Why are Immortal Characters So Immature Sometimes?

Fantasy author Rachel Aaron recently posted this entertaining and insightful blog piece about immortals in genre fiction, especially the male characters, who are quite often said to be thousands of years old yet they seem to be immature and act like the thirty-something that the model on the cover depicts.

It continues to amaze me that paranormal romance and urban fantasy authors don’t see anything wrong with depicting a guy or group of guys who are supposed to be five thousand years old and all they do is go to night clubs and hang out with each other, living in “Frat Houses of the Damned” as Smart Bitches have called them, until one of the guys meets “the woman of his dreams” who “show him what he’s been missing” all this time. It kind of begs the question, what have they been doing until the present day? Like Rachel, I, too, wish the authors of some of these books would put more thought into, as Rachel says, “why is this dude still going clubbing/living alone with no hobbies at 3000 years old?”

I think perhaps more authors need to question the notion of how a creature who’s been alive and kicking around for thousands of years would find anything in common with a (usually) mortal woman who’s only been around for 20 to 30 tops (or worse, a teenage girl), and I often wish that readers would get more insights into a male character’s background and history, but that’s often not the case. More importantly, it’s difficult for many authors to convey, with authenticity, characters who are that old and it’s sometimes just a “taken for granted” thing that they know their way around the twenty-first century world without much explanation as to how they’ve adapted. The comment section of the blog post is definitely worth a gander, as well, and as one reader pointed out, Anne Rice stands out as one example of an author who has managed to lend a wonderful sense of timelessness to her immortal vampires.

But I digress. It’s a very entertaining post, and Rachel raises many good points that I often find myself wondering with some of the more popular paranormal romance series that feature several immortal characters who perhaps don’t come across as developed as they should.

Although I’ve not heard of the anime she mentions, Scrapped Princess, it seems interesting and like it might be worth checking out

Ad Astra 2013

I’ve been going to the Ad Astra fan convention for quite a few years now, and every time I go back there’s something even better than the last time. This year’s guests of honour were Jim Butcher, Stephen Hunt, Ben Bova, and Scott Caple (unfortunately Shannon K. Butcher couldn’t make it) and also on-hand were a number of past GoHs including Kelley Armstrong, Julie Czerneda, Ed Greenwood, Guy Gavriel Kay, Lesley Livingston, Robert J. Sawyer, and many more.

There’s always something to do each day of Ad Astra and the programming is always excellent. This year was no exception. I started off with a panel called “The Book is only the Beginning” which featured Gregory A. Wilson, Brett A. Savory and Samantha Beiko from ChiZine, Marie Bilodeau, and urban fantasy author Linda Poitevin, of whom I’m a huge fan. It was essentially focusing on what happens next when a writer has finished a book.

The best thing about the panel was the diversity of panelist backgrounds with both the independent small press contingent as well as traditional Big Six (soon-to-be-five) point of views and experiences being discussed. Some highlights included mentions of Dos and Donts, such as not pitching to a publisher when they’re in the bathroom, which is a pretty big one but still some people seem to be repeating it; another good one was to realize that authors aren’t J.D. Salinger-esque figures who can just come out of their cave every so often, give their manuscript to a publisher, and say “Okay, now you promote it while I go and work on the next book.” Publishers and authors should have partnerships. Even those signed with The Big Six must take promotions largely into their own hands to ensure their success. Brett and Samantha stressed the importance of having an active and up-to-date online presence, which there are many ways to achieve, and that publishers are ultimately looking for more information on an author when they’re considering a manuscript by that person, and not having a website or any online profiles can definitely work against an author.

Next up was the “Defining Horror” panel moderated by Suzanne Church and featuring panelists Michael Matheson, Matt Moore, and Rio Youers, which was an interesting look at attempts to define horror and what it means to fans, and ultimately, horror is very personal, because there are things that can terrify one person or writer to death and not be of such consequence to another person, so horror can be subjective in that way. There was also some discussion of horror tropes, some cliches that are best avoided, why certain works of horror have been effective, as well as universal themes that scare us all, including death. The audience contributed some interesting points to the discussion, which made it an interesting panel overall, and although Ad Astra usually has a small Horror contingent, it’s always nice to see some of the programming devoted to it along with the sci-fi and fantasy discussions that go on at the convention.

Following that was “You Must Finish” featuring Erik Buchanan (moderator), Stephanie Bedwell-Grime, Mike Rimar, Derek Kunsken, and Karina Summer-Smith, which was a discussion of why some writers have so much difficulty finishing projects, and why we get stuck, and what we can do to counter-act these problems in our own writing. This was a genuinely entertaining panel with many funny moments as some of the panelists had a great banter and moderator Erik Buchanan’s dry wit went over very well with the audience members. Discussions of plotters versus pantsers came up, giving advantages and disadvantages to both, as well as some talk of the “don’t look back” method whereby writers should power through writing a manuscript and not look back until they’re done, that is to say, don’t rewrite as you’re writing the manuscript. One of the panelists mentioned that there are some writers who are able to rewrite as they’re writing their manuscripts and that although it’s great that this works for them, this system doesn’t work for everyone. The most important thing is to go ahead, surround oneself with words of encouragement from other writers, particularly if participating in NanoWrimo or similar writing events, and to find a system that works for you. Some writers can get incredibly ‘boxed in’ and limited and feel trapped by outlines, and it’s always something that should be paid attention to when a book starts to deviate from the written outline, because perhaps that’s a sign that it’s too rigid.

There was also some discussion of the fact that not everyone can write 2,000 words a day and that writers do definitely set “too high” goals sometimes, which is definitely something I think we can all say we have been guilty of at some point or another, and that instead of beating ourselves up for only getting to 200 words one day that we should embrace the fact that we have made progress instead of lashing out at ourselves for not making as much progress as we said we would.

I also had the pleasure of attending the “Demons, Werewolves, and Necromancers” panel moderated by Douglas Smith, and featuring perhaps the most popular GoH at the con, fantasy author Jim Butcher, as well as Timothy Carter, Timothy Liebe, and Andrew Pyper. This was one of the most fascinating panels to listen to and it was a packed house with standing-room-only for good reason. Some very interesting questions were asked including how not to make protagonists–or villains–come across as perfect, flawless and thus unsympathetic Mary Stu/Gary Stu types, as well as a particular motivation given to a villain from each of the writers that they considered to be the most interesting thing they’d done. I was glad to see Pyper in particular, author of the recent supernatural thriller The Demonologist as he’s more known for his contemporary real-world thrillers, and although he’s not known for being a genre fiction writer, and is new to the supernatural, he made very interesting contributions to the discussions and it was nice to see the diversity of panelists represented not just on this panel but overall, as well.

As well, I was fortunate enough to get my copies of Sins of the Angels and Sins of the Son signed by Linda Poitevin, which was fantastic, and I’m so happy I had the chance to meet her as she’s one of my favourite urban fantasy novelists and it’s amazing to see more Canadian UF novelists emerging in the field, which gives me hope for my own novels (someday…;-)). It was a great way to cap off a great afternoon, and if you haven’t been to Ad Astra before, I would wholeheartedly recommend that you do attend, because there’s something for everyone, and it’s a great combination of a fan convention with cosplay and dances, but also many amazing, useful, and insightful panels for aspiring and established writers as well as genre fans and readers alike.

Do’s and Don’ts of Social Media for Writers: Part 3

This post marks Part 3–the final part–of my series on Top 10 Do’s and Don’ts of Social Media for Writers. Click the following links to read the previous parts: Part 1 | Part 2

Takeaway Points:

• There’s no one set “formula for social media success for writers” template that’s a one-size-fits-all approach that works for every single writer. Experiment and see what works best for you.
• Not all writers need to be on social media or to have a blog. In fact, for some it doesn’t make sense.
• Disregard the writing articles and websites that guilt and bully us into believing writers SHOULD, HAVE TO, MUST, NEED TO BE on social media 24/7 all the live-long day, that we “need” a platform before the book deal, that we “need” a pre-existing audience, etc.
• Some writers do just fine with a simple website ( about/bio | books & stories | news | links ), possibly with a press kit included on the ‘about/bio’ page that has a) author photo (hi-res and low-res), b) author bio, c) book cover photos (low res and hi-res).
• Some writers do their networking and connect with readers at conventions, and have a static website, and that’s totally okay, because it’s what works for them.
• Some writers choose one platform to be active on, e.g. just Facebook or just Twitter, plus a website and/or blog, and that’s okay. Some writers are part of Goodreads only while others have Shelfari and LibraryThing, which, again, is up to the invidual author.
• Just because you see a few authors on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, Google+, MySpace, LiveJournal, plus a suped-up website that they paid a professional web designer to create, and a suped-up blog they update every single day, that shouldn’t discourage you, because a) these writers probably write full-time and are in the minority, b) these writers make enough money that they can pay other people to do this sort of stuff for them while they focus on writing, and c) it’s not a realistic endeavor to aspire to, and causes perfectionistic tendencies to rear their ugly heads. What genre do they write? Do they actually see an uptick in sales because of social media efforts? Consider those kinds of factors before becoming overwhelmed.
• As with most things in life, it’s about quality not quantity. Just because you sign up for every single social media platform known to man, it doesn’t mean you’re going to skyrocket to popularity. Not using these tools properly or not investing enough time in them is not a worthwhile investment.
• Pick a few platforms that you know you’ll be able to manage, such as a blog that also acts as your website (particularly if you’re an aspiring writer), + a Facebook page + Twitter + Goodreads OR Shelfari OR LT (stick to one).
• There’s no single platform you “have to” be on. You don’t “have to” blog. You don’t “have to” do anything if you don’t want to, and if you don’t have the passion, readers will pick up on the negative vibe, so it may be wiser not to do blog posts in this case.
• The days of locking yourself up in a cabin, “Ernest Hemingway” style, are all but dead and gone. Writers must shoulder the bulk of marketing and promotional work ourselves as publishers expect this more from authors. The more resources you have at your disposal and the more you educate yourself about what not to do to make sure not to alienate current and potential followers, the better.
  

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  On a sidenote, I might do a separate post on Pinterest, which is more widely used by publishers and bloggers at the moment, but which definitely has some tools writers can use to their advantage.

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  Sound off below Any particular social media pet peeves of writers, or just people in general, that you have to add to this list? Any social media strategies that you think are very effective, either your own or something that you’ve seen another writer do? Let me know

Do’s and Don’ts of Social Media for Writers: Part 2

This is part 2 of my post Top 10 Do’s and Don’ts of Social Media for Writers. For part one, click here.

6. Not everyone auto-follows on Twitter or Facebook.

• Please don’t harass your favourite author, demanding to know why they haven’t followed you back or replied to you, getting aggressive, snippy, or rude.
• On Twitter, though the other person may not be ‘following’ you, their newsfeed still appears to you and you can interact with them.

7. Your Profile Pic really does matter, so choose carefully, but the good thing is, you can also change it.

Some examples of “good” choices for images on your profile include:

• Making your profile pic your latest book cover
• Using a hi-resolution, professional author photo taken by a photographer or a friend that isn’t just one of you at a party that’s been cropped.
• Customizing your Twitter background or Facebook cover photo as a tile of your book cover, a few of your book covers together depending on how many you’ve published, artwork from your book (depending on if you have rights from the publisher and the artist for reproducing these types of images on the web). If you do this, make sure you don’t use an image that takes up only a corner or half of your Twitter background. The image needs to be resized in Photoshop or another image-editing program first, otherwise it will look ugly and unprofessional

And an example of what not to do:

• You may think that photo of you giving the middle finger, blowing smoke out of your face, and other “trying too hard to be cool” poses are awesome. They’re not.

8. Please don’t complain about how others are misusing social media or boast that you’re a guru.

• The Internet is an infinite vista of people from all over the world. You may think you’re an expert and call someone else out on a “noob” move, but chances are one day you’ll pull such a rookie mistake and a real social media expert or an author with a sizeable following will call you out.
• Please do not engage in “flaming” or “flame wars” with another writer or anyone else. Petty Internet feuds with people you most likely don’t know in real life over small disagreements that are blown out of proportion are a waste of time, energy, and web space.
• Don’t get a reputation on writing forums as “that guy”, a cantankerous sourpuss who writes sarcastic comments, picks fights with others, vehemently opposes people for no reason, writes essay-length answers to questions on boards, or worse, become an Internet Troll. It makes everyone involved look unprofessional, especially you.
• You might think that person you started a “flame war” with exists online only–until they recognize your name at a convention or other event and things get really ugly.

9. Enough with the automatic DM messages!

I’m hoping I’m not in the minority and that others are just as annoyed as I am when authors have auto-messages set up to be sent as soon as you “follow” them on Twitter, and sometimes Facebook.

• They’re generic, tacky, and everyone can already see the links to your newest book and website when they click on your profile, so they’re repetitive.
• Some people don’t mind the generic friendly messages thanking people for following the author, but these can still be construed as annoying.
• Add links to the Twitter bio section of your profile and the ‘About’ portion of your Facebook page instead.

10. Please stop with the inspirational quotes, Buddha.

Again, people have mixed opinions on this one.

• If I want inspirational quotes, I can find them myself.
• Just because famous athletes and celebrities do it, it doesn’t mean writers should. Again, people will re-tweet or share these statuses because the people sending them out already have a huge following.
• You may think playing Gandhi is projecting positivity to the writing universe, but most people find this annoying. Maybe not as annoying as some of the other points described on this list, but I’d say keep the inspirational quotes off your Facebook page and Twitter account, and keep them to your personal Facebook account.

This concludes the second part of my Top 10 Do’s and Dont’s of Social Media for Writers, which will follow with a wrap-up post.

Do’s and Don’ts of Social Media for Writers: Part 1

Inspired by a recent article I read on Workopolis called “Antisocial networking: How to get unfollowed, unfriended and lose influence”, I thought “many of these principles are ones writers should follow, too” and decided to write a Top 10 Do’s and Don’ts of Social Media for Writers. This is Part 1.

1. Don’t Get Spammy with Everyone on your Twitter/Facebook Feed.

Indicators of spammy behaviour include, but are not limited to:

• Posting similar and/or the same message several times
• Telling people your book is available several times
• Posting an Amazon or Goodreads link to your book several times
• Monotonous posts
• Be creative with promotional updates, such as “What happens when a vampire and witch join forces to take out a monster hunting children? [TITLE] + shortened url” — which is more specific and better than just simply: “[TITLE], now available + link to buy”.
• If people follow you on Twitter/FB, don’t send each of them direct messages or tag them to please re-broadcast to their followers that your book is now significantly discounted or free for a limited time. If they follow you, they’ll see the message, and if they’re so inclined, will re-distribute it
• Everyone and their mother offers their books at a discount or for free for a limited time. Blogger and Goodreads giveaways, book reviews, chapter excerpts and interviews/guest posts on relevant blogs are a much wiser investment of your time and resources.

2. You REALLY don’t need to update your Twitter and Facebook feeds every five seconds. Seriously.

We all know these writers. Here’s how not to repeat what they do and how to avoid getting unfollowed:

• Any posts/updates related to what you had for lunch, that weird noise in your backyard, not being in the mood to write and beating yourself up about it, asking if any of your readers/fellow writers are going to tune in to a big ticket TV item that night, etc, are not bad per se, but can get annoying pretty quickly
• Just because popular authors get animal-related posts shared/re-tweeted, it doesn’t mean you will. It doesn’t mean you won’t, but popular authors will get their status updates shared/re-tweeted no matter what.
• Keep the deeply personal stuff to your diary. Many writers comfortably post about their personal problems and treat social media like a therapist, which can make readers feel awkward, or worse, unfollow them.
• Posting anything in excess, but especially videos, cat photos, rants, or jokes, will annoy most readers/