Fablehaven Book 4 Launch

One of the great things about living in Utah is learning from the fabulous mass of authors that consider Utah home. I've had the wonderful opportunity several times in the last six months to meet authors like Shannon Hale, James Dashner, Brandon Mull, Tracy and Laura Hickman, Jessica Day George, and several more. Last week I attended small portions of Brandon Mull's release activities for Fablehaven Book 4: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary.

Brandon attended a pre-launch party book signing at Deseret Book in Midvale, UT on Tuesday, March 24th. Even though my daughter and I arrived twenty minutes early (a lot later than I hoped for) we were about thirtieth in line. By the time the book signing began the line nearly went out the back entrance after swirling around several rows of books, crafts, etc. Even though the line was long (and Brandon was a little late) he still took the time to talk to each person as he signed their books and posed for pictures.



Later that evening I arrived late to the launch party to see a mass of teens and their parents leaving from the Cottonwood High School auditorium in Murray, UT. When I entered the auditorium to see what I missed there were still hundreds of people milling around checking out the dragon decorated stage, grabbing posters, and talking about the fun presentation that had just occurred. In the hallways outside of the auditorium there were booths for purchasing Fablehaven t-shirts, people decorated up as characters from the books, and games for everyone to participate in. Overall it was an amazing book release party (even if I did miss the main part).



Brandon was not the only author at the release party. I also saw James Dashner and Shannon Hale there. It would seem that even well published authors enjoy attending and supporting their fellow authors.



As I continue the process to become a published author, I look forward to a time down the road when I can participate in a release party of my very own. If you ever need motivation to keep on writing check out any book signings or release parties that are scheduled near you and go see what the future may hold for you. Keep up the good work on your writing and don't give up hope.

Partner in Crime

I've made a command decision. My dear friend Stephanie as aided and abetted me in my efforts over the last eight drafts of Nedara book one with edits and advice. She has been of such tremendous help and unflinching support that I've decided to make her the co-author of this series. I think she will bring a fresh look to the book and help me to fill in holes that may still be preventing this work from being a marvelous book and turning it into a FANTASTIC book.

So my piece of advice in regards to writing is...do not be afraid to admit where you are weak and seek out the help of someone who can help you become stronger in those areas. Keep up the great work. I'm rooting for you.

LTUE - How to Make a Novel Fill 100,00 Words

How Novelists Fill 100,000 Words and Still Keep the Story Interesting Panel Discussion with David Farland, Tracy Hickman, Laura Hickman, Paul Genesse, L.E. Modesitt Jr., and Brandon Sanderson - To ensure that a novel reaches its fullest potential (and exceeds 100,000 words) the bonus (or the foundation) of the book must be solid, well built, and well put together. - Instead of doing a load dump at the beginning of the book describing the story setting try to interweave the details throughout the story. - Let tension continue to build throughout the story so that something that should have been attainable seems less and less attainable as the story progresses. - The reader has to feel a sense of progression throughout the story. There are three ways of doing this:

 - a trave log - where main characters are moving to different locations to achieve their goal

 - a time bomb - where the main characters are in one location but time is counting down to something bad happening and they have to stop it

 - the reader has to learn something new providing a sense of continuing revelation

- To have a really good story and one that reaches 100,000+ words you should make the bad guys really smart. Anybody in a position to dominate a society, city, people, etc., will not be slow or an idiot. Try to have the bad guy one step ahead of the heroes through a good portion of the story. - Make your main characters think that the world is "this way" and then realize/learn that their view of the way the world is is not really the truth. - The villain needs to be convinced that he/she is the good guy and is the one who is absolutely convinced that he/she is the one saving the world. - Use characters to extend the story length

 - give your hero flaws that lead to confrontations or avoidances

 - add more conflict for or to your characters which causes them to make choices which have consequences

 - ask the evil guy who he thinks the good guy is as a person

 - ask why your main character is the person to save the world

I do hope that you find this information as helpful as I did in helping you to lengthen your stories. Don't give up hope and keep up the great work!!!

LTUE - The Moral Universe of the Runelords

The Moral Universe of the Runelords
Discussion with David Farland author of "Of Mice and Magic", "The Runelords", "Mummy Chronicles" and much more.

- Readers don't always read what you wrote with the intent that you meant.

- In fantasy there tends to always be black and white, but you should re-evaluate what you have written to identify any ambiguity which you might be able to play around with.

- When writing you have to realize that, even though it may be hard to write, sometimes good people are forced to make ugly decisions. Be willing to make your good characters make decisions that aren't perfect (i.e. a person having to take someone else's powers in order to eventually overpower the ultimate evil even though they don't want to take people's powers in the first place.)



Author David Farland has an email that he sents out five times a week to other writers called David Farland's Kick In The Pants. It is full of great insight into the publishing industry, as well as tips for how to become a better writer. If you would like to receive these emails please email David at davidfarland@xmission.com and say "Kick me!" I highly recommend it.


Next time I will post notes on How to Make a Novel Fill 100,000 Words and Still Keep It Interesting

LTUE - Myth & Mythology

Alright, so after a week hiatus of posting here is additional information from "the Life, the Universe, and Everything" Sci-Fi/Fantasy Symposium that I attended last month.


Myth & Mythology
Panel Discussion with John Brown, Mette Ivie Harrison, L.E. Modesitt Jr., Aprilynne Pike, and Nathan Shumate


- Fantasy is making "myths" and "mythic characters" personal. Myth is about the inexplicable.

- If you choose to base your story (or part of your story) from a myth make sure to include references to that myth throughout the entire story rather than in one great big information dump.

- Feel free to re-write the myth to tell the story that you want to tell and the lesson that you want to learn.

- Keep in mind that there has to be a limitation to power/magic. Your characters can't simply be able to do anything they want. There has to be a downside to their use of power (i.e. draining of energy, can only work at midnight, etc.). Remember:Characters are "cool" because of their strengths but "interesting" because of their "weaknesses."


I hope that you find this information helpful in your journey to write a better story. I know that it is helping me. Keep up the good work and good luck!!!