Last week I discovered the Reading List on my blog's administration page was overrun by Indonesian gambling sites.
In response, I changed my password and filed a complaint with Google, who owns and runs Blogger.
The gambling spam was still in my Reading List the following day, so I fired-off another complaint to Google.
On the morning of the third day, the spam was gone, so I thought my problems were over.
But then a couple days later, I discovered two spam posts from the same Indonesian gambling sites.
This time I Googled "Spam found on Blogger Reading List." Fortunately, I found a woman who had the same problem two years ago.
The first person to respond told her that the problem wasn't her blog, but one or more of the blogs she had on her reading list. Spammers hijacked one of the blogs she was following and was using to spam other blogs.
It was like facehuggers infesting a derelict spaceship.
(Image: The derelict ship in "Alien," found on Electric Shadow)
The recommended solution was to find the infected blog and delete it from her Reading List.
I was following over 100 blogs.
Was I reading them every day?
No, of course not, but they were blogs I was interested in and would check out some of them when the mood struck me.
So I scrolled through my list.
I found five that were infected.
However, I didn't just delete the five infected ones--I deleted over 40. Some of them were from close friends and family.
These blog owners hadn't posted in anywhere from 1-5 years. I figured sooner or later, these "cyber derelicts" would be too inviting for facehugger/spammers.
There were some I hated deleting, but I didn't want to run the risk of being spammed, or worse, passing along viruses.
Normally, today was honored by the early Christian Church for the martyrdom of two brothers. However, a battle was fought 600 years ago this very day that's continues to capture the imagination of wargamers and military historians ever since--Agincourt.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. The author's prose blends historical detail into a narrative that doesn't bore the reader with a "data dump." Cornwell excels at describing the course of a battle from the viewpoint of the troops doing the actual fighting.
However, compared to Cornwell's other medieval works, the Grail Quest Series, Agincourt only earns an average rating of 4-stars on Amazon.com.
The low raters (giving only 1-3 stars) complained about plodding prose, historical inaccuracies and/or too much inconsequential detail, shallow characters, a formulaic plot and a cookie-cutter protagonist.
The 4-star raters loved the book but also remarked about the formulaic plot and cookie cutter protagonist.
I enjoyed the book as I have with previous Cornwell stories I've read, even The Fort. However, I have to agree with the 4-star raters and add another fourth star to Agincourt.
In this story, the protagonist Thomas Hook follows in the wake of other Cornwell-conceived anti-heroes (Sharpe, Derfel, Thomas of Hookton and Uthred). They're all low-born, but natural warriors, who have to combat not only their external enemies, but the ones within their own ranks as well. Usually this takes the form of a rival, often paired-up with a certifiably insane priest. Of course, the Cornwellian bad-boy can't confront his lethal frenemies openly, lest he be condemned as a criminal.
But just because a story is formulaic, doesn't mean it's bad. In writing, as in science, formulas are used because they work--if followed correctly.
And Bernard Cornwell is a master formula mixer--even if his spin on Agincourt didn't include the coolest battle speech ever.
For this workshop review, I thought I'd use my webcomic trailer to Breakout from Bongolaan--as an example of what not to do when creating a book trailer.
I made my initial trailer before I attended a lecture on making book trailers. I actually like my latest trailer, which I remade when I took additional photographs for my webcomic, despite its shortcomings which I'll mention in parenthetical comments on this post.
This workshop was hosted by Rian Fiske and Steve Ahlbom of Visual Quill.
First, what is a book trailer?
--It's an advertisement for your book.
The internet has changed the way we market products and today's society is the most marketed in history.
What a book trailer is not--
--A plot reveal (mine is)
--A story summary (mine is)
--More important than your book (I'm still writing my webcomic, so I hope not)
--Boring! (I hope mine isn't)
--Unappealing (I hope mine isn't)
--Too focused to a specific person or group (okay, mine is guilty of this last one)
A good book trailer--
--Has a good script, is brief and creatively edited.
Time length:
30 Seconds = Good
60 Seconds = Okay (mine's just over a minute)
90 Seconds = Not Good
A book trailer should evoke a visceral response from a viewer, not an intellectual one, and the mood should be similar to the book.
A book trailer is an important part of book marketing because--
--It takes advantage of the explosive growth of online advertising videos.
--It's on a shareable medium.
--It fosters a deep like-know-trust connection.
--It keeps your book in a reader's mind.
--It's cost effective.
Some interesting statistics--
--Viewers are 64% more likely to buy your book.
--There's usually an 80% increase in conversion rates on your website. That is, visits turning into actual purchases.
--There's often an increase of 2 minutes per stay per viewer on your website.
--92% of mobile viewers share videos with others.
--There's a 19% to 300% increase of sales if a book trailer supplements e-mails and flyers.
--These statistics hold no matter what genre you're writing.
Elements of a good book trailer--
--Visually hint at what takes place.
--Keeps the story moving and is not too short, or too long.
--Uses a good selection of graphics and music.
Bad book trailers are everywhere.
--Most aren't trailers, but rather do-it-yourself (DIY) slide shows (like mine).
--DIY tools exist, but you still need to use them correctly.
What makes a book trailer bad--
--Low quality graphics and photos.
--Too many graphics.
--Too much explanatory text.
--Poor music.
The five elements that make a quality book trailer are:
1. It's not a plot reveal. Think of it as a pitch session.
2. Plan the entire trailer with a story board.
3. Production quality is essential. Hire a professional, if necessary.
4. Know what style you're using and make sure it all hangs together.
5. Don't confuse building your brand with selling your book.
Here are some tips if you are going to go the DIY route:
Your book trailer needs a script, so here are some things to consider--
--Start with your book's synopsis.
--Duration should be between 30-60 seconds.
--Consider this rule of thumb: 50 words = 30 seconds of video.
Utilize appropriate music for your trailer. Music sets the emotional tone and should coincide with the tone of your book.
Editing tools for your DIY book trailer--
--PC users can utilize Windows Movie Maker.
--Mac users can utilize iMovie.
--Tutorials are available on Lynda.com.
And speaking of websites, there are several doityourselfers can make use of.
On deciding whether to use voice-over or text in your book trailer, either will work if done well.
Once you've made your book trailer you'll need to distribute it. For this, you'll have to go beyond Facebook, YouTube and Vimeo.
Upload your trailer on top websites in your niche or genre, along with your personal website, your Amazon Author page, library catalogues, and distribution sites like OneLoad. Also, be sure to set up a computer to play the trailer during book signings.
If you'd rather hire a professional to create your book trailer, there's a few questions you need to keep in mind--
--How much will it cost?
--What can I expect?
--What will the pro do for me?
Prices range from $400 to $4,000, with $1,200 being the average. The more material and input you provide, the less it will be in price.
As to the last two questions, you'll have to discuss the details of the services a professional offers to provide.
With all this information, hopefully you'll be able to say "Lights! Camera! Action!" soon.
First, a note on the intrusion/hacking I reported in my last post.
It looks like the Indonesian gambling spam, courtesy of Read List from "Thrillofadventure" has been purged from my blog's Read List. I hope this hasn't affected any of my readers' systems. Thank you for your patience.
Now getting back to the PNWA 2015 review I meant to write a few days ago...
One of the most daunting issues to me as a writer is the idea of stringing 100,000 words of "literary code" into a coherent novel. So before I turned to writing webcomics, I looked into writing smaller works from Flash Fiction to Short Stories, and everything else just shy of a novel.
When it comes to writers conferences, I'm always interested in workshops on shorter works; in this case, The Five Essential Elements for a Short Story, presented by Bharti Kirchner.
Going over my hastily-written notes, I can't discern five distinct essential elements this year's workshop was suppose to be about, but I managed to scrawl over five pages of my notebook.
So I'll just post what I have in the order I scribbled it down...
Why write a short story?
--Provides feedback and experience in between longer works
--Short stories are popular again, thanks to the internet.
--Short story collections are popular, especially if compiled into a common theme.
--Can provide insight to writing techniques.
What is a short story?
--It's not a personal essay.
--It centers on something happening to a character that means something to that person.
--It's a complete story.
--It's not a character sketch, vignette or anecdote.
--Each sentence must have an impact.
--You must create an emotional effect on the reader.
--There must be an internal change to the character.
What makes a short story work?
--An action or gesture that evokes something occurring beyond the character.
--A mental image of the passing of time, which can be flexible.
Structure of a short story.
--The character understands something profound.
--The readers learn or feel something when finished.
--The first and last paragraphs must be strong, especially in first person.
--The story contains a mystery that grows.
Timespan of a short story.
--Time is comparatively short, but flexible, as previously mentioned.
--It's better to have a narrow timeline as opposed to one dealing with global issues.
How many characters should be involved?
--Usually no more than three.
Elements of a short story are--
--Character
--Plot
--Setting
--Dialogue
--Voice
Character development in a short story--
--Character can be revealed through dialogue.
--Know your character--what does he want and what motivates him?
--Keep in mind the nature of the speaker when writing dialogue.
The voice of a short story can be ordinary, but natural, as if sounding from a real person.
Advancing the plot in a short story--
--Ask "what if?"
--Ask "what does the character want?"
--If the character is thwarted, what provides the momentum?
Short story styles--
--Dropping the reader into the middle of the story.
--Writing the story from the point of view of one of the characters.
--Writing the story from a character's point of view, but talking about another character.
Tips on staying motivated to write a short story--
--Write every day, even if it's only a few sentences.
--Think about the end of your story--and fill in everything else.
--Think about dropping your first paragraph.
And finally, short story markets--
--Magazines
--e-zines
--literary contests
--Writer's Digest publishes Writers Market that lists opportunities
--DuoTrope is another site that you can sign up for and search for markets
On my Blogger homepage there's usually a Reading List displaying the latest posts from the blogs I follow.
About an hour ago, instead of seeing other bloggers' activities, I now have a list of Indonesian gambling sites.
I filed a complaint to Google, which runs Blogger, along with initiating a password change.
I'm not tech savvy enough to determine whether reading any of my blogs will cause any virus or malware to be transferred, but I thought I'd transmit this warning.
My brother bought me my first boardgame for my 16th or 17th birthday. I was instantly hooked on this new hobby. Sometime later, I joined my brother's friends who already had their own gaming group established. My first taste of playing with miniatures was a World War II naval scenario of the Battle of the River Plate.
During my high school and junior college years, few of us had full time jobs--and fewer of us had girlfriends. We scraped together whatever money we could get--allowances, mowing lawns/shoveling snow/babysitting for neighbors--in order to fund our boardgame/miniatures purchases. But since we all lived within walking distance, more often than not, we managed to get together on the weekends and play our games.
Then at some point in my adulthood (at least as measured chronologically), I reached a transition point. Having decent-paying, full time jobs allowed, and still allows, me to purchase the games and miniatures that tickle my fickle fancy; even many out-of-print stuff I wanted to buy when I was younger--as long as they're not being sold at a "collector's price."
However, I now have less time to game than I did when I was a girlfriendless, introverted teenager.
In conversations I've had with my fellow middle-age-ish gaming buddies, I've found many that have experienced this phenomena.
So what's all this waxing poetic have to do with a product review?
Well, tabletop gaming is a social and interactive experience, and it's hard to interact with your gaming buddies, even via the internet, when you're life-schedule gears don't mesh well together. (Due to my rotating shift work, I swear I have the worst attendance record in my regional gaming group).
Anyway, I've tried a handful of times to play a game solitaire. I have a couple of friends that do this on a semi-regular basis. I've found the experience lacking, primarily because I'm playing a game designed for two or more players, and have had a tendency to cheat favor one side over the other.
This game is one of four currently in DVG's Commander Series and is designed specifically for solitaire play. The player assumes the role of Napoleon, and plays-through one of the 11 campaigns, which span from 1796 to 1815. These can be played separately, or combined. The rules contain a handful of modifications needed to tie all the campaigns together.
But no matter which way you play, the goal is to see if you can achieve the same fame and glory as Napoleon did...
The quality of Field Commander Napoleon is exceptional. The campaign maps are mounted and the counters are extra-thick, and the tactical maps and quick reference sheets are cardstock.
The game is expensive, $99 at retail, but I found mine through the Boardgamegeek Geek Market for about three-quarters of this cost, including shipping and handling.
The artwork is good. My only quibble are with the images of Prussian infantry, who look like their wearing headgear popular during Fredrick the Great's reign.
The rules appear to be clearly written, but often gave me the impression of reading a legal document. This isn't a complaint, merely an observation. I do most of my reading while exercising on a stationary cardio machine, so I don't have the game with me when reading examples of play. The "legalese" impression comes-in when reading how the non-player coalition forces move and act.
So I was looking forward to reading Bernard Cornwell's spin to this epic disaster in his historical novel, The Fort.
I wasn't disappointed.
However, a considerable number of raters on Amazon.com were. Almost half of the folks who read the book, didn't like it (42%, or 92 out of 218 ratings). This was one of the highest unsatisfactory ratings I've seen levelled against a Bernard Cornwell work.
Many of the less-than 4-star raters started their comment with: "I'm a big fan of Bernard Cornwell, but..."
...And then they'd discuss what they didn't like about the book. The two comments I saw the most were shallow character development, rambling narrative and non-exciting action.
I liked the author's spin on Penobscot, and give it a 4-star rating, but the low raters aren't entirely wrong.
I suspect the main problem with the story is with the subject matter itself. True, the Penobscot Expedition held the title of the worst American naval disaster until the Day of Infamy on December 7th, 1941.
However, unlike the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the disaster at Penobscot was entirely self-induced and ended "...not with a bang, but with a whimper." There were no titanic battles, or do or die moments. Instead, once the British relief force arrived, the Americans fled up the Penobscot River, scuttled their ships and trudged through the wilderness back to Massachusetts.
This was all thanks to the ineptitude of three men:
Yes, he of the "Midnight Ride" was court martialed for "unsoldierly like behavior."
That's putting it mildly. The Wikipedia entry considers most of the accusations against Paul Revere were exaggerated by his political enemies. But as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I read Charles Bracelen Flood's non-fiction account (which makes this is a good example of not relying solely on Wikipedia) . I recall his portrayal of Mr. Midnight Rider was about as unflattering as Bernard Cornwell's.
Yes, Paul Revere was exonerated--eventually--as the American War of Independence was winding down, while his post-Penobscot military career was virtually non-existent.
So overall, The Fort isn't a miss-your-bus-stop page-turner. I found it more interesting than exciting, especially since I knew the outcome wasn't going to end well for the "Cause of Liberty."
Maybe the book would have been better received if it were written as a narrative non-fiction piece. A major step in doing this would have been to edit-out the fictional characters, even the fetching Bethany Fletcher. This would have been relatively easy since all their last names ended with "F."
While the Penobscot Expedition may not be the stuff of legends, it certainly presents a tantalizing, "what if the Americans were better led?" question.
Here, some wargamers attempt to defeat the British--or at least minimize the number of ships needing to be scuttled.
While it is said that Writing is art, but Publishing is business; the dividing line between these two aspects are not clearly defined.
Writing, or any artistic endeavor requires work, and work becomes a project, and a project may be one of several projects, and so--each and any project needs to be managed.
In this workshop, our hostess Wendy Kendall, explained how one could turn their Work In Progress into a finished product by using project management techniques.
(Note: My attempts at finding Wendy Kendall-Author's website kept leading me to Wendy Kendall-the Fashion Designer in the UK).
First she defined what a project is: A temporary activity to achieve a goal.
She then went on to make the following recommendations:
Plan to win (by finishing your book).
Increase your level of commitment by telling others what you're planning to do, or actually doing.
Fear is your biggest enemy.
However: Never let fear of striking out get in your way (Babe Ruth).
Commitment means sacrifice.
But don't try to do it all, which is where managing this project comes in.
Don't use lower priorities as an excuse to procrastinate, (which is often referred to as "Creative Avoidance").
Maintain self-commitment to your goal.
Having a goal will inspire you.
Make sure your goal is visible to you.
Stay focused and imitate the habits of successful people.
Identify what parts or your life/activity you can control when you're feeling overwhelmed (which may be often).
Put specific steps in your plan--then follow them.
End your writing day on an upswing, so you look forward to getting back into it.
Celebrate successive milestone you completed in each step.
Don't say negative things about yourself, and don't listen to negative and unconstructive comments.
Wendy recommended using a personalized project plan worksheet.
Identify required activities.
Identify dependencies and red flags that need to be mitigated.
Wendy defined a dependency as something that relied on something else in order to complete.
Gather fans by utilizing social media and platform-building.
This can include writing on-line columns, blogging, Twitter, Facebook.
Your platform and the material you write will become your brand.
Make separate personal and author social media accounts.
Know the demographics of potential fans on social media.
Despite your best efforts your plans may go astray. If this occurs, find the point-of-departure and either restart from that point, or "take a detour."
My reading habits seem to suffer from a split-personality disorder.
On the one hand I love reading sci-fi and fantasy. This taps in to my curiosity and wonderment about the future and different worlds.
On the other hand, history was my favorite subject during my K-12 years. However, text books can be boring. Sometime during my adolescent years I discovered exploits of Horatio Hornblower and Richard Bolitho, which got me hooked on historical fiction.
So I didn't think twice about attending this Bringing the Past to Life workshop immediately after attending one on sci-fi and fantasy.
This workshop was an open panel discussion, much like the sci-fi workshop. But instead of looking forward to the future, or different worlds, we examined the framework of the past and examined how to make stories fit into that framework.
Regarding this genre there's a few questions that you can ask yourself.
First off: Could your story be classified as Historical Fiction?
Usually if the setting takes place 50 years or more in the past. A setting earlier than this is considered more contemporary.
Next, ask yourself: Why have you been drawn to historical fiction?
It could be:
You have a personal connection to the past (ancestors who lived during a certain time).
Or, you have a desire to understand what it was like to live in the past.
Finally: Can you bring meaning to historical moments?
To accomplish this you need to:
Immerse yourself in the time and culture.
Make sure everything in the story works within a specific time frame.
Remember: History supplies the plot, you do the research and create a fictional family.
Also keep in mind that the past is more complex and sophisticated than people today realize.
To conduct effective research:
Utilize websites that end in "org," or "edu" (organization and education, respectively).
Seek advice from librarians, historical society members and museum personnel.
Put your story in a place you want to travel to--because you'll need to in order to give your story an element of authenticity.
To keep you motivated, choose a topic you're passionate about.
Try to create a "chills moment." That is show the reader how rough life was in the past.
People, even within your own country, didn't talk the same way they do now.
While you can't, or at least shouldn't, reproduce ancient speech patterns, you can use a similar format on how they addressed each other.
Use the proverbs, sayings and phrases that were common at the time.
No matter what you discover in your research, writing your story might seem like a struggle.
Just remember to keep at it--no matter how slow the going may seem.
