Hey, big day!

So today is a big day...after being away from my blog for a few days (not by choice, it's just been a super busy week), I come back to find:

1. I have 10 followers now! Hooray for double digits! I really appreciate you guys, especially when you leave comments for me!
2. I've been nominated for an award by Anassa, over at Specnology! Thank you so much!
   
   Apart from having one of the coolest names I've ever come across, Anassa has a really good blog about writing, technology, technology in writing, and all sorts of other good stuff. She also posts periodically on Science in My Fiction, which is another great blog for sci-fi writers to read.  And with her permission, I'm actually going to pull the rules/qualifications for this award right from her sight because it's a lot faster and easier than typing them out all over again.

The rules for this award are:

• Thank and link to the person who nominated me.
• Share seven random facts about myself.
• Pass the award along to 15 new-found blogging buddies.
• Contact those buddies to congratulate them.

 So, thank you again to Anassa! Now on to my 7 random facts:

1. I have two malformed ribs that stick out farther than the others. (you can't really see them, but you sure can feel them and they drive my wife nuts!)
2. I mentally edit pretty much everything I see (unless I wrote it, then I'm blind as a bat) and have a tendency to judge things when I find errors in them (it's borderline compulsive).
3. When I was a child, I would staple sheets of printer paper into "books" and write my favorite stories in them (complete with illustrations). Robin Hood and Star Wars were the two most commonly reproduced.
4. I have an odd fascination with Disney movies. I realize that's strange, considering that I'm A) an adult, and B) a man, but I really don't care. I think Disney comes up with some of the best movies. Period. Incidentally, I LOVED Tangled. Disney kind of got back to its roots with that film and I definitely approve.
5. Stories are one of the biggest driving factors in my life. Stories are not only the reason I read, write, and watch movies/television, but also the reason I play video games, listen to music, and even talk to people. Stories are what make life/people interesting!
6. I am an Eagle Scout and am very proud of that fact.
7. I kind of get a kick out of seeing how many times I can make my wife say "You're such a geek/dork/nerd" in a single day, mostly because she still loves me!

Now for my blogging buddies. Like Anassa, I can't come up with the full 15, so I'll do the best I can, in no particular order.

1. Teralyn — A Writer's Journey. Teralyn has been a great friend and really helped met learn the ropes of blogging. She actually just used one of my posts as a guest post on her blog. I'm super excited. Thanks Teralyn!
2. Brooke — Brookenomicon. I realize Anassa already nominated Brooke, but I don't care. Brooke has been another awesome friend, and Anassa has way more followers than I do! Brooke has an awesome blog and awesome taste in genres (we commiserate over how steampunk and urban fantasy aren't what they should be anymore). She is also the editor of Hogglepot, an online publication for short fantasy.
3. Shallee — Life, the Universe, and Writing. Shallee is one of my oldest writing buddies. She and I have been friends since freshman year of college. She runs a great blog and, more importantly, is probably my most valuable readers/editors. Thanks for all your help, Shallee!
4. David Powers King — Dave is one of my first followers. He has some really great insights about writing and is also one of the nicest people I've never met.
5. Rosie — East for Green Eyes. First off, awesome blog title; it catches my attention every day. Second, she has one of the most engaging and entertaining blog voices I've found so far.
6. Chantele — My Writing Bug. I love Chantele's Wierd Word Wednesdays! They're so fun! She also leaves some of the best comments on my blog.
7. Michelle — Perfecting the Craft. Apart from having a really cool profile picture, Michelle has given me some really good comments. I also admire how she uses her blog to promote her beliefs and values; that takes courage because people on the internet can be really mean.
8. The Golden Eagle — The Eagle's Aerial Perspective. I don't know this girl's name, but I love her blog because she also talks quite a bit about science and technology. Her A-Z blogfest posts have been fascinating!
9. Kimberly — Meeting with My Muse. Kimberly is one of my more recent connections. I haven't known her too long, but she's already given me some good advice. And I love her A-Z blogfest posts: short, sweet, and to the point, as the saying goes. They're also very useful!
10. Bekah — For some reason I can't get Google Reader to follow Bekah's blog, but I still love to stop by and see what she's got to say. Her last couple posts have been about query letters. And they are AWESOME! Keep it up, Bekah! I need all the help I can get.
11. Faith — Faith has given me some of the best advice on voice that I've ever heard. In a nut shell: don't worry about voice now; just keep writing and it will develop with time. Or at least, that's what I took from her!

So, few as my readers may be (for the moment), go visit each other and see if you make any new friends!

P.S. — Since I started writing this post, I have gained another follower! Thanks Blogger Girlz!

Managing my priorities

Like so many other writers, I struggle to find time I can dedicate to writing. As much as I love writing, there are so many responsibilities I have to take care of (family, work, etc.). I get so discouraged sometime because it feels like I never get to write anymore, and then I feel guilty for wishing I could drop everything else and just write for a while (incidentally, go visit Shallee McArthur's blog and read her post on guilt). I've heard professional writers talk about how they write three or four chapters a week, or even one chapter every day and I can't even imagine what that must be like (this doesn't actually make me feel bad because I understand that is their job...my job is technical writing and editing).

However, hearing what those writers do actually gave me an idea: set writing goals! I figure if I set a goal to write so many chapters/pages in a month, I can more easily schedule writing time, make some good progress on my various WIPs, and not feel bad about the time I'm taking to write! So, I figured I'd start with something fairly easy (if it works out well, I can try and up the quota later) and settled on a goal or writing two chapters every month. If I can plot and write two chapters a month, I can conceivably finish a whole novel in a year or even sooner! (as opposed to the five years it took me to finish the first one).

Anyway, what do you all think? Do you set goals for yourselves? How do you reach them?

How to Create a Great Magic System

So, this post has two main inspirations: last week's post on believable science in science fiction and several comments from the guys over at Writing Excuses. I know I mostly focus either on writing in general or writing for science fiction, but I also delve into fantasy from time to time. Besides, there are a lot of similarities between science fiction and fantasy (though it still bothers me that bookstores shelve them together—it makes it so much harder to browse one or the other!). For example, the technological aspects of science fiction that aren't a reality yet are not different than magic in fantasy stories.

So, on to my topic: making magic believable. The Writing Excuses guys make a really good point here (well...this is one of many): the criteria for a good magic system depend on whether or not the magic will play an integral role in the story. Brandon Sanderson puts it this way (he calls it Sanderson's First Law of Magic, which I thought was kind of clever): your ability to solve problems with magic is directly proportional to how well the character (and, therefore, the reader) understands how the magic works. So if you want magic to be an important part of the story, you really have to know how it works. Jim Butcher does this pretty well in his Dresden books.

For magic to land somewhere in the realm of believability, the reader has to feel like he or she understands it—that means knowing what it can and can't do, how one learns it, how it is used, and what it costs the user each time a spell is cast (or an ability used). Incidentally, in one of their discussions on magic, the Writing Excuses guys said that what magic can't do is often more interesting than what it can. That last thing I'm going to pull from their discussions is this: remember that if you can do something by magic easier than doing it the normal way, you've just put a whole bunch of people out of business; the point being that you have to think about the affect magic will have on your world, it's people, and it's economy.

Now on to my own thoughts. I think a good magic system has to have a process or mechanism for activating a spell (be it a ritual, a gesture, a word, or a combination thereof). I'm not a big fan of the 'just access your inner energy and it's done' kinds of magic (a la Black Magician trilogy by Trudi Canavan, which are wonderful books in spite of the anemic magic system).

I also think a good magic system has to involve some sort of risk, especially to the user. An excellent example of this is Sabriel, by Garth Nix (quite possibly my favorite fantasy book of all time); in it, Sabriel wields two powerful forms of magic, but each is perilous in its own way and there are times when you're afraid one of them is going to get her killed. I think the risk really brings magic into the realm of possibility because almost everything in life involves some sort of risk.

So, what do you all think? What makes magic come to life, in your opinion? For that matter, what do you think of my analysis? Are there wholes in it?

How to Keep Your Science Realistic

One of the things that turns a lot of readers off to science fiction (I think) is that it's just too far out there. A lot of people have trouble connecting to a book that they feel isn't based at least partially in reality. For example, I'm a big fan of Timothy Zahn (sorry, he doesn't have a web site that I've been able to find). I started reading one of his series called the Conquerors Trilogy. The premise was really cool and I absolutely loved the first book. I enjoyed the second book, but I didn't love it and that made it really hard to get through. The problem was that Zahn wrote the entire second book from the perspective of an alien race; cool idea, but I just couldn't connect with the characters and I had a hard time keeping track of things. But I digress.

My point is that, as science fiction writers, we need to make sure the science in our stories isn't too far beyond comprehension. I've found a couple useful resources and tips for doing just that. (Incidentally, I wish I head learned this before I finished my first book.)

1. Find a mentor in the sciences: Personally, I like to talk to my brother. He's an engineer and works mostly on renewable/alternative energy research. Fortunately, he's also a science fiction fan and likes to think about the physics of our genre. He's a great resource because he can explain why something might work (even if we can't get it to work in real life yet) or why something definitely won't work. Besides, it's kind of fun just to kick ideas around with him!
2. Do some research: I know this sounds like a fate worse than death, but it can be really fun. I don't mean you have to earn an advanced degree or anything, you just have to do a little digging to get some background information and a foundation to build your ideas on. I hope the intellectual community wont' lynch my for saying this, but wikipedia is a great place to start. You can get a lot of basic facts and usually plenty of good resources. I also like Science in My Fiction. They do a pretty good job of covering the science fiction standards (energy weapons and the like), especially explaining how writers often misuse them.
3. Share your ideas: I've said it before, but the best way to make sure your ideas will keep your readers interested is to discuss them with someone who reads a lot of science fiction! I love talking to one friend in particular because he'll actually try to punch holes in my ideas (not maliciously). It can be a royal pain sometimes, but it forces me to think about my ideas and see if they really work.

So, what do you do to keep your science real?

P.S. For all you fantasy writers, don't feel left out! I'm tackling magic in my next post!