To Dream, Perhaps to Write

 Dreamzoning is the catch phrase this week. 

Dear Heaens, of course, I daydream. It's all I do.  It's part of my job as a writer. Back in the day Warner Brother Looney Tunes cartoons did stories about a little kid named Ralphie Phillips. That was his job too.

Inevitably, no matter what he was supposed to be doing ARalphie would spin off in his own head and be off on another adventure. first time I saw one of those cartoons I thought that at last somebody understood me. 

I still feel that way.

It's my job to imagine new place, new situations, and then dream up the people to explore them.

If you write fiction, or want to write fiction, what could possibly be more important/

Oh, to be sure there's the craft of writing, but with9utmthe dreams, there are no stories to tell. 

I have so many tales to tell! I'm late on one of them right now, actually, two of them, so back to it for me. 

Good luck with the dreams. Make the time for them. 

Why Daydreaming Increases Productivity

Our topic at the SFF 7 this week is: Dreamzoning (term from Robert Olen Butler’s book From Where You Dream): Do you daydream on purpose?

I'm not familiar with this book, but I absolutely daydream on purpose! I call it The Dreamthink. 

The Dreamthink is so central to my creativity and productivity that I gave it to the heroine of my Forgotten Empires trilogy. For her it's an actual form of magic, and you can see it referenced there in the whim for the upcoming THE PROMISED QUEEN. 

In my Forgotten Empires trilogy, the heroine—Queen Euthalia of Calanthe—uses the dreamthink to maintain her world. Because she’s magically sensitive, messages come to her in nightmares, when her mind is vulnerable. The world is a chaotic, broken, and wounded place—and it cries to her for help. When she wakes from these terrible dreams, she pretends to be asleep still, just to calm herself so she can face a day of politics. 

In some ways, she isn’t entirely faking it. She wakes, then goes into another stage of sleep: the dreamthink. 

Lia, who lives in a world that celebrates science and knowledge, but is not technologically advanced, has given this state its own name. It feels to her like a kind of light dreaming, where she can also guide where her mind goes. Those of you familiar with meditation or sleep stages, might recognize this as a trance state. Or it could be a Stage 1 sleep with theta waves (which are also present during meditation) or Stage 2 with sleep spindles in the brain activity. Magical or not, those are states of mind we all experience at some time or another. 

I know I do! I made up the term “dreamthink” for myself. (Even though I do understand meditative trances and sleep states – lol.) Once I became a full-time writer, I gave myself the gift of waking according to my own natural rhythms. I don’t set an alarm, so I emerge from sleep gradually. Often I’ll lie in bed in that light sleep state a while longer, and mull over the story I’m writing. That’s why I call it the dreamthink—because I can guide my mind to that particular story thread, and then dream about what might happen. It’s a lovely, low-key way to puzzle over plot issues, and wonderful ideas present themselves to me. 

In the first book of the Forgotten Empires, THE ORCHID THRONE, Lia uses the dreamthink to wrestle the nightmares. As the story progresses into the second book, THE FIERY CROWN, and as Lia begins to use her native magic in a more deliberate way, she summons the dreamthink to quiet her conscious mind and unruly emotions. The trance state of the dreamthink allows her to access the magic of the land, to expand her mind into other realms of reality.

If only we all had magic to heal the world in these troubled times! But we all can find a sort of dreamthink for ourselves. I think you’ll find it’s a great salve to worries of all kinds.

For those hoping to access the creative subconscious, this deliberate daydreaming brings its own kind of magic. Productivity comes in many forms - and sometimes that's when you appear to be worlds away, magicking up your own.  

Finding Jewels

 

Cute cat for tax.

Pointers for finding New to You Authors:

• Judge contests
• Twitter

Of course there are more ways, but these two were the ones I didn't see mentioned previously this week. 

Contests

The great thing about judging contests is that you learn as much as you judge. Most contests won't allow you to judge in the category you write (if you entered the contest). This is an excellent way to find new to you authors in genres you might not normally read. There's also no thrill quite like finding that an entry you judged and loved actually won the contest. It's rare, but it happens, and it's a bit of a rush.

Twitter

Now. Lest anyone go dig up all of my earlier posts about how I doubt that Twitter sells many books, I still think it's true for the socially awkward among us. But. My Twitter account is awash with romancelandia people and altgov political resister types. So when angst breaks in either, it's almost inevitable that a rash of book recommendations follow whatever tidal wave of drama washes over. This was how I managed to go out in search of authors of color. Recommendations began rolling on Twitter and I looked at my book shelf. Lo, it was pasty and lacking meaningful representation. I aimed to change that. As with all things, some authors have been a joy to finally stumble upon. Some are less to my taste, but so goes life. I'm refining what makes a story work for me with each one I read.

So I add to James's recommendation to read outside your genre. Consider reading outside your personal experience, too. There are jewels out there and a lot of joy to be had in finding them.

Just Keep Reading

I recently had a call with someone who is starting out on their first novel. It was incredibly exciting to listen to them talk about their love of reading and their eagerness to dive into writing their first book.

One of the knowledge bits I shared was the importance of continuing to read. Writers start out as readers and when we can’t get enough books, or can’t find ourselves in enough stories, we turn into writers. But then you get busy drafting, editing, submitting, formatting—and on and on. It’s easy to get so busy that we end up not reading!

I’ve seen authors that proudly claim they don’t read. I’ve read their books. And I still say it’s important for an author to read and to read outside your genre! Why? Because a great book has more than one genre element in it. A SONG OF WRAITHS AND RUIN by Roseanne A. Brown is fantasy with a little mystery. THE LAST ASTRONAUT by David Wellington is science fiction blended with thriller and horror. Pick up your recent read and see how many elements you can pull out. 

But where do you find books when you’re busy wiring your own novel or promoting your newest release? Check out my fellow SFF Seveners’ posts from this week, there’s some gems in there. And if you need some more ideas, here you go:

1: Your local library. I love my library! They’ve always got a surprise read or two facing out on the shelves, and I’m such a sucker for a good book cover. 

thank you Dakota County Library!

2: #writingcommunity I spend my social media time on Instagram and follow this hashtag because it’s filled with authors in all stages and they’re either sharing their release news, posting book birthdays, or shouting about whatever great read they just finished! It’s fantastic! (if you’re on Twitter you’ll find writers using the same hashtag)

3: Blogs! Yes, I still follow a handful of blogs that have proven time and again that their book tastes run similar to mine and undoubtedly sway me into trying reads I wouldn’t have picked up otherwise. 

Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell

The Fantasy Inn

SFF  World

Reading Between the Wines

4: follow me on Goodreads. Kidding, but not kidding. Goodreads is a never-ending supply of book choices and if you follow people with similar tastes, or maybe completely different, you'll see what they're reading and reviewing and find some books to add to your own TBR (to be read) list! 

Alexia's 2021 Goodreads shelf as of Jan 21st, 2021

I hope the information I shared with the aspiring writer was helpful, at least I know it helped me when I was starting out. And I hope one day, when he’s further along in his writing career, he lends a hand back to someone else that’s on their way up. Because I believe that’s how things should work, by receiving and giving, giving and receiving. And reading! 

Now, go find some great new reads this weekend! 

You Might Like Book Recommendations

Amazon recently informed me that I've had an account with them since 1999. My first two orders were a Playstation version of Metal Gear Solid and a paperback of Our Dumb Century: The Onion Presents Headlines from America's Finest News Source. Man, those were the days, and not just because I could get books sent straight to me without having to go to the store (I hate shopping) but also because, back in the day, Amazon had a truly awesome "If you liked this book, you might also like" recommendation feature. I say truly awesome because I found so many new-to-me authors through that rec feature. It was magic.

The feature exists today as a shell of its former self. When Amazon started being a publisher and pushing its own books and authors who paid for extra marketing, the accuracy of that feature plummeted. For instance, the last book I bought on Amazon was The House in the Cerulean Sea, a feel-good, heartwarming fantasy. So what does Amazon suggest as my next read? Five Kindle Unlimited books that are sort of fantasy-ish or urban fantasy-ish or paranormal romance, oh, and that M/M celebrity bad-boy contemporary romance. 

Amazon rec algorithm, go home, you're drunk. Also, you're no longer helpful.

These days I find my next read almost exclusively through recommendations of friends whose taste I know aligns with my own. (The House in the Cerulean Sea, for instance, was a personal recommendation from a co-worker, and she absolutely nailed it. I'm loving this book.)

So if you're looking for a good place to find new-to-you writers and immersive story experiences, my best advice would be 

1. Join a book club. 

2. Talk to your friends and co-workers about books they've loved. 

3. Get recs from people who know what you dig. 

4. Read newsletters of writers you admire -- sometimes they'll rec other writers' new releases that they think their readership will like.

5. Scroll your social media feeds, especially on Tuesdays, which is when a lot of book releases happen. The people you're connected to online may (probably?) share your your reading taste.

6. If you specifically like science fiction romance, check out the weekly new releases post that Veronica Scott compiles. This week, it's here, but you can follow her blog to get alerts every Wednesday.

7. Also for science fiction romance, the SFR Station is a huge trove of links to books in our subgenre. It has a nifty browsing feature where you can find books by title, author, and even trope/subgenre. So if you have a particular interest in, say, space westerns or earth aliens, you can scroll through some titles guaranteed to deliver. 

True, the days of helpful recommendation algorithms are gone, but that doesn't mean we can't still find those "If you liked this book, you might also like" gems.

Finding Fantasy Novels One Step Off The Mainstream: #SPFBO

So you like fantasy novels, eh? Looking to find some hidden gems? Stories that are one or two steps off the beaten path?

Allow me to introduce the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off, aka #SPFBO. Started in 2015 by Mark Lawrence (Of Broken Empire, Red Queen's War, and Book of the Ancestors fame), 300 Indie Fantasy authors submit their stand-alone or first-in-series book to the pool. It's a first-come-first-served open call. On the receiving end are members of 10 Fantasy Book Blogs. Mark divvies up the books, 30 to a blog. The bloggers then choose one of their 30 to put forth as a finalist. The top 10 books get read, publicly reviewed, and scored by all the participating blogs. The finalist with the highest score wins....bragging rights. 

What types of fantasy books final? It runs the gamut, from grimdark to parody, sword & sorcery to mythology, chosen-one quests to whodunnit mysteries. You'll find orcs, pirates, dragons, hitmen, steampunk animatronics, and fire warriors. If you've got an itch for rich fantasies, then give #SPFBO books a try. You can also follow along the journey of the entrants and bloggers on Facebook or Twitter by searching on the hashtag.

GoodReads Listopia: #SPFBO

You're in luck, for two more days, 30 SPFBO finalists are offering their ebook(s) for $0.99/ea. Sale ends tomorrow, 1/20.

Buy Them Now!

Guide to discovering New To You Authors

Um, yeah.

Find an author you have not read before. Read them. Read a lot o new authors. It's how we grow as readers and growth as a reader helps us grow s writers. Also, read outside of your genre.  a lot. 

Really, that's all I've got. 

Okay, back to writing. 

A Guide to Discovering New-To-You Authors

Our topic at the SFF Seven this week is Discovering New-To-You Authors: Where would you direct someone wanting to read more from emerging authors in your subgenre?

I'm going to cheat a bit today and point you to an article I wrote for the SFWA Blog: A Guide for Authors on Recommending Books. I'm not cheating for my usual reasons - too busy, running behind, general laziness - but because I really like this article and I think it's useful for this topic. 

Despite the title, it's useful for readers, too!

That's because we can all make an effort to diversify our reading, and this article talks about ways to do that - including resources for finding new-to-us authors who aren't from the usual walks. 

Go forth and find cool new stuff!