Is there (or should there be) a natural evolution in fantasy? By that I mean most fantasies have been set in something like the Middle Ages. Everything from castles to swords, archers and knights on horseback, taverns with roasting meat on a spit, and on and on. I’m not knocking that, but at the same time I find myself exploring an evolutionary path in my fantasy. That’s why I placed the Iron Elves in something like the Napoleonic era. I enjoyed mixing gunpowder and cannons with swords and magic.

So I guess what I am asking is, where would all these Medieval-like fantasies be 500 years on? Would gunpowder be invented? What about the sciences? Physics and astronomy? Medicine? I believe these worlds would evolve, but that’s not the same as saying they should, at least from a literary entertainment perspective. For the most part readers seem to be OK with evolution/progression in fantasy. But clearly, traditional fantasy still abounds. What’s changed or evolved appears to be the elimination of elves and dwarves and a downplaying of magic, at least judging by the success of series like Game of Thrones.

We’re chatting about this now over on FaceBook.

I’m still in the throes of a productive writing binge. The more I allow myself the freedom to write without editing every sentence a dozen times the faster and smoother the process goes. For those looking to break a logjam or generally get things moving I’ve found the following have been helpful:

1. No music, no tv, just a fan for white noise
2. No internet connection while writing
3. Throwing in ??? placeholders whenever I get to a place that I’m not sure about or need to do more research on this. This allows me to keep writing and not stop while I look up the various kinds of materials used to make crossbow strings in the Middle Ages.
4. Setting a goal of a scene at a time. I envision the arc of the scene, think about what I want it to convey, then write it out, knowing I’ll refine it later.
5. Minimal re-reading of previous scenes. I skim what I wrote to make sure I’m continuing in the same tone, but I resist editing the earlier scenes at this point because the intention is to move the story forward.
6. Checking in with the senses. As I write the dialogue I consider what the characters might be hearing, smelling, seeing etc. It alleviates the white room syndrome and through the details plot ideas expand.
7. Most important of all (for me) is I refuse to flay myself when a scene doesn’t initially work. Instead of spiraling down, I shrug it off and take a new swing at it. I couldn’t really do this before because the process was soooooo slow, so I would instead edit and re-edit until my eyes bled. Now that I am writing faster I find I am far more willing to junk big chunks of text because I can create more quite readily.

I’ll say it up front, I don’t watch reality tv (unless you count shows like Deadliest Catch) so I won’t be checking out the reality shows, but some of the scripted shows sound really interesting. Rewind sounds cool and reminds me of a short story a writer presented when I was at Clarion way back in 2000. High Moon and Defender so like they could be good, too. One Mile Straight Down sounds a lot like SeaQuest, which I did enjoy for a while. You can check out the shows and a rundown of what they’re about here – http://www.deadline.com/2012/04/syfy-thinks-big-with-biggest-ever-development-slate-upfronts/#comment-2586025

I was out early for breakfast before it rained, and am currently at home puttering around the apartment. For those not familiar with the term, puttering is a much nicer way of saying procrastinating. I have done the dishes, gathered up the laundry, tidied up the counter, thrown out some papers, done a little reading, and dusted a couple of shelves, which well nice, does not add up to writing.  The synapses have not been resting, however, and I’ve come up with a new twist in the current book I’m writing, and an idea for a short story or novella involving some of the characters from the Iron Elves. I’m even toying with the idea of a graphic novel. However, my art skills are not exactly high caliber so I’m going to have to find an artist to do the visuals.

Oh, and if you notice some oddities with the site, it’s currently in the process of being switched so there are a few hiccups that need ironing out. For the most part, though, it appears to have made the transition well.

Cheers,

Chris

It’s been a looooooong road to recovery, but it feels like I’ve finally conquered my injury issues with running. It was beautiful here yesterday so I ventured out in the park and went for a four mile run. Won’t say it was better than sex, but it was very nice 🙂 Changing my running mechanics to a midfoot style from a heavy heel strike has made all the difference in the world. I feel like a new man.

I very much want to go running again today, but this is how I get into trouble. I push and push until something breaks, or at least cracks. So I am going to go for a walk, or perhaps the gym, and do a whole lot of writing. The next novel is progressing well and everything is on track to be handed in this autumn.