about to be executed. Again, pretty much just because they were the good looking guys.

Moulin Rouge –

For full context here, you need to watch both the original and supremely inferior Jukebox music version that came out a few years ago.

In the original, the star is a rather ugly (as Hollywood goes) man with a cane. In the remake, he’s replaced with Obi Wan Kenobi… and the movie goes downhill from there.

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Ewin Mcgreggor. He’s a good actor who did the best he could with bad directing in Star Wars… but here… he doesn’t fit. This becomes blatantly obvious in the original version of the best song in the movie… ironically the only song actually made for the movie:

Fast forward to 4 minutes into the song. Ewin McGreggor is replaced with Jim Broadbent (Harold Zidler) for the final cut. When I asked my wife why, she said it was because he was the superior vocalist… well why didn’t they cast someone with said superior vocalist. You put that one together.

I see this in literature too and to be honest, I don’t get why. If it’s not appearance, it’s some other superficial feature. I can’t remember the name,  but I read a story a while back with a character named ‘Keelig’. There was a love triangle between him, a girl, and another guy named ‘Chris.’ Right off the bat, I knew who was ending up with the girl.

Honestly, this is part of the reason why so many of my characters have very distinct names; Piero, Corbin, Giovanni, Tobias, and Raiya. I’ve found that characters with distinct names, personalities, and features are the ones that are most memorable. As such, I can’t figure out why the bland ones get the most attention.

So my advice for my readers is simple, pick a character. Do you care about that character? Do they have the most chemistry with the others? Then let that one get the happily ever after in the end. Ignore the topical issues.

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

+

+ Book, fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fantasy, literature, Religion, Writing

Destiny: Divinity’s Finale, Book 5, Chapter 1 #Fantasy #Historical #Fiction

by Unknown's avatar

Book 5

The Churning Tides

I

The sound of activity on deck roused Baltazar from his slumber. He got up carefully so not to wake Aralyn. He opened the door and went out on deck. To his surprise, the crew was back onboard early and preparing the ship for the voyage ahead.

Gilles turned to see a near shirtless Captain La Fuente walk out on deck, “Captain, good morning.”

Baltazar rubbed his eyes, “Good morning Mr. Gilles… what is going on around here.”

Gilles smiled, “The crew doesn’t want to wait anymore. We’re all anxious for adventure, and no Romagna wenches are going to quench our thirst.”

Baltazar smiled, “Is that a fact?”

“Aye.” Morgan said, coming up behind him. “Whenever you’re ready Captain, we’re ready to save the world.”

“All right then.” Baltazar replied confidently. “Is everyone onboard?”

“Aye sir.” Gilles said, looking around. “All crewmen are accounted for.”

Baltazar nodded, “Very well, cast off the mooring lines, set the topsails, and let’s get this ship moving.”

He turned to Gilles, “Mr. Gilles, take us out.”

“Aye sir,” Gilles replied as he manned the helm.

The topsails came down and the Black Vengeance started to pull away from the dock. It took about ten minutes to leave the pier, but she pulled out into open water and cleared the harbor quickly. Baltazar breathed in deeply as he felt the wind catch the ship, “Full sail, Mr. Morgan,”

Morgan nodded and moved forward, “Aye sir, full sail!”

He then turned to Gilles, “South, southeast, if you will, Mr. Gilles.”

Gilles nodded and turned the ship to the south, “Aye sir.”

In the cabin, Aralyn could feel the ship moving under her body. Her eyes opened and she sat up. She quickly changed into her normal clothing and ran out on deck.

Baltazar was standing near the helm. She joined him as he stood watching the horizon, “My love, what is going on?”

Baltazar wrapped his arm around her back and smiled, “The crew was restless for adventure. So we decided to set sail early.”

“Was the ship ready?” She asked.

Baltazar nodded, “Aye, we had all the provisions ready to go and we’re still fully loaded in terms of the ammunition.”

Lailah appeared on deck a few moments later as well. She joined the group on the aft castle, “Where are we?”

“We’re on our way to Taenarum.” Baltazar replied. “It shouldn’t be any more than a day before we arrive.”

Lailah shook her head, “I don’t know how you humans do it. You spend half your life travelling from one place to the next. Especially you sailor types, do you know that when you actually reach the destination you spend so much time getting to, you spend very little time there in comparison?”

“Such is the life.” Baltazar shrugged. “We don’t all have wings to take us everywhere.”

Lailah frowned, “Do these look like they’ll carry me very far?”

Gilles looked over at her, “Yeah about that… how is it you’re hurt, I thought angels were incapable of such things?”

“To be honest,” Lailah replied, “I’m not entirely sure. You are right in that we’re not supposed to capable of being hurt.”

“What happened?” Aralyn asked.

“It was so terrible…” Lailah said softly fighting back tears, “I watched your family die… and was powerless to stop it. Then Legion tore me apart in ways that ripped through my body and into my mind. He burned me alive. I don’t know how, but his fire was the physical manifestation of all his rage… even my immortality couldn’t protect me.”

She flapped her wings weakly, “He took my flight away from me and severed my connection to the Celestial world. Once he was finished, he left me here, crippled and broken hoping that I would be found and killed.”

“But you weren’t.” Gilles added.

“No, I wasn’t,” she nodded, “I used what little strength I had left and managed to escape. I spent five years wandering around until I found that small rocky island… that’s where I stayed… for a very long time.”

Aralyn lowered her eyes, “I am very sorry for you…”

“Don’t be,” Lailah replied, “you’re here now, and you know the truth. If we succeed, then it will all be worth it.”

**

The ship sailed on for hours without the crew saying much to one another. They each tended to the ship in their own way. Papi continued preparing food for the men about to come on or go off duty. Aralyn had to delegate her time between the galley and tending to whatever injuries arose. Baltazar stayed on deck, watching the horizon as the ship continued on course, and Lailah continuously prayed for the safety of all hands onboard.

As afternoon fell over the ship, the lookout called to Baltazar, “Land ho, Captain!”

Baltazar looked out in front of them and saw a steep rocky pass. Lailah nodded, “This is the place.”

Baltazar shook his head, “It’s no good, we can’t land here, there is no place to bring up the longboat!”

“Sail further south.” Lailah replied. “The cave we’re looking for is in the water, you’ll be using the longboat to get in.”

Baltazar nodded to Gilles, “You heard the lady.”

Gilles held the ship on a southern course, but kept his eyes open for the cave that they were looking for. Sure enough, ten minutes later, the Black Vengeance sighted a cave cut into the side of the rock wall.

Morgan looked at the cave oddly, “I figure that didn’t form naturally, did it?”

“No,” Lailah said in a low voice, “there were outside forces at work in creating this cave.”

Baltazar turned to the men on deck, “Drop anchor, bring in the sails, lower the longboat, and order Mr. Clement to the deck.”

Morgan nodded, “Will I be coming with ye this time Captain?”

“No,” Baltazar replied, “I won’t risk anyone unnecessarily. Only the people who need to be there will be. Papi has known Aralyn since she was little, so I doubt I could stop him. I want you to stay and help Gilles manage the ship.”

Morgan saluted, “Aye Captain.”

The longboat was lowered as Papi climbed on deck. He looked out and saw the cave, “By the grace of God… This is something I hoped never to see.”

“You and every other man alive.” Lailah replied. “Don’t worry, as long as we keep our wits about us, we should be safe. I know what to look out for.”

Once the longboat touched the water, Lailah and Papi climbed over the side into the boat. Aralyn followed close behind. On deck, Baltazar nodded to his men, “Gilles, Morgan, you two are in charge until I get back. Keep a close watch on things.”

Gilles nodded, “Not a problem, Captain.”

Baltazar nodded and turned toward the longboat. As he went over the side, he looked at the deck one last time. Gilles saluted as Baltazar disappeared, “Luck, Captain.”

Morgan looked over the side as Baltazar sat next to Papi and manned the oars. They began to row towards the cave as Lailah guided them from the front. Morgan waited for them to get clear before turning back to Gilles, “Longboat be away!”

After about ten minutes of silence, there was a horrified call from the lookout, “Sail ho!”

Gilles looked around quickly, but saw nothing, “Where away?”

“Directly to starboard,” the lookout replied.

Gilles picked up the spyglass and looked to starboard. It took a few moments for him to pick out the ship, but once he had a good shot of it, his eyes went wide. Morgan watched him go pale as he lowered the spyglass, “What is it, lad?”

“No…” Gilles said in a defeated tone. “Not now…”

Morgan turned to face him with a worried, “What is it?”

“The Le Terrible…” he replied, “she’s found us.”

Morgan’s jaw dropped, “How be that possible, we lost them in Viana do Castelo.”

“I don’t know…” Gilles replied, “but it doesn’t matter, weigh anchor, set top sails and get us moving!”

Morgan looked out at the longboat as it drew closer to the cave, “Gilles, what about the longboat?”

Gilles shook his head, “They’re on their own for now. It would take us too long to get them back onboard. We’ll draw the warship off and hope they’ll follow us.”

**

On the longboat, Baltazar saw the terrifying scene unfold in front of him. Panic broke out across the deck of his ship as he watched, “What is going on?”

Then he saw it, a lateen sail appeared on the horizon, “No, it can’t be!”

Aralyn followed his gaze, “The Le Terrible…”

Papi tugged on his oar, “We have to get back to the ship! You should be there!”

Baltazar shook his head, “There is no time. They’re weighing anchor now and the sails are coming down. By the time we get back onboard, the Vengeance will have no time to get away.”

An angered look came over Baltazar’s face, “Bastard sail maker, I knew he couldn’t be trusted. I have it in my mind to go collect a refund.”

He took another look and lowered his eyes, “Row for the cave, we need to get out of sight.”

A worried look appeared on Aralyn’s face, “What about the Black Vengeance?”

Baltazar sat down and manned his oar, “Gilles is a smart man, he and Morgan have dealt with worse. With a little luck, they’ll get away.”

**

Once the ship began to move, Morgan turned to his deckhands, “Men, we could run, and probably get away, but we need to make sure our captain completes his mission. Therefore, we’re going to draw the Le Terrible and hopefully lose them in the heat of battle. Run up the guns, full charge of powder all around!”

As the men worked, Morgan backed up and stood next to Gilles on the helm, “Gilles, if ye be a praying man, now be the time.”

“Aye.” Gilles agreed.

Baltazar watched from a distance as the Black Vengeance pulled away from the cave and met the Le Terrible in open water. He watched a deadly exchange of cannon fire between both ships. The Black Vengeance only got off one broadside and instead relied on their fore and aft guns in a game of cat and mouse.

At first, Baltazar’s ship managed to outmaneuver the Le Terrible and avoid getting hit by her cannon fire. Gilles brought the ship around a couple of times to alternate between the aft cannons and the starboard broadside. The Le Terrible were unable to keep up.

This seemed to work well for him at first, but this was short-lived as the French warship brought her massive forward cannons to bear. The first shot missed the ship completely, but the second one struck a devastating blow. The shot ripped through the rigging and struck the fore-mast.

There was a loud crackling sound as the mast began to lean to port and collapsed over the side of the ship. Baltazar eyes widened as the battle unfolded, “No…”

The group watched helplessly as the now-crippled Black Vengeance struggled to defend herself. They quickly reloaded their cannons and tried to fire off another broadside. Baltazar could see that they were firing at the waterline, hoping to deal a quick, crippling blow. This proved futile and the Le Terrible began to pick up speed. The loud grunts of the oarsmen could be heard even at their distance.

Within moments, the massive ram impacted on the starboard side of the Black Vengeance. The entire ship jerked violently to port from the sheer force of the blow. Loud snapping noises shot through the air as the hull cracked. It was as though the ship had been forced out of the water as she was driven back.

Even from their extreme distance, the group could see that the Le Terrible had dealt a deathblow to the Black Vengeance. Her hull was split in half and the ship was sinking. Gunshots could still be heard from the deck, but they were slowly becoming few and far in between.

Baltazar fell backwards into the boat. He would have fallen over the side, but Papi was there to catch him. Aralyn covered her face with her hands and began to cry, “No… Morgan, Gilles… the crew… please, no! We have to thelp them!”

“We can’t…” Lailah replied as she clasped her hands together while watching the Black Vengeance sink. “Most High, save them…”

Papi shook his head, “This can’t be happening…”

Baltazar straightened out and realized that they were still in danger, “We need to get going. I don’t know if those French bastards saw us or not, but I’d rather not stick around to find out.”

Lailah nodded, “I agree, let’s make sure their sacrifice was not in vain.”

“They shouldn’t have been sacrificed at all.” Aralyn replied through clenched teeth. “They were my family… the only one I know.”

Baltazar took the oar and started rowing again. He refused to utter a single word. Lailah turned back to face the angered Aralyn, “You are absolutely right, they shouldn’t have been… but that is not for us to decide. The Most High has a plan for everyone… it’s not for us to understand why and it never was.”

Aralyn felt the rage build up inside of her. She folded her legs and jumped over Papi’s head, landing in front of Lailah, “Who the hell are you to say that? They were my friends, my family. How dare you… they had to be sacrificed so that we could make it to the cave? What madness is this?”

Lailah sat back defensively, “Stay your anger, you’re going to sink the boat!”

Papi grabbed Aralyn by the shoulders and held on. She fought to get back at Lailah, “How many more sacrifices do I have to make? Mama, Papa, Sister Mary, Morgan, Gilles, and the crew! How many more? If the Most High can just sit by and let it happen, then maybe I’m fighting for the wrong side!”

Lailah was about to respond when she saw Aralyn’s eyes begin to glow red, “No… Aralyn, stay your anger, now!”

Baltazar noticed the look on Lailah’s face and turned to look at Aralyn. When he realized what was going on, he touched her cheek, “Aralyn… please calm down. I know how you feel, but this won’t solve anything.”

Tears fell from her eyes as she turned to Baltazar, “Who is next, you? Am I expected to give you up as well?”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Baltazar replied. “The devil himself will never be able to rip you from my arms. I promise!”

The redness faded from her eyes and she lost consciousness. Baltazar placed her on the back of the boat and allowed her to rest. The boat entered the cave and, to everyone’s surprise, began moving without the use of oars. Baltazar and Papi placed the oars in the boat and secured them. Once the work was done, Baltazar looked back at Aralyn, “Mr. Clement, see what you can do for her.”

Papi nodded and slowly pushed himself to the back of the boat. Baltazar turned and looked at Lailah, “I think it’s time you and I had a talk.”

Lailah nodded, “It does seem unavoidable.”

“What’s happening to Aralyn?” He demanded. “Why does that keep happening to her eyes? It’s like when she get’s angry or upset, she becomes possessed.”

Lailah’s expression didn’t change and not even her eyes moved, “That’s pretty much exactly what’s happeneing. The one you love walks on a narrow precipice between good and evil. If she sways even a little, it allows Legion to move in and attack. When that happens, her mind may abandon any sense of reason. If Legion gets to her at her most vulnerable point, he could easily twist her mind to his will. “

Baltazar’s jaw dropped open, “So that is why you were questioning my intentions…”

“Exactly.” Lailah replied. “I know that I come off as harsh, but I bear no ill will towards you. I had to be absolutely certain that you weren’t going to hurt her. Anger, sadness, fear, pain, and sorrow… they are all negative emotions. In their most extreme form, they can lead a person to madness. In her case, it would wear down the mental barriers that were put in place to protect her long ago.”

“What can I do?” Baltazar asked. “I won’t let her fall.”

Lailah smiled, “What you’ve been doing and continue to do so well… Love her, protect her, and do everything you can to prevent her from feeling pain.”

“That’s a tall order.” Baltazar replied. “With the loss of the Black Vengeance, and everything else she’s been through, keeping her happy is going to be near impossible.”

“It will be…” Lailah admitted. “I can sense that you care for her… but there may come a time when you have to choose between her well-being and her happiness.”

Baltazar looked confused, “Aren’t they one in the same?”

“Not always,” Lailah replied.

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

+

+ advice, fantasy, Fiction, literature, Science Fiction, Uncategorized, Writing

The Cameo Takeover #Writing #Author #Advice

by Unknown's avatar

Hi Jim,

I’m trying to write a new story and have a few characters make cameos from the previous one. Basically my story is set in the same timeline and one or two characters make appearances in order to connect the stories. However I seem to run into issues with the cameo characters taking over the story. I’ve had to do a rewrite a few times. Can you help me?

Thanks,
Michaela

 

Mi Micahaela,

If you’re having so much trouble limiting your old characters’ appearances… why not make the new story about them? If you love your characters so much that you can’t help but keep writing about them, there is no rule saying that you can’t just make the story about them with maybe your new characters simply joining the team.

The other thing you can do is give your character cameos one or two scenes and then cut them off completely. Don’t bring them back in and don’t mention them again, just make a clean break.

Without knowing more details about the characters, I’m afraid I can’t offer too much more in the way of guidance. Please feel free to email me when you get a chance.

Readers, what about you? Any other advice?

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have multiple published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

 

+

+ advice, fantasy, Fiction, literature, Opinion, Science Fiction, Writing

Audience/Reader Sensitivity #Writing #Author #Advice

by Unknown's avatar

Hi Jim,

I have a problem I was hoping you could help me with a rather… sensitive issue. I’ve written a book that deals with a lot of cultural issues. I’ve gone to great lengths to keep my writing as inoffensive as possible, as I want people from all walks of life to be able to read it, enjoy it, and maybe find themselves in it. However… I’ve recently been getting hate mail and negative reviews from people calling some of what I’ve written offensive. I really don’t want to get into great detail for my own protection, but I was wondering if you had any advice on dealing with accusations of bigotry and negative reviews.

Thanks,
(Anonymous by request.)

Hello,

You’re in quite the bind there, I’ll definitely tell you. First of all, there’s nothing you can do about negative reviews. They’re par for the course when it comes to putting media out there for public consumption, so that’s something you’ll most likely have to live with. If you have reason to believe that the negative reviews are trolling or someone who didn’t read the book, there are methods to appeal them with Amazon, GoodReads, Etc. So you might consider that approach.

As to your other problem… having not heard the other side, nor read your work, I’m going to be functioning on the assumption that you didn’t put anything into your book that is blatantly bigoted… or if you did, you framed it in a way that was appropriate to the story. If you basically rewrote Mien Kampf, you’re getting what’s coming to you, but again, I’m going to assume that’s not the case, given what you’ve told me.

Unfortunately, in the current climate we live in, people have a heightened sensitivity to pretty much every social issue on the planet. It seems almost completely unavoidable. Some say it’s because they were raised to believe that they were special and that the world owed them something… others say that these issues have always been around, but social media just really put a magnifying glass on them.
I personally think that the truth is somewhere in between, though I would note that the debate on political correctness vs. free speech is fairly troubling. We’re living in pretty stressful times.

This is honestly part of the reason I don’t tackle social or political issues in any sort of overt way. Yes, they make their way into my writing, but not with the intention of making a political statement. I just go where my fingers take me and people seem to like my work.

Okay, back on topic. At the risk of generalizing people… likely the people you are dealing with who are calling you a bigot are one of two kinds of people;

  1. People with heightened sensitivities and insecurities. These people typically see social problems where ever they look and if they don’t find any, they’re pretty good at creating issues for them to complain about.
  2. People looking to cause trouble. Yes, unfortunately, there are people out there that actively look to spark some kind of social outrage, usually for their own gain. Either they want to get their name out in the public or they want to get something out of whoever gets in their sights.
  3. Legitimate people pointing out a problem. Again, I’m assuming you didn’t rewrite Mien Kampf. However, maybe something in your writing is unintentionally off. Maybe you unintentionally wrote a character as a bad stereotype?

I would re-read your work and if you believe #3 is what you’re dealing with… This is a little more difficult to advise on. I don’t typically recommend revising the original work, but if you’re genuinely concerned about it, you have that option.  That being said, you might consider not changing it… again, I haven’t seen your work and I don’t know what your characters are like, but writing as an art form is supposed to challenge people, it’s supposed to move them, to anger them, to sadden them, to make them uncomfortable, and yes, to make them happy. If this is the option you go with… the best advice I can give you is to grow a thick skin.

If it’s either of the other two, I recommend ‘The Rock’ approach: Ignore it.

Why do I call it the Rock approach? Well, it’s in honor of one of my favorite actors; Dwane Johnson. Arguably one of the most beloved personalities in Hollywood has come under fire recently from cultural figures, Paralympians, and environmental figures alike…

How has he responded to all of this criticism? Well, near as I can tell, he hasn’t. He hasn’t apologized or addressed it in any way. Why do I say that this is the smart thing to do? Because it takes the wind out of their sails. Look at each of these complaints. Have they gone anywhere? Have you heard of them after the initial outcry? Not likely. If you apologize to them, you’re admitting doing something wrong, even if you don’t mean to. Often times, they aren’t looking to, and won’t be willing to, accept your apology. If you try to fight back, you’ll wind up looking like the bad guy. It’s basically a power struggle, one you’ll be hard-pressed to win.

If you say nothing, do nothing, and keep your mouth shut, they’ll be yelling into an empty box and it will likely go away faster. I know it’s not an easy thing to do… take it from someone with boiling Irish blood in his veins, but IMHO it really is the correct approach.

Remember, your writing is all about you. Does it sound good to you? Do you like what you’ve written? Is your book something you’d like to read over and over? Then that’s all that really matters. Other people may like it or may not and your book sales will reflect that, but in the end, you can only write for yourself.

Anyway, that’s my two cents. Let’s open it up to the floor. Readers, what do you think our friend here should do? Should they ignore it or attempt some kind of damage control. Let me know in the comments and let’s get the conversation going.

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

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