Injuries and Fantasy

"You know there's nowhere else I wanted to be, than be there when you needed me. I'm sorry too, but don't give up on me. And just remember that while you were asleep I got a little bit closer to you..." -The Wallflowers, Closer to You

So we all know that characters get injured in fantasy. It's almost a requirement, right? You can't face danger without coming away scarred from it somehow. Sometimes injuries heal practically without effect (Luke's hand in Star Wars), sometimes the effect is delayed (Frodo in Lord of the Rings), and sometimes injuries are permanent and crippling (Bran in Game of Thrones).

But, without fail, these injuries are catastrophic. A hand is cut off, a hobbit is stabbed by a ringwraith, a young boy is thrown from a tower. Chronic, nagging injuries don't get the same sort of page time.

My questions is, why not? Sure, there's something to be said for the fact that main characters are meant to be special, often in some way a fantastic representation of the reader, and most readers don't like to dwell on the fact that their knees hurt when they go mountain climbing, or they get tennis elbow if they swing a tennis racket, let alone a sword, or they get shin splints from running too much.

But given the verisimilitude that many works of fantasy shoot for, it seems that chronic injuries should pop up a little more often, if not with the same focus that catastrophic injuries often have. The only work I can think of that does it is Dragonlance, and then only with Flint's heart and arthritis---the younger characters are all fit as a fiddle, despite the fact that chronic injuries can start in the teens. (Go visit your local high school training room if you don't believe me).

Just some food for thought.

Drastic Changes

"I feel fine with the sun in my eyes, the wind in my hair, we're falling out of this sky..."-The Wallflowers, When You're On Top

At what point in your manuscript process do you stop making drastic changes? Hopefully, I think, that point is never. Despite having worked on Soulwoven in various iterations for more than eight years, I'm still making huge changes to it in its latest draft. Specifically, I'm evaluating eliminating a point-of-view character. Or rather, not eliminating him, but eliminating his point-of-view.

You see, I discovered through the process of workshopping the first portion of the book that he was boring. And I mean discovered--not was told. I was told, to be certain, but not believing everything you're told is an essential component of workshopping. As I went back and re-read, however, I discovered that this time my friends were right. He was boring.

I kept writing anyway, even though I wasn't quite sure how to fix him. I just filed it away under "to be completed later" and kept on moving through the story. There was enough work to be done in other areas that leaving him a little boring for the moment was alright.

Eventually, I fixed him. His character changed significantly--became more withdrawn, more serious, less troubled. He's much more interesting now---a little mysterious to the others, a little above them, and most importantly practical even to the point of heartlessness.

In short, he's a lot better. Unfortunately, the changes I've made to him will mean completely re-writing and possibly scrapping two chapters from his point-of-view early in the novel that I thought were particularly well done. Specifically, going too deep into his motivations, his demons, and his backstory too early will absolutely destroy the mystery that serves him so well, and I'm not sure I can do these two chapters through his eyes without doing that.

And the reason I'm writing this is because one of the things that has been hardest for me in the past is being willing to let go of great scenes and chapters I've written when they don't serve the story any more, and trusting in my ability to write new ones to take their place, and it's very, very, essentially, important to do.

Besides, as long as you hold on to your old drafts there's nothing to lose. You do hang on to your old drafts, right? ;-p

Publishers Lunch

"Now dance, f***er dance, man he never had a chance..."-The Offspring, You're Gonna Go Far, Kid

Alright. Publishers Lunch is something I've seen plugged and plugged and advertised over and over again on agent blogs. For years, I never took the time to check it out, because I surmised it wouldn't have much to do with me as a writer.

And for the most part, I think that's true. I finally signed up for it a few weeks ago, and discovered that it doesn't have much if anything about writing, and blogs like Nathan Bransford's and Kristin Nelson's (linked on the sidebar) do an excellent job of summarizing and analyzing its more important articles.

BUT...(there's always a but, isn't there?) for anyone looking to get into the publishing industry, I think it's priceless (and coming in at the low, low, price of free, that's pretty good value). Not only does it provide a list of interesting things happening all across the world in the publishing industry (which gives you something to talk about with potential employers), but its job board is second to none. I mean seriously. The major job sites have nothing in terms of publishing jobs, but every week one or two new, legit, non-scam entry-level positions come straight to my inbox. That's pretty incredible.

AND...we all know by now my stance on writers working in the publishing industry for a stint, even if it's just in an entry-level or internship position. To sum up: invaluable.

So don't be like me and wait four or five years to check it out. Go sign up now. Trust me, it's worth it.

If It's Advertised on Facebook...

"You'll always be the next in line..."- Meese, Next in Line

...it's probably not real. Saw an ad on facebook today for a literary agency, requesting writers to submit to it, and thought "Yeah. Sure. Let's go check out this scam and see what their angle is."

Seems their angle is viruses and spyware, judging by the many warnings that popped up from Avast! as soon as I clicked on the link. Lucky my computer wears protection. So yeah, writer beware. Real literary agencies and publishing companies don't need to solicit submissions. They get more than they can handle just by having a website that's searchable by google.

And never trust anything you see in a sidebar ad on facebook, either...although that ad to become a professional bassist in two weeks looks pretty tempting---damn! More viruses!