Sci-fi novel now available from DC member kyrathaba!

[kyrathaba]

Any recommendations on where I go to purchase the domain? Figure purchase it so it doesn't expire for several years?

[rgdot]

There was this recent thread https://www.donation...ndex.php?topic=35464

hover.com, name.com, namecheap.com are some of the recommendations.

[TucknDar]

Have purchased your book and look forward to reading it! Being a fellow DC'er makes me feel like I almost know a real author

I'm curious about a few things and hopefully you could be of help... When you first got the idea to this novel, how did you develop the plot and characters? Did everything sort of "just appear" or did it start with a premise and then take off from there?

How did you set about writing it? I've got a few story ideas, and sometimes I sit down, fire up a word editor and ... very little happens... I write a few sentences but what I write seems a bit phony (usinga word by a favourite fictional character of mine, guess who?). What was the start of writing this novel like for you?

Thanks for any input!

[wraith808]

I know you asked Bryan, but I figured I'd chime in, as I'm working through this now.

I find that for me, when creating a new world, it's best to start with that rather than the story.  Taking notes about key elements that I want to appear in the novel.  Key characters, places, alliances, etc.  Then, once I had all of that, at first I started with the novel... but I found that it still wasn't solid in my mind.  So I decided on an approach based on a writer that I really respect.  The best way to write is to... write.  And to... finish.  It seems like it's pretty obvious, but it wasn't to me.

Set a goal of how many words you're going to write a day, and just like consistency is key in exercise, it is key in writing.  And just like with exercise you don't start out with a marathon, don't start out with a 50k+ novel.  Short stories help to gel the world in your mind... to make it come alive.  It also helps you to get better.

In general, my stories were to gel a world for RPGs or PbEMs before now.  But I've been inspired.   But I can say that they do help.  And there's a variety of places that accept and publish short stories, and it gets you in the mind of actually finishing something to actually submit.  That's been my biggest obstacle- actually finishing something.

[wraith808]

There was this recent thread https://www.donation...ndex.php?topic=35464

hover.com, name.com, namecheap.com are some of the recommendations.

-rgdot (July 26, 2013, 02:07 PM)

I still haven't chosen yet... moving a large number of domains, I need to get the cash first to do so.  But the one I think I was going to go with from that thread was 1&1, though my reason (the free private registration) might not be of importance to you.

[kyrathaba]

WilliamBryanMiller.com available for $10.69/year
WilliamBryanMiller.net available for $11.48/year
WilliamBryanMiller.us or WilliamBryanMiller.biz both for $02.98/year (for that I could spring for a decade, or maybe 15 years).

[kyrathaba]

@TucknDar

First off, thanks for buying a copy of the book! I really hope you enjoy it and are able to give it a good review on Goodreads. Where'd you buy from, Smashwords? The advantage there is buy once and then download in as many different formats as you like (and as are available: usually nine). So, thanks for the purchase!

I agree with everything that wraith said above, about finding inspiration or "getting it done". I'll be honest: in this case of this particular book, I'd had an idea to run a roleplaying campaign set in the not too distant future, in which VR became a bit more real than expected (tip of the hat to Tad Williams). The alien angle was just a dash of seasoning thrown in because, "Hey! Who doesn't wanna see humanity show ingenuity, bravery, and even a touch of panache when dealing with an overpowering alien foe?" Post-apocalyptic fiction has long been a favorite of mine. Loved Stephen King's "The Stand" and anything in that vein. The movie "The Road"? Loved it!

So, I had two advantages going in: (1) I had some idea what I wanted to write, and (2) I was writing the kind of fiction I personally enjoy reading. I know YA Romance is THE genre to be writing in right now, but doesn't interest me as a reader and so I figure I'd totally suck at it.

Like wraith said, you set a goal. I'd make it words/week because there'll be a day now and then you just can't write (flu, family, computer crash). 3000-6000 words per week is doable, and quickly adds up to a novel 70-90K words.

The other bit of advice I'd give is show, don't tell. A little bit of exposition is fine, even needed. But make the story progress by the words and actions of the characters, not (by and large) by describing how they feel, what they do. Show, don't tell. As you'll see when you read my book, there's a lot of action and dialogue, relatively little exposition.

You might also, depending on how you like to work, prefer to do everything at first (as a rough draft) in a minimalist text editor, such as Darkroom or Q10, to name a couple. If you go that route, and you think "Hey, I'll want this italicized later on...", then put some set of symbols enclosing that phrase: *hey, I'll want to italicize this later.* Choose a different set of matching symbols for where you'll want to bold +Hey, I'll wanna bold this later+. Or even *+Hey, I will wanna italicize and bold this later+*.

You WILL need proofreaders. I can't stress that enough.  

The only other thing I can think of to tell you is that I did chapter by chapter outlines. For example, my Prologue outline looked something like this:

What do I want the Prologue to contain?
1. Sethra sitting in his cubicle, journaling using his implant computer
2. Best friend Byron comes by with the news "I have it... (reader interest piqued)
3. Dialogue between the two elucidates the matter, gives reader an inkling of what they hope to achieve.
4. Make it clear that the compound personnel are dying out, and that Sethra and Byron know it.
5. Show their radiation illness affecting them.

^ That's it.

And I found it easier to write chapters, and that they were 1,000 to 2,000 words longer, when I had an outline to go by.

[4wd]

There's also WilliamBryanMiller.me for $8.99/yr.

[wraith808]

I agree with everything that wraith said above, about finding inspiration or "getting it done". I'll be honest: in this case of this particular book, I'd had an idea to run a roleplaying campaign set in the not too distant future, in which VR became a bit more real than expected (tip of the hat to Tad Williams). The alien angle was just a dash of seasoning thrown in because, "Hey! Who doesn't wanna see humanity show ingenuity, bravery, and even a touch of panache when dealing with an overpowering alien foe?" Post-apocalyptic fiction has long been a favorite of mine. Loved Stephen King's "The Stand" and anything in that vein. The movie "The Road"? Loved it!

-kyrathaba (July 26, 2013, 10:24 PM)

That's hilarious... most of my writing up until now has been stuff for roleplaying games... to get me in the mood to either run or play them, and to flesh out characters. 

Three examples:

http://wraith808.com...Asha/Chronicle1.html

http://gamera.cc/fic.../viewstory.php?sid=4

http://gamera.cc/fic.../viewstory.php?sid=1

[wraith808]

WilliamBryanMiller.com available for $10.69/year
WilliamBryanMiller.net available for $11.48/year
WilliamBryanMiller.us or WilliamBryanMiller.biz both for $02.98/year (for that I could spring for a decade, or maybe 15 years).

-kyrathaba (July 26, 2013, 09:48 PM)

I'd go for .com whenever available.  I have .cc, .ws, .net, .me, .org, etc... and whenever I tell anyone anything other than .com that's not tech-friendly, they *still* go, 'huh'? a good portion of the time.

[kyrathaba]

Ok, I'll look into the domain name tomorrow.

What r your fav rpg systems,  wraith?

[kyrathaba]

Good news, Kyrathaba Rising got Premium Channel approval today on Smashwords. Since I'd already pubbed the book independently to the big A and B&N, I opted out of pushing to those retailers from Smashwords. But now they'll push my ebook to the following outlets: Sony, Kobo, Apple, Diesel, Page Foundry, Baker & Taylor Blio and Axis360, and LibraryDirect.

[kyrathaba]

@Tuck

When you first got the idea to this novel, how did you develop the plot and characters

To be honest, I just sat down and started typing. All I had in mind was "It's 170 years from now. Only a few tens of thousands of people survived the alien attack of 2276, by being hustled into well-prepared subterranean enclaves." I knew my story would deal with one of those huge underground compounds in particular -- A-3. Of course, conflict drives narrative,  so (1) there's an alien ship still in orbit, and (2) the people of A-3 are dying of radiation poisoning,  even though for their first five years underground,  their anti-radiation measures proved adequate. Hmm... What's up with that?

As for ideas for characters, I had a roomie in college named Seth Slayton. I changed that to Sethra Slatten, my main protagonist.  I myself am locally known by my middle name, Bryan.  So, Bryan Miller became Byron Milner, the protagonist's best friend. Gave em each a girlfriend. Named Byron's girlfriend after a morphed version of my wife's name.

How did you set about writing it? I've got a few story ideas, and sometimes I sit down, fire up a word editor and ... very little happens...  I write a few sentences but what I write seems a bit phony (usinga word by a favourite fictional character of mine, guess who?). What was the start of writing this novel like for you?

I bought a copy of Jutoh, an all-in-one editor, note organizer, and converter. That set me back $39.95, which motivated me to start writing immediately: very rarely do I purchase software. I usually go OSS or donationware, or roll my own in C#. Jutoh was pretty decent overall, although Sigil is free. What I liked about Jutoh is that, come time to upload to the Smashwords meatgrinder, Jutoh can produce what it calls a Smashwords .odt file. That's an Open Document format file that's already been pre-processed to make it taste better to Smashwords. After saving in that format, I just ran OpenLibre and converted to a Word 97/2003 .doc (not .docx) that Smashwords demands.

[TucknDar]

wraith and kyrathaba, thanks a lot for your answers! I hadn't really thought about the approach you're using wraith, creating the world, characters, etc. as a starting point. I can imagine that it might very well be a better approach for me than trying to develop a story from A to Z.

Good to know that once again I can rely on fellow DC-members to come up with something helpful

[kyrathaba]

Homographs:


1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8. A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewerline.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.PS. - Why doesn't 'Buick' rhyme with 'quick'?

[kyrathaba]

You might also, depending on how you like to work, prefer to do everything at first (as a rough draft) in a minimalist text editor, such as Darkroom or Q10, to name a couple. If you go that route, and you think "Hey, I'll want this italicized later on...", then put some set of symbols enclosing that phrase: *hey, I'll want to italicize this later.* Choose a different set of matching symbols for where you'll want to bold +Hey, I'll wanna bold this later+. Or even *+Hey, I will wanna italicize and bold this later+*.

I mentioned Darkroom and Q10. Here are some others:

Notepad++
Notepad2
AkelPad
NoteTabLite
WriteMonkey
EditPad Lite 7
GetDiz (actually, pretty nice: Gizmodo likes it)

[kyrathaba]

@wraith @rgdot

Okay, I ordered 10 years of williambryanmiller.com from namecheap. Will let you know when I hear back from them.



Getting Started Guide (unnecessary for you two, I'm sure)

I know basic HTML (head, body, bold, italics, how to make tables) but not conversant with div, span, stylesheets, etc.

Can and regularly do use Filezilla

[4wd]

nor ham in hamburger;

-kyrathaba (July 27, 2013, 07:29 AM)

Actually, there was a fast food place where I grew up, (40+ years ago), that did sell a hamburger that had nothing but ham in it.

[wraith808]

Ooh... now we get into a really interesting area.  The software used.  I've tried a lot of things- I had certain requirements, so I'll list that first.  Then I'll list my favorites below.  Then below that, I'll list the ones I actually used.

So, my requirements (developed as I've written and decided on changes to features I wanted)

Hard Requirements

• Plain Text Support - I used word for a while, and it was just too restrictive
• Auto backup

Nice to haves

• Plain Text Editing
• Markdown Support - Even though I want to use plain text, I want to be able to format it
• Multi platform support
• Sync so I can use it on multiple devices

Favorites
IdeaMason3 - It was actually perfect for everything... storing the notes, writing the manuscript, creating the draft... but the company went out of business.  And even though they gave out a DRM free version when they folded, I'm not sure when it will just stop working, so decided to abandon it.  Looking into it just now though, it seems that they've come back.  Might have to look at this again.

Ulysses - It's a great program, but it's Mac only.  For writing, I wanted something cross platform.  It does have the advantage of automatically syncing, which I have to be able to sync... but I just don't do it automatically.  It also has an iOS version, which tempted me also.  But I'm using v2, and they gave no discounts for v3, and that sort of turned me off permanently.  What I really like about it?  It uses Markdown.  Which is the reason I almost used it despite no cross platform capability, because I can edit the files on any Markdown editor.  But that re-buy thing has kept me away.

Writing Outliner - A great add-on for Word, it was pretty much perfect also.  But I decided to get away from using Word for my writing, so I had to bid it adieu, even though it has great support from the developer, and he offered free upgrades to the newest version.

Yarny - A great web application, but it's a web application.  You can export things for your use, even to the point of exporting to epub.  But I just really didn't want a web application.  It's $4/mont, or $36/year... I still think about it since I can get it for $18/year since I won NaNoWriMo last year.  But in the end, even though it has use on multiple devices built in, I just don't want to use it.

My Writing Spot - Another web app, it was even less in contention than Yarny, as it doesn't even have a real firm business model in place.  Well, didn't.  Now that it has companion apps that are paid, I suppose it's in a better position.  But I decided against it.

I also tried several different Markdown capable editors on Windows, Mac, and iOS.  To take the place of Markdown support in the application itself (and also to go more minimal at times), I looked into these as a side by side use case.  I'll list them if you need, but the ones for Windows that I looked at included MarkdownPad and WriteMonkey.

What I actually use
Scrivener- It's just been a joy using this.  MMD support, separate plain text files that it integrates into one file to create your manuscripts, the use of a corkboard paradigm for planning... Mac, Windows, and soon Linux support (just in case)... it's just a great application for writers.  It has support for all of my have to have requirements, and most of the nice to haves, in addition to storing reference and research in the actual project.  It does have a strange naming convention as a warning, but once you get past that, it's really the only drawback.  It also doesn't have built in sync, but with the automatic backups, I back up to a location that I sync... so on my other devices, I can restore that back up.  It's a workaround, and a pain in some cases.  I also copy the project to the sync location when I exit, so I have all of the individual files.  It's a pain point... but not too much of one.

ZenWriter
For those times that I just want to get down to it and edit.  It would be perfect if it had markdown support... and if it doesn't get it, I might end up moving to writemonkey when it has plugins.  The reason it's so great right now is really simple... the music and the backgrounds.  When you open it up, it takes up your screen, puts a nice background to it (instead of just black), and plays soothing music.  You wouldn't believe how that helps!  One of the best uses of ten dollars I've seen.

[wraith808]

@wraith @rgdot

Okay, I ordered 10 years of williambryanmiller.com from namecheap. Will let you know when I hear back from them.
 (see attachment in previous post)
Getting Started Guide (unnecessary for you two, I'm sure)

I know basic HTML (head, body, bold, italics, how to make tables) but not conversant with div, span, stylesheets, etc.

Can and regularly do use Filezilla

-kyrathaba (July 27, 2013, 08:42 AM)

I will set up the account... PM me your e-mail address, and it will let you know the basics about the account.  You can send me a password, or I can randomly generate it and you can change it if you want... your choice.  I'll also send you the nameservers to use.

[wraith808]

What r your fav rpg systems,  wraith?

-kyrathaba (July 26, 2013, 10:54 PM)

Historically, it's been RoleMaster, GURPS, and Amber.

As of late, I still use Amber (its great for online RPGs) and variations on that that I've created- but I've been gravitating towards Fate and DungeonWorld/ApocalypseWorld.  There's also an Amber rules based (and idea based) RPG coming out from a Kickstarter that I'm waiting for- Lords of Gossamer and Shadow.

More links to campaigns and such:
http://wiki.gamera.c...interChills.HomePage
http://cyberia.gamera.cc/index.html
http://www.ankhana.net/
http://www.obsidianp...e-shenandoah-reports
http://www.epicwords.com/campaigns/970

And a very much recommended forum on narrative based games: http://story-games.com/forums/

[kyrathaba]

^ Loved the Amber books. Have read them all at least twice, maybe three times. Never tried the RPG.

I hail from a D&D/AD&D background. Ran a 2nd edition campaign for 2 years on rpol.net and a 3 year Dominion Rules campaign on another play-by-post site.

Lords of Gossamer and Shadow looks very promising...

Are you running any active online campaigns that have openings. If so, what RPG system and character-slots needed?

[kyrathaba]

wraith, I have this page available via my account settings on cheapname.com

Is this something where I can take data you provide and plug it in, or am I instead waiting on some specific info from cheapname?

[rgdot]

You don't need your own nameservers (no need to Add new nameservers, these are almost exclusively used in dedicated/VPS server set ups). In namecheap use the ones wraith will send you  in "Domain Name Server Setup" replacing any defaults)

I am assuming wraith is creating an account on a share space for you not allocating/creating something on a VPS/dedicated setup

[kyrathaba]

Ok. Awaiting data from wraith. Bear with me guys: I'm new at this...