All posts by philgiunta@ptd.net

Articles, Blog, Craft, Opinion

About This Writing Stuff…

This week, Debbie Burke lists a dozen ways to tighten our prose while Jael R. Bakari provides an insightful guide to story development.

Dana Isaacson offers advice on keeping track of our story’s timeline, Paula Munier shows us ways to make readers fall in love with our protagonists from the first scene, and Chris Winkle discusses why some protagonists are unlikeable.

If you’re perplexed by the true meaning of premise, let Larry Brooks clear up the confusion and explain how the facets of premise should be applied to every story.

All that and a little more. Enjoy!

12 Tips to Write Tight by Debbie Burke via Anne R. Allen

Suspense in Books: 6 Ways to Grow Anticipation by Now Novel

Charting a Fictional Timeline by Dana Isaacson

Writing Process: Developing a Coherent Story by Jael R. Bakari via Jami Gold

The Grand Entrance: How to Introduce Your Protagonist so that Readers Care by Paula Munier

Seven Common Reasons Protagonists Are Unlikable by Chris Winkle

Why I Actually Prefer Stories with Prologues by Vaughn Roycroft

How to Start Writing Again When You Haven’t in a While by Sarah Gribble

How to Use Vivid Verbs to Bring Your Scenes to Life by J.D. Edwin

How to Mine the Facets of Premise for Story Gold by Larry Brooks

How to Use Simple Psychology and Basic Common Sense to Sell More Books by Barb Drodzowich via Anne R. Allen

 

 

 

 

 

Blog, Book Reviews

Book Review: The Dragon Masters by Jack Vance

The Dragon Masters by Jack VancePerhaps the last remnants of the human race eke out a meager existence on the unforgiving world of Aerlith, on which much of the terrain is little more than a craggy, mountainous wasteland. The two major and opposing settlements on Aerlith are concentrated in two valleys, each containing the only fertile soil on the planet. These forces are led by the cunning and logical Joaz Banbeck and capricious, volatile Ervis Carcolo, respectively. Carcolo, ruler of Happy Valley, is intent on destroying Banbeck and laying claim to his territory, known as Banbeck Vale.

Banbeck, however, is hardly concerned about the bumbling Carcolo. Rather, he fears that an aggressive reptilian race known as the Grephs will soon return to attack them and offers a truce to Carcolo. Although Carcolo agrees to unite with Banbeck against their common enemy, he soon decides to invade Banbeck Vale, but is effectively thwarted.

In years past, the Grephs occasionally invaded Aerlith in a large ship, abducting a number of humans and laying waste to the villages in order to keep mankind in its place and prevent them from advancing. An ancestor of Banbeck’s managed to capture several Grephs and began experimenting on them, breeding them into various species of fighting dragons known as “Juggers,” “Termagants,” “Murderers,” and more.

Among the inhabitants of both valleys lives an enigmatic and reclusive cult known simply as the “Sacerdotes.” Their members live and travel completely nude and live in the caverns and passages between the valleys. The passive Sacerdotes remain aloof from the affairs of mankind, awaiting the day when all barbaric, warmongering humans are annihilated so that they might rise and spread their message throughout the galaxy.

Banbeck learns that the Sacerdotes are constructing something in their caverns that will not only help them achieve their goal but might also be useful in defeating the Grephs—who arrive shortly after Carcolo mounts a second and more vicious offensive against Banbeck Vale!

Jack Vance excels at building his worlds methodically as the story progresses, revealing new details with every chapter. The Dragon Masters presents a milieu rich in culture, history, and action with characters that are developed adequately enough to convey a rousing story of treachery, survival, and triumph.

Blog, Book Reviews

Book Review: Jack Vance’s The Miracle Workers

The Miracle Workers by Jack VanceWhat began as a human refugee camp on the Earth-like world of Pangborn 1,600 years ago has long since evolved into a global colony. Most of the planet is ruled by Lord Faide. His only remaining opponent is Lord Ballant. On the eve of war, Faide and his troops march to invade Ballant’s kingdom. However, their way is obstructed by a forest, recently planted by the First Folk, Pangborn’s indigenous people.

The First Folk were all but slaughtered by the original human settlers and they continue to harbor a grudge against mankind. Their forest is replete with traps, but Faide and his telepathic mystics known as “Jinxmen” negotiate with the First Folk for safe passage, explaining that they have no qualms with anyone but Lord Ballant.

The First Folk guide them through safely and Faide invades Ballant-keep using a combination of weaponry and the voodoo practiced by his Jinxmen. After soundly defeating Ballant, Faide turns his attention to the First Folk who, he soon learns, are plotting against him in an attempt to take back Pangborn from the humans.

Faide and his Jinxmen soon learn that the First Folk are all but invulnerable to telepathy and voodoo. Their minds do not function as do those of men. They are also far more resourceful than anticipated.

The Miracle Workers is a brief but engaging exploration into imperialism and colonialism with an interesting twist. While Faide and his contemporaries are, in some ways, more advanced than their ancestors, they have lost the scientific and engineering prowess of the early colonists, until an apprentice Jinxman—viewed as an incompetent fool by his elders—begins experimenting with various solutions to aid Faide in his war against the First Folk.

The only disappointing aspect of the story is a lack of exposure to the First Folks’ plight. In the beginning of the story, they are merely an obstacle between Faide and Ballant. Later, they become Faide’s enemy, but are themselves never fully developed as characters. As such, it is difficult to sympathize with them. There are no individuals, only the horde. They have few lines and are mostly referred to in the third person by Faide and his men. Yes, the First Folks’ motives for destroying the humans are clear enough, but they are depicted as little more than two-dimensional creatures with bizarre physical abilities and exceptional cunning.

Articles, Blog, Craft, Opinion, Writing and Publishing

About This Writing Stuff…

This week, Anne R. Allen reminds us that a story is more than just a series of disjointed, tragic episodes. Brian Andrews encourages us to use strong opening lines while Dana Isaacson, Barbara O’Neal, and Kim Bullock offer ideas for writing through these disconcerting times.

Jami Gold lists various ways a character’s occupation can be used to enhance a story and Terry Odell urges us to foreshadow some of our character’s skills before revealing them in a pivotal scene.

All that and a little more. Enjoy!

Promoting Your Sci-Fi or Fantasy Novel on Social Media by Erica Verrillo

The Biggest Writing Craft Issue New Novelists Face, and 7 Ways to Avoid It by Anne R. Allen

How to Write a Powerful, Enticing, Intriguing, Amazing Opening Line for Your Novel by Brian Andrews

How to Write (or Not Write) about the Pandemic by Dana Isaacson

How to Write During a Pandemic, Even if it Feels Like You Can’t by Barbara O’Neal

What’s Our Character’s Job? by Jami Gold

If They Buy the Premise by Terry Odell

Description Makeover: Creating Magical Atmosphere by Chris Winkle

Crime Fiction is Complicit in Police Violence—But It’s Not Too Late to Change by Aya de Leon

Trademarks and the Writer’s Brand Strategy by Matt Knight

Writing Througnh Turbulent Times: Using Uncertainty to Enhance Your Story by Kim Bullock

A Plotstorming Technique by Jan O’Hara

 

 

 

Blog, Book Reviews

Book Review: The Pnume by Jack Vance

The Pnume by Jack VanceIn this fourth and final installment of Jack Vance’s Planet of Adventure series, astronaut Adam Reith is nearly finished construction on a spaceship that will allow him to escape the dangerous world of Tschai and return to Earth. It has been at least a year since Reith crash landed on the planet when his scout ship was shot down while attempting to land.

Since then, Reith has made both allies and enemies through his various escapades across the planet. Two of his closest companions, Traz Onmale and Anacho the Dirdirman—both outcasts from their respective societies—decided long ago to assist Reith in his efforts, as long as he takes them with him when he leaves Tschai.

After Reith obtains materials and warehouse space from the wealthy Aila Woudiver, the cunning crime lord betrays Reith and his companions to the Dirdir, who are seeking them on the charge of murder. However, Reith manages to thwart Woudiver and shackle him in the warehouse while the technicians finish building the ship.

Woudiver is not so easily defeated. He manages to signal members of the Pnume, the oldest native race on Tschai. The Pnume abduct Reith in the middle of the night and transport him to their underground lair to become a permanent addition to their Museum of Foreverness. Reith promptly escapes with the reluctant assistance of a young woman with no name. Rather, she is designated as a member of the Zith group in the Athan area of the Pagaz zone, with a rank of 210. As such, Reith names her ZAP210.

Reith and ZAP210 narrowly escape the Pnume underground and, despite various obstacles and shocking spectacles, attempt to make their way back to the city of Sivishe, where Reith’s spaceship was nearly completed before he was captured. The question is… what will he find when he arrives?

In my humble opinion, The Pnume was the weakest of the books in the series, with a thin plot that consisted mostly of Reith and ZAP210 trekking across Tschai to get back to the warehouse where Reith hopes to find a finished spaceship awaiting him. Vance uses the bulk of the story to continue building this complex and treacherous world of Tschai by introducing the reader to an entirely new spate of races and cultures that were unexplored in the first three books. He does a fair job of presenting a coming of age story for ZAP210 as she unwillingly transforms from a sheltered, frail waif into a courageous voyager in her own right.

Blog, Book Reviews

Book Review: UBIK by Philip K. Dick

Ubik by Phil K DickIn a time when cryo-technology allows the recently deceased to maintain brain activity for years in cold storage, successful businessman Glen Runciter consults with his late wife, Ella, who has been dead for over two decades. Glen and Ella manage a company that employs a team of anti-telepaths with a unique ability to seek out and neutralize telepaths who pose a danger to society.

Many of the best telepaths work for Ray Hollis, Runciter’s main competitor. When several of Hollis’s top employees go missing all at once, Runciter fears a plot is afoot and seeks Ella’s advice.

Meanwhile, one of Runciter’s senior recruiters, the perpetually penurious Joe Chip, brings in a new prospect with a unique ability to telepathically travel into the past and alter history. Shortly after, Runciter takes on a high-profile billionaire client who fears telepaths have infiltrated his business on the moon.

Runciter rounds up his entire staff of anti-telepaths for the mission, yet shortly after they arrive on Luna, a bomb explodes, leaving Runciter mortally wounded. Suspecting Hollis, Runciter’s team manages to get him back to their ship and into cold storage. Joe Chip assumes immediate control of the firm and flies directly to a moratorium in Zurich to have Runciter placed into cryo storage so that he can be connected with Ella and made available for consultation.

However, the moratorium is unable to stimulate the necessary brain activity and Runciter is declared dead. Almost immediately, Joe Chip and his team begin experiencing time regression, slowly at first, then accelerating until they end up in 1939. All the while, cryptic messages begin to appear, presumably from Runciter himself. Is the man truly dead, or is this a mind game inflicted by Hollis’s telepaths? How does a mysterious product called Ubik play into this nightmare?

Ubik is one of the most brilliant and exciting stories I’ve ever read and now ranks among my top five favorite SF novels along with Flow My Tears, Said the Policeman, another masterpiece from the unrivaled genius of Philip K. Dick.