There’s Nothing to Say
Good afterevenmorn, Readers!
I have to admit, I’m a little stuck as to what to share with you today, given the horrendous news cycle. I am struggling to think of anything else but all the awful things that are going on in the wider world, save for the current work in progress that I have finally begun writing again after many, many months off (I was supposed to have finished this book in February). And I can’t really talk about that since, the book being in the unfinished first phase rough, no one will know what the hell I’m referring to when I do talk about it.
I’m not sure that even if I had anything constructive to say directly regarding this WIP that it would do any good, as it is the third book in a series, and I haven’t even bothered to shop the first book yet. There’s no point in trying to create buzz around a book that doesn’t even have a publication date… and may not, depending on how well it does during submission. I mean, I don’t have a book coming out until 2026, and if the first book were to be picked up, it’d be published maybe 2027 if I’m extremely lucky. Likely much later.
Incidentally, part of the reason I haven’t submitted the first book in the series anywhere yet is because I wanted to make sure the series was complete before I signed any contracts for the first. I don’t want to be *that* author who starts a series and it never gets finished. So, all I can say is that I’ve restarted writing the first draft of the final book in The Three Worlds War series. So, yay. Personal progress, but not really something I can blog about here.
There were a couple of depressing articles I’d read this week around writing. One was a lament for the reception of writers in America (and Canada, too, I’d argue) and how it vastly differs from the reception of writers in Europe (specifically France, in this article, and specifically for the crime/American Noire genres). I could wax lyrical about the strange anti-intellectualism that has taken root in countries like America, Canada and Australia which sees authors daring to make commentary on the state of their own societies in fiction receive vile abuse or even death threats. I’m already in quite a depressed mood, thought. So that’s probably not something I have the magic slots to tackle today. You can read the article for yourself here if you like. I do recommend it. It was a very good read, even if it made me a little sad.
I suppose I could talk about book piracy, as it has come across my feed once more. I might explain to those who don’t already know that very few authors have the funds of, say, J.K. Rowling or John Scalzi, and that piracy of our books is such a detriment to us that we may never be published again; if publishers don’t make money from our books, we get dropped. If we get dropped, that makes it harder to sell our next title. If we can’t sell our next title, we have nowhere to turn, and so we must abandon our vocation and find employment elsewhere, depleting our time and energy. Some never get to write again. The world misses out on our next title.
I might note that reader entitlement baffles me, and that I’ll never understand why so many people are so willing to destroy an author’s chance of success for a free read. I’d probably note how embittering it might be to see these people call out for and help fund pirating sites, when they could be doing the same for their local libraries… which would provide both free reads and a legitimate stream of income and track-record of sales/interest for the authors who can’t rely on their names to sell books (so, like, the vast majority of us). Everybody wins! I could probably complain bitterly (as I often do in my real life), how most authors are very poor, and how even those that sell relatively well don’t make much money these days. Some of us poor saps are working three or more jobs. I might weep about how many books I could have written this year if I could make a viable income from my writing and not be working more than three jobs just to ensure I have a roof over my head.
Just thinking about it, though, makes me grind my teeth and pull at my hair, so it’s a topic best avoided.
I might come to the defence of video games, which have once again, been blamed for violence and also maligned as an inferior vessel for story entertaining. On the first, I would probably point to the countless studies that have disproved that link, but that would be like beating a dead horse. The people who know this know this, and those who don’t are refusing to, at this point.
So too, I think, would my many examples of brilliant stories told via the medium of video games. One, The Last of Us, has been adapted to a much-acclaimed television show of the same name, with events and plot beats that were almost lifted directly out of the game. I could talk about two other games that are currently being adapted; the absolutely brilliant Ghost of Tsushima (for which I’m incredibly excited, given the director currently attached), and God of War, whose 2018 release was amongst one of the best stories I’ve had the pleasure to experience. I’ve already talked about though, and it’s clear to anyone paying attention that the games coming out are not your grandparents video games. They’re exceptional stories, as are so many others that haven’t been picked up for adaptation. Anyone who wants to know already knows, though.
Besides, it would be like preaching to the choir for most folks reading this.
No, there really isn’t anything worth writing about, give the state of… well… everything, not to mention my mood. Best leave it alone and try again next time.
I hope you’re all doing well, and that the news of late hasn’t brought you too low. Was this entire blog post a bit of a cheeky? Yes. But my brain is legitimately scrambled (I blame the heat) and so you get a bunch of things that have been occupying it. Let me know if anything I brought up sparked something you would like a deeper dive into. Otherwise, the news has been really awful, so we should all take a bit of a breather, and maybe highlight something good in our lives; be it an event or accomplishment. I’ll start.
I’m genuinely proud to have gotten re-started on that final book in The Three Worlds War series. Hopefully I can keep it up this time! Your turn.
Ciao!
When S.M. Carrière isn’t brutally killing your favorite characters, she spends her time teaching martial arts, live streaming video games, and cuddling her cat. In other words, she spends her time teaching others to kill, streaming her digital kills, and a cuddling furry murderer. Her most recent titles include Daughters of Britain, Skylark and Human. Her serial story, The New Haven Incident, uploads every Friday, and can be found here.
Yeah, you’d be totally preaching to the choir about how videogames are an excellent storytelling medium, but– …what’s the phrase? Oh, yes. “Sing it, sister!” Indeed, today’s games can be but not must be like the original games (though I’d argue that text-based video games from the days of the TI 99-4A have always been powerful for storytelling; the unsung authors behind those have their own cult followings of fans) of Pong and Galaga. Anecdote in point being, my father came to visit for a few minutes one day, several years ago, and stayed far longer than he intended in order to watch the Witcher 3 run I was playing. He finds the book series unappealing, but he found the game fascinating and charming and almost movie-like, if still grim.
(Hmm. I wonder if that means an author who struggles to break into some market segments might win new reader-customers by allowing a story to be turned into a video game, whereby difficult readers can “read” the story in their own style in addition to the author’s original voice.)
Players don’t play the King’s Quest games for the mechanics and speed runs– at least, not the ones who faithfully made fan games and pushed for decades for the revival that finally happened a few years ago. No, they do it for love of the story and their relationship to the characters. And who made financially decent on the Monkey Island conclusion of two years ago? The people longing for an end to the story or those whose parents or cool uncles vouched that this game would not fail to be funny and written well. When flame wars happen over Metroid, Sonic the Hedgehog, or GTA, the longest-lasting and most vicious are not about which character is best or who could beat whom, but about little inconsistencies that game creators didn’t realize they’d put into the lore. Storytelling becomes amazingly personal to players of video games.
Eh. End of tirade/soliloquy. In summary, sure, I’d love to read a deeper dive into the subject of video games as a storytelling medium.
Re.: Accomplishments and good things
Congratulations on resuming your trilogy! That decision to conclude first is kind to your readers and potentially a lucrative choice on your part. It’s rare, but I’ve heard of publishers who jump on a finished series and do a concentrated advertising campaign for the whole thing, releasing at four-month intervals to drive anticipation and purchases. Praying for your enjoyment in writing that third book.
Recent good news includes the fact that my new-to-me senior cat who initially had a near-fatal blood pressure of 260 is now down to 160 with medication management. We’ll continue to work on that. And accomplishments-wise, my one known repeat reader (who puts up with a lot of short stories and project scraps from me) has tickled me pink by asking for more of working title “Not That Interesting.” Bad timing, since I was on a roll with a slice-of-life story, but really amusing that the genre mash-up that I’d least expected to charm anyone now has an audience.
Hi,
New to this thread and Black Gate too, though I’d heard about the magazine. Have you ever considered self-publishing your trilogy? I totally agree that the timelines are long if you go that route (even if an agent likes your work enough to represent it to a publishing house). Sure, it’s validating to be signed by an acquisitions editor and the trad route relieves the author of some of the tedium of covers/file setup/editing etc, but the author is still on the hook to market their stuff. Anyway, best luck!
BTW, though I’m a huge fan of REH (not so much of a fan of more modern S&S), I have yet to try writing S&S. I have written 4 modern fantasies (not romantasies!) and 1 historical fantasy – yep, they’re self-published on Amazon, but professionally edited and, I think, in better shape than much of the trad stuff out there.
Peter