U is for Urban Fantasy

A while back we blogged F is for Fantasy. I think with the amazing explosion in popularity, Urban Fantasy (UF) deserves its own post, don't you? :) And we've got some popular UF authors to help us out.

Tempest's Legacy

Nicole Peeler, author of the Jane True series says, Urban Fantasy is fantasy set in "our" world. I put quotations around the "our," because they invoke some of the problems with the name. We don't all live in urban environments, for example, and some of our books are set in rural settings, or suburban settings.

She also says, UF is popular, because there's no one urban fantasy. Because it's a mesh of genres, different authors can emphasize different genres of their choice. So my books have a lot of romance and mystery, but others can be more traditionally fantasy, or be steampunk, or be very hard-boiled mystery with little romance, etc. There's tremendous choice within the genre, which means we bring in other readers than just traditional SF/F fans.

Jeanne Stein, author of the Anna Strong series says, Urban Fantasy is a tag assigned to a particular type of book mainly to distinguish it from paranormal romance. UF books are edgy, contemporary, set in an urban (or suburban or rural) setting generally written in the first person with a kick-ass heroine who does not depend on a male partner or lover for protection or to save her when the going gets tough. She may have a lover, may even find herself in a committed relationship, but in urban fantasy, that relationship will be constantly challenged and will not define who our heroine is or how she lives her life. The romance, if it’s there at all, will play a minor role in the story.

Chosen (Amazon) Chosen (Barnes & Nobel) Chosen (Mysterious Galaxy).

And she says, UF appeals to a wide audience. UF crosses genre boundaries by combining mystery, romance and fantasy in a unique way. It’s our world with a twist. Supernatural beings operating right here, walking among us, hiding in plain sight. I personally love the tag. If tells readers immediately that there is no happily ever after for our heroine. UF is not meant to replace paranormal romance, but to be enjoyed in addition to it.

Hexed (Amazon) Hexed (Barnes & Noble) Hexed (Mysterious Galaxy)

Werewolf Smackdown	Mario Acevedo, author of the Felix Gomez series says, UF is fantasy and fantasy creatures in a contemporary setting.
And he says, UF is so popular because it lets writers and readers play with myths and legends. And who wouldn't like sex with a hot vampire? I'm surprised by all the new and inventive twists in the genre. Meaning: sex with vampires, selkies, and demons (angels on Sunday and religious holidays).	Killing the Cobra: Chinatown Trollop

Thanks, guys! This has been fun.
Readers, be sure to check out their books. :)

T is for Theme

Once, we get the basics down in our writing, it's time to start thinking about bigger picture ideas such as theme. The theme is the main idea or message of a piece. Most pieces end up with themes, whether we plan them or not. I do think it can be a bad idea to have a specific theme in mind when you start writing. Soap box rants rarely translate into an entertaining story. (But of course, everyone has their own method.) Thus, in fiction, you should preach or teach your readers. The reader extracts the theme from the setting, action, and characters that make up the piece. Some readers won't extract a theme--and that's fine, too. That's part of the beauty of fiction, right? It's a partnership between reader and writer. :)

I realize I'm being pretty vague, so let's look at some specific examples.

1984 by George Orwell several themes (which is prefectly acceptable!). One (unrealistic!) theme is sexual repression; the Anti-Sex League and other influences basically eliminate sexual expression. Another theme is nationalism; those Party folks go way past reason to shore up loyalty, even obsession, to/for Oceania and its trappings such as Big Brother. Speaking of Big Brother, members of this society have no liberty, because they are under constant surveillance. In today, this theme is particularly chilling. Ultimately, though, readers find out it's all about power; the Inner Party members want total power over everyone else--including power over others' thoughts. Yikes!

Turning to a more modern novel, Robert J. Sawyer's WWW:Wonder has a lot of intriguing themes. Two of the most obvious are the nature of consciousness and the issue of right and wrong. Can a machine become conscious? Could an animal? What is consciousness anyway? Do humans really understand right from wrong? How do increasing surveillance and technology affect what we do? Will we ever consistently do the right thing? Is there a moral arrow through time? This book is a very entertaining read and such themes just make it richer.

Okay, how do you include a theme or themes in your work? What works for me is the following: When I finish a piece, I reread it; I try to clear my mind of what I thought I was going to say, and try to read what it really says. Usually there is a theme buried in there somewhere. Then, in revisions I tweak it to clarify the theme.

Good luck with your themes!

Monday, we have a fun post scheduled "U is for Urban Fantasy", so come back and check it out! :)

S is for Setting

Setting is one of the elements of fiction. Setting includes the temporal and physical location of the story. In genre fiction, as you can imagine, more than the sky is the limit. Stories can take place in the past, present, or future. Stories can take place underground, in any country on earth, in outer space, on other planets. Basically, if you can imagine it, you can use it.

If setting is particularly important or unusual, it can play a key plot role, e.g. post-apocalytic or alternate history stories. This is common in (wo)man versus nature and (wo)man versus society stories.

It is important to be clear and specific with your settings. It's through setting that authors build their world. Make your world as unique and fascinating as possible! Authors never want readers to be confused--because that takes the reader out of the story. Don't give readers any extra excuse to put down your book. An unclear setting often gets comments like "Set the scene" from critique partners. I must admit, I've gotten my fair share of those. :)
Readers need to know where geographically and temporally the characters are at the beginning of each new scene. They also need to know which characters are in the scene.

Closely related to settings are descriptions... Usually, you must use some kind of description to give your setting. Interestingly, literary fiction tends to use many more similes and metaphors in its descriptions than genre fiction does. Recall, a simile is when something is "like" or "as" something else, and a metaphor is when something is described via analogy.
So, if you want to "lit-up" your genre fiction, consider adding more similes and metaphors.

In recent years, I've noticed physical descriptions of characters are rarely given any more; definitely do NOT describe your character with a laundry list of characteristics, e.g. brown hair, brown eyes, brown skin. If you do describe your characters, make sure to do it in the context of the point-of-view character, e.g. 'her chocolate skin made him want to lick her all over.' :)
Generally, laundry list descriptions of anything are the mark of a beginning writer. Don't do it!

Good luck with your settings and descriptions.

R is for Romance

Of course, Romance is one of the leading literary genres. According to Romance Writers of America (RWA) (which I'll come back to in a minute), Romance Literature Statistics remain strong:

• Romance fiction generated $1.36 billion in sales in 2009.
  
• 9,089 new romance titles were released in 2009.
  
• In 2009, romance was the second top-performing category on the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly best-seller lists, beat only by the movie tie-in category.
  
• Romance fiction sales are estimated at $1.358 billion for 2010.

In fact, there's a very interesting article by Jessica DiVisconte "The Recession and Its Effect on the Romance Genre" over at digital commons. Suffice to say, "The immense, ever-changing romance genre ... has not faltered..." and in fact, "In tough times, people [are] looking to be stimulated by something else: tall tales of lusty love. Even as the markets ares suffering, the market for romance is growing..."

I could give some common misconceptions about romance, but I think the sales figures trump those!

What does a romance need? The same things as any other novel:

• a unified and interesting plot
• strong characters a reader can feel for and relate to
• a well-realized setting
• a competent story-telling style
• a strong beginning that hooks the reader

Romance novels do have some special needs as well:

• a central love story
• a sympathetic heroine
• a sexy hero
• emotion, emotion, emotion
• morality
• An Emotionally-Satisfying and Optimistic Ending

Romance novels may have any tone or style, be set in any place or time, and have varying levels of sensuality—ranging from sweet to extremely hot. These settings and distinctions of plot create specific subgenres within romance fiction. Check out the specific subgenres over at RWA.

Speaking of RWA, its mission is to advance the professional interests of career-focused romance writers through networking and advocacy. And unlike some of the other professional genre writing organizations, anyone can join RWA! They also have an awesome Annual Conference. This year it will be in New York from June 28 - July 1. Check it out!

Good luck with your Romance! :)

Q is for Query

Let's say you've written a novel. (Congratulations! W00t!) What do you do next? Well, next, you start querying. You can query agents or editors, the process is the same and, frankly, the query letter is the same. I'll give you the specifics in a minute.

What if you want to self-publish your novel in electronic and/or print-on-demand (POD) format? Go for it! In that case, you get to skip the querying process. W00t! :)

Before you begin the query process, you have to decide if you're looking for an agent or an editor. Do you want a literary agent? Or do you want to go straight to the publisher yourself? There are important genre considerations here. Traditionally, for example, many romance publishers enjoyed working directly with authors. Like the rest of the economy, however, publishers have been under pressure, so go agent-less at your own risk. Certainly, agents claim they bring a lot to the table. Former agent, Nathan Bransford, has a lot of info, e.g. "What Do Literary Agents Do?", on the subject on his blog.

The first step in finding an agent or editor is research. There are a ton of resources on the web. For agents, for example, there's agentquery.com, Query Tracker, AAR, and Absolute Write--all free. You need to find an agent or editor who deals with your specific genre and who will accept your query. Always double-check their website to find out what their submission requirements are. You should never pay money up front (unelss you're self-publishing). You should check Writer Beware and Preditors and Editors for scams.

The second step in the query process is The Letter. I strongly recommend you utilize the following concepts in your three paragraph letter:

1. Opening with specific agent/editor name
   
2. Paragraph 1:
   • something specifically relating your work to the agent or editor
     
   • the title, genre, and word-count of your novel (notice your novel must be finished to have a word-count!)
     
   • something unique about your work, how your work is special
   
   
3. Paragraph 2: a one paragraph synopsis of your novel, including the ending. This should be in present verb tense and should illstrate the voice or tone of your novel, e.g. funny, quirky, scary, serious,etc.
   
4. Paragraph 3:
   • a short bio of the author, this should include previous publishing credits (if any), memberships in national writing organizations, national awards, writing degrees and things relevant to the novel. For example, if you are a psychic waitress living in Louisiana and your protag is a psychic waitress living in Lousiana, include this info. On the other hand, if you've been divorced three times and there's no divorce in your novel, don't include this info.
   • Info about any enclosures or attachments
     
   • Thanks
   
   
5. Closing, including contact information

Paragraph 2 is by far the trickiest part. I would give it a try and let your critique partners pick it apart. Dr. Nicole Peeler posted the evolution of her selling query letter: Dr. Peeler Does Querying!. IMHO, her letter isn't perfect (e.g. she mentioned it was her first novel) But this is good! It means your letter doesn't have to be perfect. :) Phew.

The final step is, of course, sending off your query letter...

Good luck!

P is for Protagonist

The protagonist is the main character of your literary work.
Some people prefer the term hero--but if you're writing an anti-hero protagonist, that can get kind of confusing!

The events of the plot revolve around the protagonist. Readers should have empathy for the protagonist (recall E is for Empathy), and I'd even go so far as to say an author must have empathy for his/her protagonist.

Probably the most important thing in fiction is the protagonist. If you're thinking, 'Hey, wait a minute. What about the plot?' you're right: plot's very important, too. :) In fact, protagonist and plot are inexorably linked; you really cannot, and should not, have one without the other. The plot/subplots need to come from the very nature of the protagonist. Or, put another way, you should chose your protagonist so that he/she is the most affected and affecting person in the plot. In critique group, this sentiment tends to be conveyed by 'Your protag needs to act!' When wearing my editing hat over at ElectricSpec, I often see this problem in our submissions. If your protag isn't doing anything, you may not have chosen the correct protag.

In literary fiction in particular, the protagonist is primary; sometimes there is no external plot arc in literary fiction. Therefore, you can have a novel without plot, but you cannot have a novel without a protagonist. (I welcome examples to the contrary.)

The protagonist is the "who?" of your story. Some of this writing jargon can get a bit confusing. Recall, the "what?" and the "why?" of your story were covered in M is for Motivation, and, if you like, "why not?" was covered in C is for Conflict. "How" you implement your protagonist is point-of-view, covered in I is for I.

Don't get who your protagonist is confused with how you implement your protagonist. You may have more than one protagonist, and in this case it may be clearer to refer to them as pov characters, rather than protagonists.

Of course, you may also have one or more antagonists... An antagonist is just a protagonist that creates obstacles for the other character(s).

But, since the essence of story is conflict, really, every character should have some antagonistic qualities. I think the idea of the good hero fighting the evil villain/antagonist is pretty old-fashioned--unless you're working on a graphic novel or a blockbuster movie. :)

A more modern take on fiction is to make all your characters as well-rounded as possible, and then they will naturally have opposing interests and desires.

Good luck!

O is for Opera

O is for Opera, space opera, that is. ;) A space opera is an adventure set in outer space or on distance planets and has an emphasis on action. Star Wars might be considered space opera, for example. When most people think about science fiction (SF), they think of space opera.

Not to say that opera itself isn't interesting. In fact, one of my fellow SHU WPF students is writing a novel set in the opera world ("Hi, Julie!").

What can I say? I love space opera and all the other sub-categories of SF.

Unfortunately, SF can be a bit difficult to categorize. What exactly is it? I've heard several experts say "I know it when I see it." (Also known as the pornography defense.)

Wikipedia says, "Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with the impact of imagined innovations in science or technology, often in a futuristic setting." Hhm... I bet we can all think of exceptions to this definition.

Orson Scott Card’s rule of thumb is “If the story is set in a universe that follows the same rules as ours, it’s science fiction. If it’s set in a universe that doesn’t follow our rules, it’s fantasy.”

SFWA Grand Master James E Gunn, said, "Science fiction is the literature of the human condition experiencing meaningful change." in my 2007 Interview. Very nice, Professor Gunn! Let's go with this. :)

SF encompasses many subgenres. Besides space opera, there's hard SF (more on this below), and soft/social SF--works based on social sciences, e.g. fiction of Ursula K. Le Guin. There's Cyberpunk, near-future very technological SF, often with an anti-hero--William Gibson's Neuromancer defines the subgenre. There's Time travel, of which H.G. Wells The Time Machine is the most famous example and The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger is a buzzier example.

There's Alternate History (stories based on the premise that historical events might have turned out differently) and the closely-related Steampunk, in which advanced steam-engine-level technology existed in the past. A classic example of Alternate History would be The Man in the High Castle by Philip D. Dick. And there's Military SF, such as Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers and John Scalzi's Old Man's War.

There's also Dystopian SF, stories set in a usually futuristic society that has degraded into a repressive and controlled state; the most famous dystopian novels are 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. According to the-powers-that-be, the hottest subgenre right now is Dystopian SF, because of run-away hits such as The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. If the upcoming movie(s) is successful, this will only increase the buzz. Dystopian SF should not be confused with Apocalyptic or Post-Apocalyptic SF. In the former the repressive society is imposed by the state or society, in apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic novels, the state and society have broken down and essentially no longer exist. Buzzy examples of post-apocalyptic novels are The Windup Girl by Paulo Bacigalupi and The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

A while ago, I blogged about Hard SF according to the experts, Stanley Schmidt, David G. Harwell and Kathryn Cramer. They had a lot of very interesting stuff to say, so check that out.

I guess what I'm trying to say with this overview of SF is, there's something for everyone! Authors can basically write about anything they like under the SF umbrella. In fact, Doris Lessing, 2007 Nobel Laureate in Literature said, in response to critics, "What they didn't realize was that in science fiction is some of the best social fiction of our time" ("Doris Lessing: Hot Dawns"). Science fiction enables us to study and enjoy the human condition with no restraints whatsoever.

And, finally, we can't leave a discussion of SF without mentioning the Science Fiction/Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), pronounced "siff-wah" by those in the know--which I found out the hard way at WorldCon one year.

SFWA is the premiere professional organization for authors of science fiction, fantasy and related genres and informs, supports, promotes, defends and advocates for its members. They host the prestigious Nebula Awards, assist members in legal disputes with publishers, and administer benevolent funds for authors facing medical or legal expenses. Check them out!