Book Boyfriend of the Moment: The Crimson Rain Sought Flower

 This Week's Topic: Who is my favorite fictional hero (that's not one I wrote) and why?

Oh no. This is akin to being asked which book is my favorite. Yarghhh! Fortunately, this isn't Highlander and The Kurgan isn't decapitating all the dudes who aren't mentioned. 

{taps bottom lip} 

This is tough because all my faves exist as an amalgam in my memory as Sir Supportive 'n' Studly whose best attributes get mashed together, reshaped, and then plucked apart like monkey bread to become BFFs or Romantic Interests in my books. 

{looks to the left, ponders more}

Since I have to pick one, I'll go with my favorite character from the series I'm currently reading: Hua Cheng from Heaven Offical's Blessing by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (aka MXTX). Over the course of the series, he becomes the protagonist's significant other, yet to simplify his character like that does him a great disservice. He is fully competent and capable independent of the protagonist. To everyone but the protagonist, he is The Great Villain, a supreme ghost king, one of the four great calamities, the bane of the heavens...and so much more. Yet as the series develops and backstory is revealed, the Villain's Journey is more heartbreaking and more satisfying than the Hero's Journey (which is a feat, because the hero's story is cute on the surface but gutwrenching underneath). 

There are so many attributes that make Hua Cheng a great character: from the myriad ways he serves humble pie, to his obvious and hidden motivations, to his tearjerking sacrifices. His weaknesses are relatable which makes him more adorable: whether it's his atrocious handwriting or his grossly skewed self-perception due to childhood tormentors (he had heterochromia, so he dug out one eye to stop the bullying, but now he believes himself hideous and unworthy of the protag). What makes him my favorite fictional hero is how he demonstrates his devotion to his love interest without being an alphahole. Though he and the protagonist have a long, complicated, and mysterious history, the protag doesn't remember it, but Hua Cheng does. Thus, in the first book, Hua Cheng casually reenters the protag's life, content to be a useful stranger the protag met on the road. Over and over, he touches the protag's life like a butterfly, providing outcome-altering support, and then departing (causing the protag to do rounds of introspection and confront feeeeeeelings). Of course, whenever Hua Cheng reenters the story, I cackle with glee because circumstances are going to get SUPER fun. Whether someone's about to get their ass handed to them or the charming banter in the primary ship, if Hua Cheng is on the page, I'm not putting down the book.  The more I read about him, the more I love the character MXTX created. So, yep, there ya go, my current book boyfriend, Hua Cheng, The Crimson Rain Sought Flower. 

Nuns, Detectives, and a Heist

 

Photo by Patrick Baum on Unsplash

I've always had a fascination with nuns. Growing up in a large French-Canadian family, I viewed my two aunts who had taken the veil with curiosity tinged with fear (what is it about the habits that make them seem unapproachable?). I read the Dune series with delight at the Bene Gesserit's machinations. Recently, I devoured the Warrior Nun and Mrs. Davis television shows. You may not have realized it, but nuns hold a powerful place in the Western imagination.

I started seriously pursuing creative writing after studying and teaching medieval religion and literature at university. At first, I thought I needed to write historical fiction to use my academic studies to full effect. With nuns, of course, since everyone would share my obsession with these figures. 

The story idea had some promise--strong female characters, a community with secrets and interpersonal turmoil, and cool historical details. But I couldn't make it work. Like Marcella (see her post here), I tried to shove everything into the story. There were secret babies (more than one!), a kidnapping and a murder, a mystical prophetess, a snooty Duchess, and an evil bishop... I could go on, but you get the idea. It was full of cringe (the common theme this week), yet it still holds a special place in my heart.

I learned a great deal about writing from that unpublishable project (it was no The Other Boleyn Girl). The closed setting of a nunnery was a great way to explore character dynamics. I identified a slew of genres and tropes that I loved and wanted to use (just not all at once). And I realized that historical fiction was too limiting for my purposes. I got caught up in historical details rather than letting my imagination take the helm. 

Too much time was spent looking backward instead of forward when I first started writing creatively. It was only when I opened myself up to integrating all the parts of myself--all my weird and wonderful obsessions and knowledge--that I found my voice as a writer. Whereas academic writing requires the author to subsume themselves and create an "objective" perspective (with many many rules and limitations on what can and should be said - and don't get me started on the fallacy of anyone having a quote-unquote objective perspective), creative writing asks us to embrace our whole selves. We pour in our creativity, experiences, and interests. We take the books we've read, the passions we've felt, and the questions we have, throw them into the cauldron, and stir them up into a wonderful new potion. 

My favourite cauldron is fantasy literature. It took me some time to get there, but it's where I can bring my whole self to my writing. Where I look forward, even as I look to the past. Where I have limitless options to play as I create. Where I can bring in  my fascination with religion and the supernatural, my desire for stories with strong women characters, my love of heist movies and spy stories, my fondness for romance and feel-good relationships, my lifelong reading of fantasy and science fiction novels, my penchant for fairy and folk tale themes, and anything else that moves me at that time! 

It can take some time to find our way when we begin writing. And that's ok. All the writing we do takes us further on the journey to find our voice.  

All the best,

Mimi

Careful with the Cringe

Current 'panther' friend

Three stories. First, the everything-but-dinosaurs-and-aliens story. It had it all: a castle, a princess fighting to save the kingdom, pirates, and a black Jaguar named Scott. Oh, and sword fights. Did I mention the sword fights? Lots of sword fights. I don't know that it had terrific narrative flow. Or even a plot. But I was 12. So that book covered ALL the cringe. That young Princess was a fencing prodigy, a horseback riding prodigy, and the black Jaguar was, naturally, her best friend. Of course, her father's Kingdom is under threat from within and from without as the pirates are raiding the town below the castle. Our heroine can't immediately address the internal threats, but she can keep the pirates from harming her friends in town. In the course of trying and failing to fight the pirates, she makes things worse by getting kidnapped by them and held for ransom. This is ransom no one is going to pay. See the aforementioned internal threat. It's all fine, because naturally, the pirate captain falls for her. I mean why wouldn't he? So now, insert redemption arc for pirates who are going to help her bedevil the internal threat and reclaim the Kingdom. Much swashbuckling, big Goonies energy, tons of fun. Totally reads like I was 12. This one is buried deep and so it will stay.

Second, fanfic. ALL the fanfic. Scads of it. All tucked safely into archives where it can’t get me into trouble for writing inside someone else’s IP. Was it cringe? Maybe. It was 100% self-insert into worlds that fascinated me, but at the time I was writing fanfic, AO3 didn’t exist. I could write whatever I wanted with the knowledge that none of it could be published, ever.

Unless.

It finally occurred to me one day that one could pub fanfic if no one knew it was fanfic. If I could change names and alter the world enough to be its own thing, I might have a viable product. And that’s how I found out it was far easier (and just as much fun) to build your own world and your own characters.

Third, the contemporary romance novel that lacked a single shred of internal conflict. I had a great time writing it. It was my attempt to prove that you could in fact write a rock star romance and make it work. Except, you know, for the fact that I didn't. It was supposed to have one of those 'annoying big brother' books. Curmudgeon and ray of sunshine things. The heroine is there out of necessity, in a position the hero doesn't want her in, but his meddling sister is intent on setting the two of them up. It was big on bickering, low on actual conflict, and it was a hoot to write. It still lives in a box under the bed. It is likely to remain in that box under the bed. I look back at it now recognize a slew of problematic tropes. There's nothing wrong with the heroine trying to prove herself. This story took it wicked too far. This heroine ends up a martyr. The power dynamic between hero and heroine was super dysfunctional. Granted, at the time I wrote it, I had some crappy relationship templates and what was ‘normal’ for me at that point wasn’t, in fact, normal. So yeah. I credit this book with being the one that started me on the journey of actually learning and understanding what makes a romance a romance. The story is okay. But reading it now, I flinch at all the stuff I see that’s wrong. I’m careful not to judge past me by what current me knows. But still. This book, while it holds together, won’t likely see the light of day, ever.

While I can freely admit that my early efforts at fiction might not meet the bar for publication, I want to say that when I use the word ‘cringe’ in this blog, it’s with a fond smile. Cringe is one of those words that has been swept up by society to judge and make fun of something. I don’t want to judge or make fun of someone learning how story works. Not even – or maybe especially not even – when it’s me. We’re allowed to be bad at something we love or are fascinated by. We’re allowed a visible learning curve. There’s art and grace in developing as an artist. The thing that gets lost when we talk about the lack of skill in our early efforts is just how vital and necessary those early efforts were to our survival. These stories I talked about will never be thrown away or deleted. They got me through times I didn’t think I could get through. If our early story efforts are called cringe because we get sexist BS terms tossed at us like ‘Mary Sue’, as if every action movie ever made isn’t some dude’s 14-year-old self-insert fantasy. There’s a fine line between acknowledging that our early works weren’t ready for prime-time and disparaging ourselves as creatives. I bet that if someone could find the first painting Picasso ever did as a child, it could reasonably be called cringe. It would also likely fetch millions on auction.

First Writing Projects

I don’t think I’ve written enough. I’m pretty sure that’s where I’m landing on our topic of the week which is what’s the most unpublishable niche story we’ve ever written. 

My near-future sci-fi thrillers don’t stray into the weird sci-fi area, mostly a lot of neat tech with a medical related plot. And  I’ve also written some Norse inspired fantasy, right now it’s a trilogy, and there are some excellent comp titles out for those. Which leads me way back to the first book I wrote. Historical fantasy. That’s about as niche as I’m going to get.

When I started writing my first novel I wasn’t thinking about genres or what would sell. I was just telling a story what I thought was fun. And that  book for fun garnered a finalist badge in Romance Writers of America®’s national Golden Heart® Contest. Whenever I go back and read it I laugh at how young I sound. But the story holds up. 

Historical fantasy isn’t the it genre right now. But what sells never is, right? That’s why we need to keep writing whatever we enjoy. Because the truth is, you never know what will be a for-sure sale. And even if it never sees the light of day, all those words will make your next attempt better. So after all is said and done, make sure you’re writing what makes you happy. 

How about you? What was your first writing project? Does it make you laugh or cringe?

My Cringeworthy First Writing Efforts

 A praying mantis friend found her way onto my skirt the other day. Just one of many special blessings coming my way lately!

Our topic at the SFF Seven this week is the most unpublishable niche story we ever wrote.

Mine isn't necessarily a niche story - although it was of indistinguishable genre - but it was absolutely unpublishable and totally, as KAK puts it, cringe. In truth, it's because I can't think of this piece without that soul-deep cringe, that it springs to mind here. It wasn't even worthy of the word "story," it was that terrible.

See, I'd decided to become a writer. I'd cut bait on my PhD, got my MS, got a job as an editor/writer to build my chops, and was taking night classes to learn. But I hadn't gotten very good at the actual WRITING part. As in, I had no writing habit, I hadn't finished much of anything, and I was pretty much just farting around. Then I heard on the radio that Wyoming Arts Council (I lived in Wyoming at the time) was offering fellowships in literature. They had a rotating schedule between fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. I could either submit something for that year's award or wait three years. Since three years seemed like an impossibly long time then, I was determined to enter the competition that year.

Only I didn't have anything much to submit. But! I decided that I could enter the first few pages of a novel I'd started - the only pages I had of it - and trust that the judges would be so dazzled by the sheer promise of my work that they'd fall all over themselves to give me the fellowship.

Cringe cringe cringe

I have no idea what those judges thought of my fragmented pages of nothing. I obviously didn't win, nor did I receive any comments. Only much later did I realize just how delusionary I'd been. 

But you know what? Many years later, I did win one of those fellowships. It just took time, lots of dedicated work, and pulling my head out of my delusions. 

The Unpublishable Cringe

 This Week's Topic: The Most Unpublishable Niche Story I Ever Wrote Was...

First, I ought to be very clear that the story was unpublishable not because of the niche but because my writing at the time was, uhm, underdeveloped? Raw? Cringy? Okay, okay, okay. Horrible. I admit, it was horrible.  It was a grimdark romance short story written to the guidelines of a general fiction contest sponsored by a leading writing magazine. 

We will ignore the red flags around the contest because this was 20ish years ago. While the magazine is still around, the publisher at the time has long since folded and the magazine was subsumed by one of the Big 5 publishing houses. Hopefully, if they still run contests under the magazine's brand, they've cleaned up their act. Nope, I'm not gonna look and see. This topic isn't for Achtung Contests, Baby. Just do a web search for "red flags and writing contests." That'll get you plenty of results.

Back to the topic at hand: It is simultaneously hilarious and humbling to review my earliest works. To catch the glaring mistakes at first glance is, in fact, a good thing. It shows that I've grown as an author (and groaned too; there's lots of both). That I tried to shove a 90k story into 2500 words is, perhaps, the first warning siren. That I didn't know the reader's expectations of either genre so there was no attempt to deliver on the promise makes the story a certified wallbanger (if you happened to endure the craptastic writing to make it to the end). Character dev? Pfffft. A plot? A through line? Ahahaha. Staaaaaap. About all it had going for it was setting and dialogue. 

Oh, you want to see a sample of it? Oh, so, so, sorry.  That file "magically disappeared" along with Windows XP. Yep. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. 😇

How to Find Inspiration

One of the things I used to most fear when I was a young writer was running out of ideas or the motivation to work on stories. As it turns out, the ideas are the easy part. Finding inspiration, especially in a season of dryness or when the story just refuses to come, can be far harder. 

But even that can be managed. Here are some of my favorite tricks for getting the inspiration flowing again and a story back on track. 

Assess the Situation

One of the most crucial things you can do is determine the problem. If you’re tired or hungry or need a break, then working harder isn’t going to help you. If you’re dealing with burnout or emotional exhaustion, you need to address that as best you can.

Even if you are unable to fix all the situations that are causing the problems, doing something to address your actual physical or mental needs can help you get into a space where you can then continue the story. Just remember to address those needs sooner rather than later. 

Talk with a Friend

If you have author friends or a group with a safe space to chat, then talking about the story can help you spot the potential issues that could be holding you up or get you excited about the story once more. Especially if they are people who know the story. Sometimes we need a cheer session or others to believe in us or just an extra pair of eyes.  

(If you know what the actual issue or your needs with it are, do be sure to let the others know too. Especially if what you need is general excitement for the story rather than criticism.) 

Thought Release

This one helps me so much I do it every morning, even when the inspiration is flowing well. But when I am having a tough time, I will take a few extra minutes and complete it again just to clear my mind.

The basic premise is simple: sit and write whatever is in your mind for 10 – 15 minutes. And I mean whatever.

I get snippets of stories, bits of poems, tasks that need to be done, and even the occasional research note. But as I put them to paper, the act calms my mind and makes it easier for me to see what actually needs to be done. And oftentimes, that takes some stress and pressure away and makes it easier for me to see what needs to be done on my current story. 

Play a Game

Personally, I love video and phone games when it comes to seeking out inspiration. If you get a good story game, your mind will start putting together that story and you may find that that excitement spills over into your own and makes it easier for you get back in your own flow.

Do handle this with care if you’re on a tight deadline as it could mean that you wind up using up all your time. 

If you only have a short amount of time, try a smaller puzzle based one like Candy Crush or Tetris. A lot of times, your mind will work on the problem with the story as you are focusing on something else, and Tetris has been shown to help restructure the brain in such a way that it can even help reduce the impacts of trauma and intrusive thoughts. 

Set a Timer

I hate this tactic. But it works. 

Sit with your writing tools and a timer for 20 minutes. Set the timer. Switch your phone and Internet off. Now look at the page. Whatever you do, you have two options: write or stare. 

Technically, you can think about the story, of course. 

But nothing else. 

Eventually the words come. 

I can’t explain why, but it feels physically painful to do nothing and keep intentionally returning my focus to the project at hand rather than letting myself get distracted by a thousand other things. And somehow, that agonizing space of focus eventually leads to more words coming. Maybe not good words. But words that can be edited and finessed. 

The one thing I’ll add is that even though it works, I hate this tactic so much I avoid it if I can. It also wears me out faster. But if I’m on a deadline for a project I just can’t complete, then this is the one I pull out. And sometimes even the threat of it is enough to make my mind realize it can continue. 

But these are just a handful of possibilities. If you find these don’t work for you, keep experimenting. Something will work eventually. All seasons end, including seasons of dry inspiration and difficult stories. 

What about you? Do you have any tricks that work for you when it comes to finding inspiration?

Jessica M. Butler is a USA Today bestselling romantic fantasy author who never outgrew her love for telling stories and playing in imaginary worlds. She lives with her husband and law partner, James Fry, in rural Indiana where they are quite happy with their two cats and all of the wildlife and trees.

Find her at https://jmbutlerauthor.com/

Getting Unstuck

Getting stuck. It happens. I hate it. There's a lot of fear and angst in getting stuck. What if you never get unstuck? What if this is it? You're just done? Finished. It's possible. It's just not likely. So you have to try to get unstuck. The common advice goes 'what worked before?' I don't know if repeating past patterns helps anyone else out there, but for me, if my brain sees the trick, it's not going to work the second time around. Frustrating. So then it becomes a question of why I'm stuck.

There are as many reasons to be stuck as there are people on the planet. Probably multiples of that, actually. Regardless. It's on the stuck author to start asking questions. Only, there's one question that will not help. That question is: Why am I stuck. Isn't that funny? There's a secret, though, from brain science. Brains are literal chucks of goo. Asking yourself why you're stuck just perpetuates a list of reasons justifying your stuckness. That list only reinforces being stuck. Instead, you want a list of your own. Behold. A list that should be a flowchart but I am NOT logging into Visio to build one tonight:

1. Is this a story problem? If yes, dissect the story problem. Ask for help, if need be, from an outside source who can help bounce ideas around. I like FFS Media.  Clare talks about theme and breaks it down in a useful, comprehensible way that your high school English teacher only dreamed of doing. Based on her information, I've been able to look at a story I've been stuck on for years and realize like a bolt from the blue that the story I thought was about revenge, is actually about family. No wonder I was stuck. IF you're stuck on story, you can get unstuck by engaging with a mentor or by doing some digging in the story to see where things went off the rails. If it's NOT a story problem, then:

2. Is this a you problem? You problems: burned out, too little time, not enough energy, depressed, anxious, sick, etc.  These are almost always matters of deferred self-care and I'm going to be mean here and point out that writing is the least of your worries right now. Failing to take care of your mental, emotional, and physical health isn't something that can be made up for over a long weekend. Burn out can take a very long time to recover from. Energy is a function of nutrition, exercise, and sleep efficiency. They can all be addressed. Too little time? Social media fast. Seriously. Break up with your phone for a few days. If your mental health is suffering, you must speak to a physician and ask for help in resolving the danger to yourself as soon as possible. Writing takes a number and stands in line until you are well and feeling like you again. Yes, there are chronic illnesses that sometimes must be pushed through. They exact their own price. Those of us experienced with the push/pull of chronic issues have learned how to balance it. Most of the time. You can't push through burn out. Or depression. Not without making things much, much worse. So practice some steely-eyed honesty with yourself here. Assess. Treat. Recover. THEN write.  If this is NOT a you problem, then:

3. Is this a values shift? What matters to you in this world? Don't look at the things you just scribbled on the pad in front of you. Those are what you THINK you should value. We're looking at what you truly value - not in word, but in deed. Where do you spend the bulk of your time? What commands your attention each day without fail? What and who would you die or kill for? There's a financial guru in the world who likes to say that people will fall all over themselves to tell you what they value, but he's only interested in looking at their calendars and their bank statements - values are actions. Where you spend your time and your money - those are your values. Sometimes in this life, values change as we change. Maybe writing and creation were a part of your value system at one time. Maybe your values have shifted. Do you hear a voice in the back of your head whispering "We've been here and done this already, enough." It's legitimate to look that thought square in the eyes and follow it through. What if you don't write? What then? What DO you want to create in this world? Who do you want to be? You have permission to keep going. You have permission to put down the keyboard and say, "I don't need to do this anymore." The world doesn't end. And you're free. You're free to walk away to a new life. You're free to turn right back around and commit to trying yet again to write through the fear and uncertainty. There are no right answers and no one will give you a gold star here. Not for anything. If it's NOT a values shift, then: 

4. Other thing known only to you.

Reasons for being stuck are personal. So are the solutions to them. We all share some commonalities - writers get stuck from time to time. Human beings flail. There's nothing inherently bad about it. In fact, half the time, I feel like the judgement of 'being stuck' is 90% of the problem. There is no part of the writing process that recrimination and rising anxiety can't make bleaker and more problematic. The key to getting unstuck is being willing to change. Adapt or die. If you're stuck but cannot give up then you have to batter yourself against the wall of your stuckness until you know every aspect of it. Then you have to transform yourself to slip through, slam through, dig under, or fly over stuckness.

Those are the only options. To quote Yoda. Do. Or do not. There is no try.