New Questions
First, an update from my last post. After two days of mediocre sleep with aid from Codeine 3, I feel about 50% better. The glands in my neck aren't so tender and swollen, I'm not expunging the green/gray sputum as much, and my throat merely feels like there is a giant golf ball in it—the razor blades have disappeared, for now at least. I ate a good dinner last night, albeit very slowly, and I had a good healthy breakfast this morning.
Maybe it was my Seahawks winning yesterday and feeling positive about life in general again, but I think I am on my way to the end of this thing.
An Anonymous visitor posted some questions that I wish to address here. I've answered them elsewhere, but I might as well revisit them here as I'm sure my opinions might have changed a bit.
Question: What do you like about the direction of your new design on the website?
Answer: This will be part of a much longer post I will be making sometime in the future, but I knew I had to redesign this website for the current project I am writing. I do not want to confuse people with what I am doing. To me, at the moment at least, Fell Hammer is dead; it is the past and I am all about the future. To fully step into that future, I had to redesign this website and bring it more into line with The Dagda King.
When it comes to web development, most of my designs come from inspiration gained from great artwork. Since The Dagda King takes place 1/3 in Seattle, 1/3 in Avalon, and 1/3 in Rome, Italy, I knew I wanted to incorporate some aspect of that. A green and lush Avalon made sense—it seems a bit more like fantasy to me—and I knew relatively quickly I wanted to use a piece called The Crossing by Michael Whelan.
For those of you who might not know who Michael Whelan is, he is a multi-Hugo Award winning artist whose work has graced some of the best books in fantasy and sci-fi literature. I won't go into them all. What I will say is I have admired his work for a very long time. To have Michael Whelan do my first novel's cover art would be... well, words escape me.
The Crossing is a landscape painting with greens and yellows and mist. I think that works for The Dagda King and one of its settings. I wrote Michael asking if I could use the image on my personal website, asking for the right to do so. One thing I've learned in all of my time working in this industry is if you don't ask for something, you won't get it. So always ask. What do you have to lose?
Michael hasn't gotten back to me. The holidays are a busy time for a lot of people and perhaps he hasn't made his way through all of his email. Or perhaps it isn't worth his time.
I am not one of those people who put all of their eggs in one basket. Not any more. I gave the initial manuscript for Fell Hammer to one agent and one editor and didn't hear anything for nine months. I realized it's not smart to place one's faith in one line of thinking, and the same was true with the new website's artwork.
When I started thinking of alternatives, I realized I could go two ways with it: I could keep it semi-epic (a castle scene or a forest scene) or semi-urban (a city scape of some kind or street view). Two great artists sprang to mind.
The first is the cover artist for Jim Butcher's Dresden Files, Chris McGrath. I haven't read Jim Butcher's series yet, but from what others have told me he uses some of the same elements I am using in The Dagda King. Chris McGrath has very nice covers—I love his Richard K. Morgan covers—and I could see him paint a scene similar to those on Butcher's books. I'm one of those people who is willing to spend significant money on a nice piece of artwork if I think it will help me, and Chris became a possibility.
The second is a man who has been dead a long time, Caspar David Friedrich. I won't go into his history except to say he has an amazing vision for seeing the fantasy that is already in this world. I had the chance to study him while at the University of Washington, and his work has stuck with me all of these years.
I went with the second, with a Caspar David Friedrich piece of art called Cloister Cemetery in the Snow. Sadly, the actual piece of art was destroyed in 1945 in Berlin. In a way, I like using it for my story; there is a literary significance for it, I think.
When I develop websites, I try really hard to use art and fonts and layouts that make sense for the subject matter. In this case, I have a story that is centered around Celtic mythology and there are some great fonts and art out there for that. After doing some extensive searching, I found the pieces of artwork and fonts I wanted to use.
And then I got sick.
I redesigned my website in one day, basically. I was sick and on my second day of being home and feverish, and I was really bored—amazing how boredom can be a driving force for these things sometimes. I already had the "outline" for the website in my head, so I just spent the entire day wrapped in a blanket and working on the site. It came together really quickly, and I am pleased with how all of the Celtic elements came together; I knew if they didn't, I'd spend all of my time working on it at the detriment of my writing.
One of the things I don't like about the website is the lack of content the older site had. That older site had a map, a synopsis, several excerpts, my bio, an FAQ, etc. But I'd rather spend my time writing The Dagda King than write those other things; I think it is important for a writer to remain focused on what really matters—the book.
Question: How you feel about Song of the Fell Hammer now that you are more removed from it? Does the unfinished storyline bother you?
Answer: I answered this one briefly in a previous post, but I'll give it another shot now that I have a month of writing behind me.
When I finished Fell Hammer, I thought it was better than some of the titles being released out there. And it still might be. But at the time I didn't take into account how much I had learned from the beginning of the book to its end and what that would mean for my next book.
Over the years, I have heard from Terry Brooks and Greg Keyes that their first book efforts were terrible and just should not see the light of day. They were learning books. I had hoped I had approached Fell Hammer in a way where that wouldn't happen. But now, upon reflection, I think Fell Hammer is my learning book; I think it may never be published, not in its current form anyway. I think it is very naive in certain aspects like early character development and story structure, and I would have to spend significant time improving it to my own satisfaction.
The story itself is a good one. Battle's Perilous Edge, the title of the trilogy, is still a viable epic fantasy I think and one I may be able to make work. But Fell Hammer would have to be rewritten from scratch I think. Do I feel comfortable with that? Not really. As I said above, I like to look forward to the future. So who knows what the future of Fell Hammer may hold.
Concerning the unfinished trilogy, I'm pretty okay with it; after all, I know how it all ends. But I do feel terrible for those people who have read Fell Hammer in hopes of learning more about Sorin, Relnyn, Nialls, Dendreth, Arianna, and Thomas in future books, but there is nothing I can really do about it. I will say the first five chapters I wrote in The Winter Scion were very good, at least I think they were, and I am sad that story can't be told. But maybe the future will allow me to do it eventually; after all, if I can get The Dagda King onto the bookstore shelves, perhaps someone will want Fell Hammer and its two sequels.
I do know this though: writing the first six chapters of The Dagda King has been far easier than those first six chapters of Fell Hammer. I don't think I realized it, but I learned a lot from writing that first book. The confidence at knowing I can finish a book helps, but it goes beyond that. I know I can develop characters, create a story, and drive that story forward to a satisfying climax. I know there are people in New York who are waiting for me to finish this book so they can read it; I didn't know that last time. So far, this experience has been far more satisfying simply because I don't have to worry about many of the things a first time writer does, mainly "Can I do this?"
Let me tell you. You can. If I can do it, you can do it.
Maybe it was my Seahawks winning yesterday and feeling positive about life in general again, but I think I am on my way to the end of this thing.
An Anonymous visitor posted some questions that I wish to address here. I've answered them elsewhere, but I might as well revisit them here as I'm sure my opinions might have changed a bit.
Question: What do you like about the direction of your new design on the website?
Answer: This will be part of a much longer post I will be making sometime in the future, but I knew I had to redesign this website for the current project I am writing. I do not want to confuse people with what I am doing. To me, at the moment at least, Fell Hammer is dead; it is the past and I am all about the future. To fully step into that future, I had to redesign this website and bring it more into line with The Dagda King.
When it comes to web development, most of my designs come from inspiration gained from great artwork. Since The Dagda King takes place 1/3 in Seattle, 1/3 in Avalon, and 1/3 in Rome, Italy, I knew I wanted to incorporate some aspect of that. A green and lush Avalon made sense—it seems a bit more like fantasy to me—and I knew relatively quickly I wanted to use a piece called The Crossing by Michael Whelan.
For those of you who might not know who Michael Whelan is, he is a multi-Hugo Award winning artist whose work has graced some of the best books in fantasy and sci-fi literature. I won't go into them all. What I will say is I have admired his work for a very long time. To have Michael Whelan do my first novel's cover art would be... well, words escape me.
The Crossing is a landscape painting with greens and yellows and mist. I think that works for The Dagda King and one of its settings. I wrote Michael asking if I could use the image on my personal website, asking for the right to do so. One thing I've learned in all of my time working in this industry is if you don't ask for something, you won't get it. So always ask. What do you have to lose?
Michael hasn't gotten back to me. The holidays are a busy time for a lot of people and perhaps he hasn't made his way through all of his email. Or perhaps it isn't worth his time.
I am not one of those people who put all of their eggs in one basket. Not any more. I gave the initial manuscript for Fell Hammer to one agent and one editor and didn't hear anything for nine months. I realized it's not smart to place one's faith in one line of thinking, and the same was true with the new website's artwork.
When I started thinking of alternatives, I realized I could go two ways with it: I could keep it semi-epic (a castle scene or a forest scene) or semi-urban (a city scape of some kind or street view). Two great artists sprang to mind.
The first is the cover artist for Jim Butcher's Dresden Files, Chris McGrath. I haven't read Jim Butcher's series yet, but from what others have told me he uses some of the same elements I am using in The Dagda King. Chris McGrath has very nice covers—I love his Richard K. Morgan covers—and I could see him paint a scene similar to those on Butcher's books. I'm one of those people who is willing to spend significant money on a nice piece of artwork if I think it will help me, and Chris became a possibility.
The second is a man who has been dead a long time, Caspar David Friedrich. I won't go into his history except to say he has an amazing vision for seeing the fantasy that is already in this world. I had the chance to study him while at the University of Washington, and his work has stuck with me all of these years.
I went with the second, with a Caspar David Friedrich piece of art called Cloister Cemetery in the Snow. Sadly, the actual piece of art was destroyed in 1945 in Berlin. In a way, I like using it for my story; there is a literary significance for it, I think.
When I develop websites, I try really hard to use art and fonts and layouts that make sense for the subject matter. In this case, I have a story that is centered around Celtic mythology and there are some great fonts and art out there for that. After doing some extensive searching, I found the pieces of artwork and fonts I wanted to use.
And then I got sick.
I redesigned my website in one day, basically. I was sick and on my second day of being home and feverish, and I was really bored—amazing how boredom can be a driving force for these things sometimes. I already had the "outline" for the website in my head, so I just spent the entire day wrapped in a blanket and working on the site. It came together really quickly, and I am pleased with how all of the Celtic elements came together; I knew if they didn't, I'd spend all of my time working on it at the detriment of my writing.
One of the things I don't like about the website is the lack of content the older site had. That older site had a map, a synopsis, several excerpts, my bio, an FAQ, etc. But I'd rather spend my time writing The Dagda King than write those other things; I think it is important for a writer to remain focused on what really matters—the book.
Question: How you feel about Song of the Fell Hammer now that you are more removed from it? Does the unfinished storyline bother you?
Answer: I answered this one briefly in a previous post, but I'll give it another shot now that I have a month of writing behind me.
When I finished Fell Hammer, I thought it was better than some of the titles being released out there. And it still might be. But at the time I didn't take into account how much I had learned from the beginning of the book to its end and what that would mean for my next book.
Over the years, I have heard from Terry Brooks and Greg Keyes that their first book efforts were terrible and just should not see the light of day. They were learning books. I had hoped I had approached Fell Hammer in a way where that wouldn't happen. But now, upon reflection, I think Fell Hammer is my learning book; I think it may never be published, not in its current form anyway. I think it is very naive in certain aspects like early character development and story structure, and I would have to spend significant time improving it to my own satisfaction.
The story itself is a good one. Battle's Perilous Edge, the title of the trilogy, is still a viable epic fantasy I think and one I may be able to make work. But Fell Hammer would have to be rewritten from scratch I think. Do I feel comfortable with that? Not really. As I said above, I like to look forward to the future. So who knows what the future of Fell Hammer may hold.
Concerning the unfinished trilogy, I'm pretty okay with it; after all, I know how it all ends. But I do feel terrible for those people who have read Fell Hammer in hopes of learning more about Sorin, Relnyn, Nialls, Dendreth, Arianna, and Thomas in future books, but there is nothing I can really do about it. I will say the first five chapters I wrote in The Winter Scion were very good, at least I think they were, and I am sad that story can't be told. But maybe the future will allow me to do it eventually; after all, if I can get The Dagda King onto the bookstore shelves, perhaps someone will want Fell Hammer and its two sequels.
I do know this though: writing the first six chapters of The Dagda King has been far easier than those first six chapters of Fell Hammer. I don't think I realized it, but I learned a lot from writing that first book. The confidence at knowing I can finish a book helps, but it goes beyond that. I know I can develop characters, create a story, and drive that story forward to a satisfying climax. I know there are people in New York who are waiting for me to finish this book so they can read it; I didn't know that last time. So far, this experience has been far more satisfying simply because I don't have to worry about many of the things a first time writer does, mainly "Can I do this?"
Let me tell you. You can. If I can do it, you can do it.
posted by Shawn C. Speakman | 1:49 PM
6 Comments:
Glad to hear you're feeling better Shawn. Lots of chicken soup my friend.
Your posts no matter how dire or disastrous the message are always full of such perseverance and inspiration. Thank you for that.
On a side note, I had an interesting thought while visiting Tunes today. I journeyed into the Podcast section, looking for some good book/story/writing discussion. Not to much. But there was one that caught my eye, "Podcast Fiction of Seth Harwood".
I have not had a chance to look in to it to much, but it appears that basically he has created his own "Book on CD". Perhaps the Fell Hammer could be brought to life in this fashion. A free POD cast may be a way to build a larger fan base. For one it is free and two the category of Podcasts under Arts is rather limited.
Just an idea
Sean:
(Thats my name not me butchering your name by the way :)
Thoroughly enjoyed this post. It was nice to see what was going on in the personal side, and altogether interesting to here just a glimpse of what you do on the webdesigning side of things. WOW, I can't imagine, can't even begin to imagine deciding my first (and only to this date) novel was a learning experience that shouldn't see the light of day. Can I repeat, WOW. There goes any validity to the claims of you being arrogant or gloating. :)
Actually, at first I thought you were a little arrogant too, but than everytime I read a post I make on here or other sites I think I sound a little arrogant and I know I'm not, see I can see where you are coming from. As for knowing alot of famous authors thats great, haha, puts you in an awkward situation I can see. Well, when you finally get that first book published you'll just be a guy in the biz who know's other guys in the biz, but for now some will percieve it as name dropping.
Glad to hear you're feeling better. Keep up the great work. And now i'll digress from wrapping up the letter and ask a question that just popped into my head: I see by reading your blog and the updates that you write everyday, and usually a good deal I also am aware that you design a number of websites, and previously worked at B&N, so my question would be: (i'm going colon crazy here, if i use enough maybe i'll use one correctly--jk) What would you say is your "job" right now? Writing with web design to supplement your income? Web design while chasing your dreams of writing? Or other?
sean:
Forgot to put this in the first post. Cheers to you for looking for the perfect cover art on the book. You can, or at least one should, never underestimate the impact of quality artwork on the book. Not only from the impulse at the point of purchase, and not only from the marketing side, but once a book is published and established the cover art is .....ART. Perfect example, Terry Brooks new Elves of Cintra, beautifull cover. Robin Hobb'S FARSEER trilogy is the best series i have ever read but the book covers are abominable, almost to the point of embarrassing to cary around. My perception of the series would be only that much better if the cover art matched the content.
Shawn,
Your ability to completely immerse yourself into every little aspect of your story never ceases to amaze me. ;)
Feel better!
-Mark
PS GO HAWKS!
J.David: I checked Seth's website out and it seems pretty nifty. It isn't something I would do, but I do like the idea.
Fell Hammer will just remain on my desktop until I come to my epiphany. haha
Sean: It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to let Fell Hammer fall to the past. I hear so many people unable to let go, move on, do something different, and I would always think to myself, "These people need to stop being wrapped up by their dreams, straighten them out, and write more." Then it happened to me, and it was fairly easy for me to let it go because I didn't want to be one of those people. I know for a fact I didn't write the best novel ever created -- some writers believe that long after their 50th rejection.
To me, there is a difference between being optimistic and being naive.
At any rate, I remember the moment I let Fell Hammer go. Terry's editor in chief had rejected it and after a week of moping and mulling it over, I realized my attitude was taking me nowhere. Literally nowhere. She had said the same thing as everyone else and this is a woman I trust like no other when it comes to the publishing industry. Why wasn't I trusting her now?
I got up from my desk and looked out my window. The clouds were rushing past as they tend to do in Seattle fall, and I just shook my head while thinking, "I am an idiot."
I let Fell Hammer go while realizing there are other stories to tell - many of them, in fact -- and they weren't getting my attention because the previous one had blinded me from them.
That night, I went to the local restaurant and bar where I outline, I pulled out a blank white coaster, and started scribbling out the initial notes for The Dagda King I had had in my head for a year. Perhaps I'll try to take a picture of that so you can see what my thoughts looked like on 3" x 3". They are quite different now, but a lot of it stayed the same.
As for your new question, I'll tackle that one in a new post. It's a good one to devote some time to. I will also post some artwork so you guys can see what I like by Chris McGrath and why I won't let a publisher put a cover on a book that I don't place a stamp of approval on.
IncubusJax: Thanks for the compliment. I do admit though, immersing myself in my story does tend to get me trouble. Going away while talking to someone is not the best way to make friends. haha
Oh, and Go Hawks!
"Let me tell you. You can. If I can do it, you can do it."
Great inspiration Shawn!
Thanks!
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