Authors Answer 112 – Characters Celebrating Christmas

Of course, the completion of a certain project that’s taking so long would be appreciated too.

I Read Encyclopedias for Fun

It’s almost Christmas now, which means it’s time for the annual Christmas question. The authors love presents, but what about the characters? They should be able to receive presents, right? But what if they’re in fantasy or science fiction, where they may not have Christmas? Let’s find out!

Question 112: It’s almost Christmas. What would a main character of one your works like for Christmas?

Tracey Lynn Tobin

Nancy – from “Nowhere to Hide” – would probably like a few new weapons, maybe some new clothes, a hot shower…oh, and definitely as large a supply of non-perishable food items as Santa can fit in his sack.

Gregory S. Close

Osrith Turlun, former Captal of House Vae, soldier, duelist, sometime criminal, mercenary and generally grumpy man-at-arms, would like a new knitting needle.  He just broke one off in someone’s skull where last I left him in the writing of

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Authors Answer 99 – That Annoying English Class Question

Also, I’d be too busy looking for the flying pigs to actually notice what students were saying about it.

I Read Encyclopedias for Fun

When we were in English class in school, I’m sure we all dreaded that one question that we were always asked. What is that question? Of course, we never liked to decipher the hidden (or obvious) meaning that the author is trying to tell us. But what happens if our books are being dissected in English class?

Question 99 – If something you wrote was read by an English class, how do you think they would answer this common question: What message is the author trying to convey?

Paul B. Spence

That there is hope.

D. T. Nova

I guess I’ll go with my still-unpublished first novel.

I imagine that a common answer to that question would be “The system is broken, but the will to change it for the better is unbreakable.” Alternately the more simplistic “Queer people can be heroes, and organized religion can be destructive.”

Elizabeth Rhodes

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Authors Answer 73 – A Flight Across the Pacific

It’s probably a good thing that these people aren’t all on the same flight.

I Read Encyclopedias for Fun

We often talk about our writing in general, but we never show off our writing skills in Authors Answer. Well, since I am on my way to Canada soon, let’s find out how we describe the trip.

Question 73 – Jay Dee is moving to Canada in less than a week. In the voice of one of your characters, how would they describe a nine hour flight from Japan to Canada?

Paul B. Spence

Drake sighed and nudged Geoffrey to get his attention.

“I’m bored,” he complained.

“Have another drink,” Geoffrey suggested, looking up from his book.

“I’ve tried drinking,” Drake said patiently. “It didn’t work. You know that alcohol alone could never intoxicate me. I considered propositioning one of the stewardesses, but I was never one for quickies, and I only have seven hours left on this flight, after all.”

“You know, I have trouble telling when you’re joking.”

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Authors Answer 68 – Authors Research the Strangest Things

Honestly, if I just look something up quick because I only need to check a single fact, I might not even remember it every time this kind of topic comes up. More things I’ve researched include Area 51, railguns, tarot, a lot of mythology, Romeo and Juliet laws, volcanoes, the Knights Templar, the lyrics of a Vocaloid song, intersex conditions, and hairstyles.

I Read Encyclopedias for Fun

Authors appear to be very intelligent, don’t they? Well, a lot of the knowledge they’ve gained for writing is through research. And there are some bizarre topics that they’ve researched. I’m sure you’d be surprised, amused, or horrified if you went through an author’s Google search history. But don’t worry, it’s all for the book!

Question 68 – What are some of the most unusual things you’ve researched for your writing?

Allen Tiffany

Whether or not a dual star system can have a planet orbiting one of the stars. There seems to be one line of thinking that it can be done if the planet’s orbit is at a 90 degree angle to the plane on which the two stars orbit each other. I also saw an article that said it was not possible, and tried to explain why with mathematical equations. I gave up trying to understand it, and…

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Authors Answer 52 – A Big Thank You

I would like to thank all my readers. I’m not very good at this, but I did say a little more than that, and check out everyone else’s answers, including some guest authors.

https://ireadencyclopedias.wordpress.com/2015/10/30/authors-answer-52-a-big-thank-you/

I’m still having difficulty focusing, and I just can’t do nearly everything I plan to. I’m not doing the official NaNoWriMo because of the state my current work in progress is in, but if I don’t give myself a deadline on that I’m afraid I won’t be able to speed it up, so finishing this revision is my NaNoWriMo.

That means I won’t be posting on this blog as often as I’d hoped, but I don’t think I’m going to have to actually slow down compared to the last few months.

Authors Answer 47 – Portraying Cultures in Fiction

Of course the meaning and importance of this question varies a lot depending on what kind of story it is.

I Read Encyclopedias for Fun

If you want a novel to come alive, you don’t want a generic group of people. You want some culture. Culture is an important part of life, and different cultures are often shown in novels, whether real cultures or fictional ones like in fantasy. But how do authors handle cultures?

Question 47 – How do you portray different cultures in your writing?

Linda G. Hill

I don’t. I like to know what I’m writing about, so if I was to include another culture in my fiction, I would demand extensive research of myself. Research takes a lot of time, and time isn’t something I have a lot of… so… I haven’t, really, had any cultures in my writing that aren’t my own.

Allen Tiffany

Great question. Doing this is tough. You have to be judicious and clever as you share aspects of different cultures, especially if you created them (such…

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Authors Answer 46 – Promoting with Blogs or Websites

But for the immediate future I should really be more focused on having something to promote.

I Read Encyclopedias for Fun

These days, there are a lot of indie authors who need to promote their own books. Many traditional authors also do a lot of promotion themselves. It’s very common for an author to have a website, run either by themselves or someone else, and also quite common to have a blog.

Question 46 – How do you use your blog or website to promote your writing?

Elizabeth Rhodes

I use my blog to talk about characters and stories I’m working on, and some things I learn while making them.  On occasion I participate in blog hops like Weekend Writing Warriors and post snippets of my writing.  There’s other content not related to writing, like recipes.

Tracey Lynn Tobin

My blog, No Page Left Blank, is my home base for all things writing and social-media related. Though it is consistently the least viewed of my social media outlets (I’ve had…

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I’ve been nominated for the Creative Blogger Award

Another award so soon? Thank you, lynlynsays, for this nomination.

The rules of the Creative Blogger Award.

• Thank the person who nominated you and include a link to their blog.
• Share 5 facts about yourself.
• Nominate 15 – 20 bloggers and add their links.
• Notify the bloggers you included.
• Keep the rules in your post to make it easy for everyone to know what to do!

Science of Anime: Beam Sabers

Star Wars had lightsabers before any anime did, but weapons similar to them are quite common in anime, so they’re the topic today.

First of all, they certainly can’t literally be light. Neither a normal beam of light nor a laser stops when it reaches a set length, or blocks other beams from crossing itself.

Authors Answer 32 – Controversy

And a couple of other things, now that I think about it.

I Read Encyclopedias for Fun

Controversy. Adding just a little can make a story quite provocative. Some people will demand the books be removed from the library, others will love it. There are so many controversial subjects that could offend someone. But who will write about controversial subjects? Some authors would rather avoid that.

Question 32: Do you write about any controversial topics?

S. R. Carrillo

I like to think the topics I write about aren’t very controversial, but honestly they prolly are (hm, let’s see – sex, violence, queer stuff, antiheroes, drug abuse, twisted families, incest, etc.). Like, my friggin debut novel is about a gay angel and the lost little demon who always wants to eat him. Can’t say I have any regrets, though – the weirder, the wronger, the more I fall in love with the story. Mwahah.

Tracey Lynn Tobin

Honestly? I try to avoid controversial stuff, unless I feel very…

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