Hello, and welcome to my first blog post of 2019.
As usual, I'll mention the personal trials, tribulations, and positives on the personal level first.
2019 is starting out with an ominous trend. Less than two full weeks into the year, and I've had to take my wife to the hospital twice. The first was a five-night stay for an infection. The second was what looks like a two-night stay (she's there now) for complications from her diabetes. Those two episodes have put the kibosh on our planned visit with our granddaughter. And oddly, that may not be so bad because she has been having her own health issues.
The good news on the writing front is that Page and Spine (www.pagespineficshowcase.com) will publish my poem "A Brand New Man", tomorrow, Friday, January 11th. I hope you will read it along with the rest of that issue.
If you're new to this blog or just because it bears repeating, Page and Spine is a free read that pays their authors. The publish a new issue every Friday, and each one contains a continuing serial, "Coffee House Chatter" plus a new short story, one or more new poems, observations on writing, and in the tab "The Reading Lamp" you may find a story, poetry, or an essay. One of the best sources of new literature on the internet.
To get back to where I left off last time, I have some decisions to make regarding the fantasy series I'm beginning.
There are two types of series. The one type is just like a normal television series. The same characters, plus often one or two guest characters, have a different story every week. This type is especially favored in mystery or crime novels. Earl Stanley Gardner and Rex Stout were two such, featuring Perry Mason and Nero Wolfe, respectively. Doyle's Sherlock Holmes was another. Other well-known series are The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew.
Now, C. Hope Clark has two such series and Anne R. Allen has one, too. And both those authors also publish newsletters or blogs to help writers.
But in fantasy, the other type of series is more common—the very long single story that takes three or more books to tell, and designed to do it that way. I've mentioned King's Dark Tower series before, and that's one example. The Swords of Shanara trilogies and the Thomas Covenant trilogies are other examples, plus, of course, Anthony Wedgeworth's six-book Altered Creatures series. And David Eddings wrote at least three different fantasy series. All of these fantasy series I've mentioned, I recommend.
This was the story I had in mind when I decided to write one. But now I'm playing around with the idea of writing the other kind. Each novel would feature the same main characters: four protagonists so far. The antagonists might change from novel to novel, or reappear, as seems appropriate.
If any of you have any suggestions or preferences, please let me know, either here on my website or on my Facebook author's page at F.G.Waiss, Author.
In the meantime, I'll see what I can get accomplished.
You all please do the same, and, as Gary Moore signed off his shows, be kind to each other.
Be well, and be well-read.
As usual, I'll mention the personal trials, tribulations, and positives on the personal level first.
2019 is starting out with an ominous trend. Less than two full weeks into the year, and I've had to take my wife to the hospital twice. The first was a five-night stay for an infection. The second was what looks like a two-night stay (she's there now) for complications from her diabetes. Those two episodes have put the kibosh on our planned visit with our granddaughter. And oddly, that may not be so bad because she has been having her own health issues.
The good news on the writing front is that Page and Spine (www.pagespineficshowcase.com) will publish my poem "A Brand New Man", tomorrow, Friday, January 11th. I hope you will read it along with the rest of that issue.
If you're new to this blog or just because it bears repeating, Page and Spine is a free read that pays their authors. The publish a new issue every Friday, and each one contains a continuing serial, "Coffee House Chatter" plus a new short story, one or more new poems, observations on writing, and in the tab "The Reading Lamp" you may find a story, poetry, or an essay. One of the best sources of new literature on the internet.
To get back to where I left off last time, I have some decisions to make regarding the fantasy series I'm beginning.
There are two types of series. The one type is just like a normal television series. The same characters, plus often one or two guest characters, have a different story every week. This type is especially favored in mystery or crime novels. Earl Stanley Gardner and Rex Stout were two such, featuring Perry Mason and Nero Wolfe, respectively. Doyle's Sherlock Holmes was another. Other well-known series are The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew.
Now, C. Hope Clark has two such series and Anne R. Allen has one, too. And both those authors also publish newsletters or blogs to help writers.
But in fantasy, the other type of series is more common—the very long single story that takes three or more books to tell, and designed to do it that way. I've mentioned King's Dark Tower series before, and that's one example. The Swords of Shanara trilogies and the Thomas Covenant trilogies are other examples, plus, of course, Anthony Wedgeworth's six-book Altered Creatures series. And David Eddings wrote at least three different fantasy series. All of these fantasy series I've mentioned, I recommend.
This was the story I had in mind when I decided to write one. But now I'm playing around with the idea of writing the other kind. Each novel would feature the same main characters: four protagonists so far. The antagonists might change from novel to novel, or reappear, as seems appropriate.
If any of you have any suggestions or preferences, please let me know, either here on my website or on my Facebook author's page at F.G.Waiss, Author.
In the meantime, I'll see what I can get accomplished.
You all please do the same, and, as Gary Moore signed off his shows, be kind to each other.
Be well, and be well-read.
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