Thanks to Nancy and Bewitching Book Tours for the great tour and guest post and dont forget the tour wide giveaway at the end of the post.
Writing
What You Know for Fantasy Authors
Write
what you know. It's one of the most ubiquitous pieces of writing
advice. Writers hear those words from the time they first pick up a
pen (or even before). It’s great advice—if you take some time to
think about what it means.
At
the most basic level, “write what you know” explains the appeal
of legal thrillers written by practicing lawyers or murder mysteries
written by real-life medical examiners. It explains why some novels
and films brag that they’re “based on a true story” and why we
love to read the memoirs of people who’ve triumphed over adversity
or achieved something significant.
If
you’ve lived an exciting life or you can give readers a glimpse
into an interesting profession, writing what you know—taking your
experiences and knowledge and turning them into a story—makes
sense.
But
what does “write what you know” mean to a fantasy author? When
the world you write about exists only in your imagination—when
you’ve thought about that world but you could never actually live
there—should you just forget about writing what you know?
Of
course not. Instead, writing fantasy means expanding the definition
of what it means to “know” something.
One
way to know something well enough to write about it is through
research. I don’t believe in demons, for example, but I’ve got
pages and pages of notes about them. Understanding what demons have
meant throughout history, how they’ve been portrayed and perceived,
helps me write about them as though they’re real.
Vicky
Vaughn, the protagonist of my Deadtown series, kills demons for a
living. Her friends are zombies and vampires, and she dates a
politically correct werewolf. Vicky herself is one of the Cerddorion,
a race of shapeshifters who trace their lineage back to the Welsh
goddess Ceridwen. Vicky’s life is way more exciting than anything
I’ve ever lived. I’ve never gone out with a werewolf. I’ve
never fought a demon. I’ve never tried to talk sense to a zombie or
sat down to drink a Bloody Mary with a vampire. And changing my shape
means gaining or losing a few pounds, not sprouting wings or fur and
becoming an entirely different creature.
I
may not have had the same experiences as Vicky, but I connect with
her on a number of levels. One level of connection is physical. Vicky
works long hours and doesn’t always get enough sleep. I know how it
feels to keep pushing when you’re tired because you need to finish
something. In fact, all of Vicky’s physical feelings, from chilly
October air on a flushed face to deep, toe-tingling kisses, are
feelings I know well.
Another
level of connection is dealing with people. I’ve never dated a
werewolf with a passion for justice, but I do know how it feels to
butt heads with a strong-willed partner. I know how it feels to love
a sibling or friend even when you don’t agree with every decision
that person makes. I know how it feels to deal with colleagues who
seem to go out of their way to give you a hard time. We’ve all had
to deal with a variety of people, and conflict is conflict—whether
you’re experiencing it with a neighbor, a lover, or a demon.
The
deepest level of connection, of course, is emotional. Although I
haven’t lived the specific situations that Vicky encounters, I do
know the emotions they arouse: love, hate, fear, anger, grief. As a
writer, I try to call up those feelings and weave them into the
fabric of my story. I’ve got my own stories, personal experiences
that I’ll never write about directly, but I mine them for how they
made me feel. And if I’m feeling the emotion while I write—tears
running down my face, out-loud laughter, a racing heart—I know I’m
doing my job.
Writing
fiction—any kind of fiction, but especially fantasy—combines
writing what you know with writing what you can imagine. Create a
fantastical setting and populate it with fantastical creatures, but
know what those characters feel on a physical, interpersonal, and
emotional level, based on your own emotions and experience of the
world. That’s the kind of knowing that brings characters to life.
If you can connect with your characters in those ways—if you can
make their feelings true and real according to what you know—then
readers will connect with them, too. And the most fantastical story
will feel true, because it came from what you know.
________________________________________________________
Bloodstone,
the third novel in Nancy Holzner's Deadtown series, is now available.
For information on Nancy and her books, visit her website.
You can also find Nancy on Facebook
and Twitter,
and blogging with other fantasy authors at Dark
Central Station.
BLOODSTONE
By Nancy Holzner
Book
3 Deadtown Series
Paperback: 336
pages
Publisher: Ace
Release
date: September 27, 2011
ISBN-10: 044102100X
ISBN-13: 978-0441021000
Boston’s
diverse South End is known for its architecture and great
restaurants, not its body count. So when mutilated human corpses
begin turning up in the area, the entire city takes notice. The
killer—dubbed the South End Reaper—uses a curved blade for his
grisly work. And even though there’s no real evidence pointing to a
paranormal culprit, the deaths are straining the already-tense
relations between Boston’s human and inhuman residents.
As the bodies
pile up, Vicky, her formidable aunt Mab, and her werewolf boyfriend
Kane investigate, only to find that the creature behind the carnage
is after something much more than blood…
About Nancy
Nancy
Holzner grew up in western Massachusetts with her nose stuck in a
book. This meant that she tended to walk into things, wore glasses
before she was out of elementary school, and forced her parents to
institute a “no reading at the dinner table” rule. It was
probably inevitable that she majored in English in college and then,
because there were still a lot of books she wanted to read, continued
her studies long enough to earn a masters degree and a PhD.
She began her career as a medievalist, then jumped off the tenure
track to try some other things. Besides teaching English and
philosophy, she’s worked as a technical writer, freelance editor
and instructional designer, college admissions counselor, and
corporate trainer. Most of her nonfiction books are published under
the name Nancy Conner.
Nancy lives in upstate New York with her husband Steve, where they
both work from home without getting on each other’s nerves. She
enjoys visiting local wineries and listening obsessively to opera.
There are still a lot of books she wants to read.
GIVEAWAY
Nancy
is offering a tour-wide giveaway- readers can enter at each
stop.
Nancy
is offering 5 book giveaways- 5 winners.
Each
of five winners gets his/her choice of a signed copy of Deadtown, Hellforged, or
Bloodstone.
This
giveaway is open to US only
Please follow Nancy and Bewitching Book
Tours:
