The Writers' Blag

Writing About Religion

2009-07-02T19:12:00.000-07:00

There are some books where religion is the focus. Take apologetics, for example. Apologetics is not just about religion, it is religion. There are other books, however, where religion is not the central theme and where God takes the back seat. That said, I'm working on a novel right now where religion is not the main theme. Yes, it's a large theme, but it's not the main theme. And I realized that, as I was writing the Prologue, I was writing too dominantly on the religious theme.

In response to the Prologue, I received this email from a critic:

The only thing that bothered me was, depending on your intended audience, the religious bits and pieces are a little heavy. Depending on what's in the messenger bag and if you really want to sock a moral/religious message to the reader I would suggest making [your ancillary character's] conversion, as well as [your main character's] devotion, part of the story later and interweave it so the audience doesn't see it coming; maybe having things revealed at the very end such as [your main character] dedicating his life to God and finding peace and forgiveness despite his illness. As if [your main character's] peace about his death in the beginning would shock [your ancillary character] (and the reader) but then later it will be better understood by [your ancillary character] following his own conversion and closer walk with the Lord and when further is revealed to him about [your main character's] character via the Messenger Bag.

As a general observation, most people (unreligious and closed minded religious folk) are turned-off when someone immediately launches into any sort of belief/ thought system. They sort of close their minds (and hearts) and go into defense mode. So it's always best to open very softly, disguising it and almost making it a mystery that the reader will be enticed to enter into, á la Jesus' parables.

And I agree with her. I think it's best, especially if you're not targeting (see previous post) religious folk, to not start out with a defined theological belief system. Indeed it turns people away, and as a writer, you will have a better chance of capturing a larger audience's attention if you work it in slowly as the story progresses.

That's all I have. Perhaps I'll write another one of these in a year or so.

On Target Audiences

2008-08-12T20:35:00.000-07:00

Jonas: Today's discussion will deal with the target audience of our writing, that is, if we have one. So the first question is... Who do you write for? Do you write purely for yourself, or do you have some type of person you wish to read your work?

Since I asked the question, I will answer first.

I write mainly for an audience, but who exactly I am writing to varies with the type of work I am doing. I focus heavily on sci-fi and occasionally fantasy, and my main focus is the male demographic, as I generally deal with traditionally male themes, such as war, fighting, combat, etc... Not to say there aren't women who enjoy my work, but those are a distinct minority. However, if I decide to do something that has themes dealing with romance, then my demographic shifts more to women than men. That isn't to say that my male friends don't like it, just that I get more of a response from my female friends.

Phillip: Like Jonas, my target audience depends heavily on what I'm writing in the moment.

That said, I usually don't stray too far from fantasy-related themes in my writing. If I do, I'm usually writing some type of apologetics work. When I write about fictional worlds and characters who have superhuman abilities, I usually target teens around my age (I'm sixteen, for the record) as well as older generations who appreciate that sort of literature.

Jonas: I still wonder who would appreciate my kind of literature.

Phillip: Because my writing style is still developing and will most likely continue to develop over time, my target audience will be around my age range, just because I can relate more with us.

Jonas: What kind of readers have you attracted in the past with your writing?

Phillip: For me, I try to write for high schoolers who enjoy what I enjoy, which is mainly fiction. More specifically, I write about time travel, secret societies, prophecies, and superhuman abilities. I don't like aliens or space ship related themes (though Firefly was kick ass), which are usually reserved for the ultimate sci-fi geeks (case in point: Trekkies).

Jonas: I'm a Trekkie!

Phillip: Case in point: Jonas.

Generally speaking, since I only show my work to my target audience (the Writers' Club at my school is comprised entirely of my target audience), my readers don't fall outside the bounds of who I'm targeting.

Jonas: That is interesting, as I do put my work on a somewhat public forum (forum as in public area, not an internet forum or whatever) in which anyone could come and read, should the be directed there. As a result, there are readers that are well into their late 30's or even 40's. In addition to people my age (24 +/- 5)
I also find that generally people in their mid 20's or older appreciate the subtleties of my work more, that isn't to say someone like Phillip here wouldn't get it.
Perhaps it is the common writer's trade.

Phillip: Now that we've covered our general target audiences, we realize that we too are part of a target audience, that is, the target audience of the author's we've read. Somehow, the authors that I tend to read target the same audience as I do. For example, I enjoy reading Marianne Curley, a European author who writes extensively about time travel. In turn, I love writing about time travel. Curley has also written a series based solely around a prophecy. Need I go further?

Jonas: As I like sci-fi, and I do like it on an epic scale, one author that I enjoyed was Frank Herbert, who wrote the Dune series. In addition to that, I've recently started in on the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind, who does a good job of creating an epic tale. As for some pulp sci-fi, Michael A. Stackpole's work in several sci-fi franchises has been a big influence as well as Eric Nylund's work in a well known franchise. Also, I can't forget JKR.

Phillip: I waited in line for twelve hours for JKR. Not for her -- her book.

Jonas: That is quite admirable. I would beat kids up to get JKR's latest book. Just kidding.

All these authors aren't just stylistic contributors to work, they occasionally contribute ideas and plot points.

Phillip: The importance of target audiences to an author is really too big to be described in cyberspace, but hopefully we've contributed in some way to the discussion of the topic. Next week, we'll be back talking about the best way to write about experience, so until then, á tes souhaits.

Jonas: Á bientôt. Bis später.

NaNoWriMo, Part 2

2008-07-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

Last week, Jonas began a series of blag entries centered around NaNoWriMo. Most likely, the series of entries will last through November and beyond, tackling a new aspect of the event in each part. In Part 1, Jonas' prompt was "How do you prepare for NaNoWriMo?" In Part 2, I'm writing on the same topic, though I'll be summarizing how I personally prepare.

The short of my preparation involves writing outlines for each chapter and then using them during November. This is not against the rules of NaNoWriMo, as you may come into the event with outlines, character maps, and anything else that's not actually your story. I like knowing where my story is going, and I don't like surprises. Jonas' way of preparing (and I'm not condemning it) sends shivers down my spine, because it's like going to drive to work and you can't see but three feet in front of your car because the fog is so thick. That's not my style.

Here's the long of it:

Last year was my first year participating in NaNoWriMo. I wanted that feeling of "preparation" (partly because I didn't want to fail at my first attempt), so I bought Chris Baty's No Plot? No Problem! and devoured it. About a month before the event, I bought a college ruled composition notebook and wrote NaNoWriMo on the front of it -- this was the book that would contain all the chaos in my head. It was at that time when I began to brainstorm ideas, until I got the one I wanted.

My first novel, Fate is in Orwyne (later shortened to Orwyne), had an huge cast - I was dealing with about twenty characters. For each, I created a page-long character map, which included their relatives, likes, dislikes, and a short history. After I had finished that, I also created pages for all the aspects of the world I had created - a town map, names of minor characters and their occupations, a brief summary on the religion that I created (Soelsam), an explanation of The Prophecy, a history of societies, ancient figures, and even objects, and finally, a long list of ways to commit suicide. I wrote about everything.

After that, I took things chapter-by-chapter. To give an example, for chapter two, I titled the page "Chapter 2: Catalyst," and under that I had six bullet points describing the major events in the chapter. After I had finished outlining it, I quickly jotted down any thoughts that slipped my mind, or notes further explaining characters motivations for doing certain things.

That's how I did it. Before NaNoWriMo I got an idea, outlined it, and felt comforted in knowing where my story was going. During the event, I wrote a journal entry for just about every day, summarizing my thoughts on that day. If new characters popped into my head, I would create a map, and I even had pages titled "Impulsive thoughts - page #" where I wrote down anything that came to mind. After November 30, I created a page called "Plot Holes to Fill."

According to WriMoRadio, most first-time participants fail. I wasn't one of those who failed, and I'd like to think that my preparation had a hand in that. Of course, everyone has their own style, and mine includes heavy preparation.

qq

NaNoWriMo, Part 1

2008-07-22T15:12:00.000-07:00

Well, here's our first blag post with discussion on the writing. As you can see, it's labeled Part 1 and obviously the next one will be Part 2, and also, I'm (Jonas) is writing this part, and Phil (I'll call him Phil when he's not looking) will write the next part. So here we go.

The Prompt: How do you prepare for NaNoWriMo?

First, let's get the definition of NaNoWriMo out of the way. It's an abbreviation of NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth. Yes, quite a mouthful. I just abbreviate the abbreviation as NaNo, as in 10^-9. NaNoWriMo is an event that takes place during November in which writers attempt to write a novel (technically a novella) of 50,000 words during the allotted time, that is, 30 days. Writers are free to write whatever they choose, given that they must start Nov 1 (and end on Nov 30) and must be fiction. That comes out to be a pace of 1666.66(repeating) words a day.

As a 3-time NaNo alumnus, I have found a tried and true method of preparing for NaNo, and in fact I use this method to prepare for all my stories. Here it is: don't. Well, that doesn't mean go into NaNo with absolutely nothing. I usually have minimal preparation for the event, but here are my basic requirements.

1. A general plot - What's an important event? (at least one, more is better)
2. Characters - Names, gender, and relationships to each other.
3. Setting - Cowboys? Sci-Fi? Cowbows with laser guns?

And usually I don't have much details appended to it. Honestly, I begin the month with the barest glipse of what I want to write. I make it up as I go along. Which, as a writer and in writing a novel, is exactly what one is doing.

Let's move onto a concrete example: NaNoWriMo 2006, the second year I did it. I began the story with a core of maybe 5 important characters, and a few peripheral characters, and only their names. Well, not really their names, they were called "Lord of Torment" and "Princess of Darkness" and the like. I had one important point: Torment and the Princess form a secret alliance to take over the galaxy from the Princess' sister, the Queen of the Damned. And the setting, it was sci-fi, so space ships, and the like. And that morphed into 50,537 words at the end of the month. Of course, other things happened in the novel as I wrote, and I had side events happening. Most of the time, I was writing with only the knowledge of the current scene and perhaps a little of what was beyond.

I'll use two analogies to describe how I write. The first is taken from Psalm 119:105. "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." This verse conveys the image of a person holding a lamp at their feet so they can see the path, and the lamp only illuminates a few feet at a time. And so it is for my writing. I only know a little bit of what is next in the story, and so the light, in this case, inspiration, only gives me enough to take a step at a time.

The next analogy is like trying to walk through thick fog. Again, one can only see a few feet in front of them.

So, in short, I'm not a writer that likes heavy preparation in my writing. I tend to wing it, and just write. I just write, and write, and write. I like to say that writing is like sailing a boat, and the winds of inspiration will blow where they may and they will take you somewhere, but you don't know where, you just know that you're going somewhere. The journey is more important than the destination.

And one more thing. You know what the first rule of writing is? Love. You can know all the math in the 'Verse, but take a ~~boat~~ story in the air you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down, tells ya she's hurtin' 'fore she keens. Makes her home.

And one more thing. Plot is overrated. Inspiration will get you from page 1 to page 2, and from page 2 to the end of the story.

Hello, You've Reached The Writers' Blag

2008-07-15T20:56:00.000-07:00

Phillip: Welcome to The Writers' Blag, a website about everything related to novel writing. Jonas and I are two novelists who want to share our knowledge and experience with the world through a wobsite.

The Writers' Blag was inspired by an event called NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. During November, thousands of writers from all over the world attempt to write a fifty-thousand word novel in just thirty days. Last year, both of us participated, and we figured, in addition to other things, we would explore some different techniques to novel writing.

Jonas: As we discussed the formation of our novels, we realized that we both of us have drastically different planning styles, and we are both certain that many authors have their own way of planning out their novels, ranging from "not at all" to "meticulous detail."

And yes, we know that blag and wobsite are misspelled, but there is a reason behind the madness. The misspellings come from a webcomic known as XKCD of which I read on a regular basis and introduced to Philip.

Phillip: Now that you know a little about The Writers' Blag, we will briefly introduce ourselves.

My name is Phillip. I am a fifteen-year-old (my birthday is July 24 if you feel inclined to send me large, expensive presents), Harry Potter-obsessed, theological being, who is not particularly good at making first impressions. I tend to be very introverted and very impulsive. I have written one novel to date, and am drafting the second one, which will be written in November 2008. I am a junior in high school, and I am a dedicated member of The Writers' Club.

Jonas: I am a 24 year-old fan of sci-fi and funny turns of phrases. I prefer to simultaneously weigh all my options and go with my gut feeling. Currently, I have started many novels, but have only finished writing seven of them.

Also, I can kill you with my brain.

Phillip: Wait - you've finished seven novels?!

Jonas: Indeed.

Phillip: That's quite impressive, Jonas. Of course, you've been in the business of life for nine years longer than I have. But here at The Writers' Blag, we don't judge you by whether you've written seven novels or one novel or nothing at all (though, if you have written a novel, you've certainly seen to heights that you've never seen before). Here, we all are welcome.

So yeah, as you can probably tell, we're very into the entire "novelosphere."

Jonas: And we're getting into the blagosphere.

Phillip: Lastly, we would like to open the comments to anyone willing to send their suggestions our way. We would love if you shared your thoughts on what you think of our wobsite, or even some blag prompts for the future.

Please leave a message after the beep. BEEP