Avengening Expectations

By Nikki Wilson

I have a confession to make. I didn't thoroughly enjoy the first Avengers movie. I know, I know...get a rope! I actually admitted it on Facebook at one point and it was most definitely a public verbal lynching. But that's ok. I didn't say I hated it, it just didn't fulfill my expectations. I'll tell you why. To me there was a lot of action. Not that I don't like action, but it seemed like one action sequence after another. Also, it felt like the movie had been made to satisfy fans who wanted to know who would win a fight between Thor and Iron Man and Captain America, etc. Not that I wasn't curious about that, but the movie just felt like it was lacking something.



In the movies leading up to the first Avengers movie, most of the plot lines tugged my heart strings, and tickled my funny bone, and ignited curiosity. This is what I wanted from the first Avengers movie but didn't feel that I got. Though many people said they were completely satisfied with the movie and that I was just being too critical. And maybe they were right. I have been known to be overly critical of movies and books, so I accepted that as the reason why I didn't enjoy the first Avengers movie as much as I wanted to. But last week I saw the new Avengers: Age of Ultron and I suddenly knew what I was missing from the first movie.

The new Avengers movie is AMAZING. I hate to give someone high expectations that may not be met like happened to me on the first movie, but I truly think there is something in this movie for everyone. Why is that? Because this time the movie gave us many different beats.

If you haven't read "Million Dollar Outlines" by David Farland you may not know what I'm talking about. David Farland talks about how a writer takes their readers on a journey that actually releases seratonin into the body giving the reader (or movie watcher) instant rewards and satisfaction from the journey. (He actually describes it much better than I'm doing, so read the book!!) But one of the tools a writer has to take readers on this journey can be called emotional beats. Think about it like a song, if you play the same notes over and over again, the listener gets bored. But if you mix high notes with low notes and many variations with the notes in between as well you stimulate the listener and hold their attention. The same can be said with emotions. If a movie or book hammers it's audience with the same emotion over and over they become desensitized to that emotion. That's why the best movies and books have a variety of different plotlines and emotions to choose from.

Avengers: Age of Ultron is a good example of how this is done. Don't get me wrong, there is still plenty of action in this movie, but there are also many emotional beats embedded inside the the action to slow down or speed up the pace of the movie. The humor beats were perfectly timed, and the romantic plot line added a different dimension as did another plot line where our heartstrings were strummed in another way. All in all, Avengers: Age of Ultron was everything I was hoping for. (Though, I will say there were parts when I realized the Avengers were just fighting a mechanical version of Raymond Reddington from the Blacklist TV show! LOL! But then again, I love the Blacklist, so I didn't mind it too much.)


Now I realize that everyone is different in their tastes and in what they consider an emotional beat. Emotions are very subjective, that's why there are so many different genres to choose from so people can pick the emotions they like best. But even then, the best stories are those that have many different emotions present allowing for a wider audience, and a happier one.

(There! So now you can go see the new Avengers movie and say it's for research! Your welcome!)

To Resolve

Maybe this topic is old-hat by now, because I've seen a lot of talk about it around the Internet, given the season, but the idea of New Years goals and resolutions have been bouncing around my head like that old ping pong arcade game.

While I've been pondering, cogitating and weighing my goals and resolutions for 2013, an email from David Farland arrived in my inbox (it's called the daily kick in the pants for writers, and you can sign up here).

So even if you've already read five blog posts about writing goals today, here's his take on how to meet your own expectations:

With writing goals, I’ve tried a number of different types of goals over the years. I’ve tried the, “I will write a book a month goal.” This is the astronomical goal intended to just push you to get words on paper. I have had times where I was extremely productive, but I’ve never been that productive, unless I’ve been on a writing retreat. The problem is, life ain’t a writing retreat. I can’t do that all of the time. Still, there may be a period where setting an extreme goal makes sense. I can go on a long writing retreat and get huge amounts written.

 

 

I’ve tried the “I will work on one scene a day” goal, which basically says, “I won’t go to sleep until I’ve at least done a little writing.” This seems reasonable, but there are days when other things need to take priority for an entire day, maybe even entire weeks. So you feel pretty crummy about yourself at the end of one of those days. The goal also suffers from not being strictly defined. What does “I will work on a scene” mean? Does it mean that I will completely write a draft of a scene? That’s a nicely defined goal. But “working” on a scene too often becomes sitting around with a distant gaze, just thinking about it.

 

 

How about the “I’ll write X pages per day” goal. It sounds reasonable and measured, yet ensures that by the end of the year, you’ll have a large amount of work done. Same problem happens as above, other things get in the way on certain days. For example, Tax time is coming. It takes me a full week or more to get my taxes prepared, and I can’t clutter my mind with other things while doing it. So by tax time every year, that goal goes out the window.

 

 

While we are at it, how about the “At 6:00 AM, I will park my butt in my chair and start writing.” That’s the goal that I’m using today. I find that setting a time and a place to write works pretty well for me. It has for years. My writing day is supposed to start by 8:00 AM, and I’m an hour early to work this morning. For me, this one has always worked best. Why? Because humans are creatures of habit, and by making writing a habit, I can ensure that I’ll get at least something done every day.

 

~ David Farland, On Being Resolute

 I'm off to get some writing done.

E-Books and the Future of Publishing

**You all got enough of me last week, with my two posts in a row, so today we at MMW have a treat for you. Sit back and read all about his take on the future of e-book publishing by none other than David Farland.** ~Cheri

**IMPORTANT** The book release has been pushed back to Nov. 4th. Please stay tuned to our blog for details. Thank you!

The Role of Enhanced Books in the Future of Publishing


Right now, the publishing world is in turmoil. People are buying electronic books in huge numbers. In fact, it appears that as of today, more than fifty percent of all sales are electronic. This puts traditional paper book publishers in a bind. You see, most books earn only a modest profit. But if paper books are shipped to bookstores and then returned, they get destroyed, and thus don’t make any money at all. In fact, the publisher then goes into the hole on every book he publishes.
The losses right now are so large in the industry, that as one agent put it, “Nobody in New York wants to be in this business right now.” That’s why bookstore chains like Borders and major distributors like Anderson News have gone bankrupt.

So where do the publishers make up for those losses? By selling electronic books for the Kindle, Nook, iPad and similar devices. The problem is, so many electronic books will come out in the next year, according to Bowker’s Identifier Services (the guys who make the ISBNs that you see on the back of a book), that the market will be flooded with over three million new books.

Why? Because authors who couldn’t find agents or publishers last year are self-publishing their novels this year. I was talking to a bestseller last night who groused that in the past week, he’d run into three different “authors,” none of whom had sold more than fifty books, all of whom were self-published.
That creates a problem for readers. It means that we now have to try to figure out which of those novels are worth buying and reading and which should never have been published in the first place.

Some of those novels may look good on the outside. They might have cover quotes from the author’s friends. They might have gorgeous illustrations. But inside, maybe halfway through a book, you might find that the story falls apart.
In fact, a lot of criminals are out there right now trying to sell e-books which Tracy Hickman has labeled “Frankensteins.” These are novels stolen from bits of other novels and cobbled together in a way to look like a legitimate book. The “author” hopes to steal a couple of dollars from unwary readers. Sure, it’s not a lot of money, but in some countries, like Nigeria, a few dollars goes a long way. If there are no laws against it (and in some countries there aren’t), the thief doesn’t even have to worry about getting punished.

How are we going to combat crummy novels? How are we going to get past the Frankensteins? Ten years ago we had gatekeepers in the industry—literary agents and editors—who made sure that only the best novels got published. It’s true that the system was flawed, but at least there was a system.

So who are our new gatekeepers going to be?

The truth is that there will be new kinds of publishers. Right now, I’m starting a company with my partner Mile Romney, called East India Press. We’re going to published “enhanced novels.”

Enhanced books are text files, like regular books, but they also combine elements like film clips, music, video games, author interviews, audio files, illustrations, and animations. They’re part book, part movie, part game, perhaps. These books are then then sold electronically to be read on your iPad, phone, computer, and so on. 

Are enhanced books the real future of publishing? There is good reason to think so. You see, making a beautiful book in this market will cost tens of thousands of dollars. That’s a bar to most wannabe authors. So money alone will limit the competition.

These new publishers will still have to establish their own credibility. They’ll have to select great books, create superior products, and develop a “brand” presence. In other words, you’ll want to read the books because of who the publisher is and what they represent.

A hundred years ago, that’s the way that books were bought in the first place. If you went to the bookstore, the books were ordered by publisher. You might pick through the piles and find that a certain editor liked the same kind of “science fictional stories” that you did, and that became the place that you visited over and over again.

There will be other ways to judge a book. It might come from an author with a long list of awards, or great cover quotes from independent review agencies, or maybe the fact that the book is a bestseller will give it a lot of credibility.
So I expect enhanced books to become the dominant art form for novels in the next two years, replacing and outselling simple e-books on the bestseller lists, and even outselling hardbacks and paperbacks within a couple of years. As my agent, Russell Galen put it, “Enhanced books are the entire future of publishing.”
Now, I’ve published some fifty books in science fiction and fantasy. I’ve won a number of awards and my books have been translated into thirty languages. I worked for years as the lead judge for one of the largest writing contest in the world. I’ve trained authors like Brandon Mull, Brandon Sanderson, and Stephenie Meyer who have gone on to become #1 international bestsellers.

So I know books. I know a good story when I see one, and I know how to fix a story when it needs fixing. Given this, and my own background as a novelist, videogame designer, and movie producer, it seemed like starting a new type of publishing company was a must.

In fact, I believe in this new medium so much, I’m even putting out my next novel through this publishing company. It’s called Nightingale, and tells the story of Bron Jones, a young man abandoned at birth and raised in foster care. He discovers that he’s not quite human, and suddenly finds himself at the center of international intrigue.

This is a model for the new publishing industry. I think it’s a great book, and I could have sold it through normal channels. But this is the best way to go. So we’re offering the book on our site at www.nightingalenovel.com. You can buy it in hard cover, for your e-reader, or in enhanced mode for the more advanced e-readers, or we even have an emulator so that you can run it in enhanced mode on any computer. It also has a forty-five minute soundtrack, lots of art, optional notes from the author and other features. In the future we may add a game or trailers. I believe this is the way books--good books--will be done in the future. I invite you to check it out, and check out our new company, East India Press.

If you’re a writer, look into our short story writing contest while you’re there. You could win $1000. You can find out about more about the East India Press or the writing contest at www.EastIndiaPress.com as well.

Big, Big Announcement! Really, REALLY BIG!

If you've ever read fantasy or science fiction, you're probably aware of Dave Farland. Or Dave Wolverton. Both one and the same. Here is his bio:

Known as the “Wizard of Storytelling,” writing sensation and author of fifty novels, David wrote short stories as a child and dreamt of growing up to become a fantasy writer. He gained experience in a number of career paths but never lost sight of his goals. Finally, after saving money for years, he decided to risk it all and go to Brigham Young University to study.

While there, he became ill and feverish started having some fantastic dreams. In one such dream, two futuristic mercenaries were taking shelter in the skull of some giant beast and talking while waiting out a rainstorm. His dreams became so vivid and lifelike that he had to put them in a story called “On My Way to Paradise.”


He entered it into the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest and won the grand prize for the year, the Gold Award. He was immediately contracted by Bantam Books to turn the short story into a novel of the same name, along with a contract to write two more books. The novel, My Way to Paradise spent several months on the Locus Science Fiction Best-seller list, and won a Phillip K. Dick Memorial Special Award for being one of the best science fiction novels of the year.


He wrote science fiction for ten years under his given name of David Wolverton, during which he wrote several best sellers. After having mastered science fiction, David decided it was time to take another risk and try writing fantasy, hoping to realize his childhood dream. So as not to confuse his readers, he writes fantasy under the name David Farland.


He had to work hard to achieve notoriety in two genres, but eventually his fantasy books started hitting the New York Times Best Seller’s list right out of the gates, beginning with the third book of the Runelords series entitled Wizardborn.


He had not only achieved his childhood dream, but in doing so, became popular in two genres and has amassed many awards for his short fiction in particular, and set a Guinness Record for the world's largest booksigning–a record that he still holds. In 1991, David became a judge for one of the world's largest writing contests, the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest, and for the next several years he read thousands of stories each year, edited an annual anthology, and taught writing classes to new writers.


To date, David has written and edited fifty published books. These include novels for adults, young adults, anthologies, middle-grade readers, and picture books.

Among his numerous other accomplishments, David eventually returned to BYU as a writing professor, for several years. It was getting in the way of his writing, so he ended that and decided to fill his need to share by lecturing, giving workshops and seminars to those who would be writers. He is known for having taught many great emerging writers and had a part in their success, including Stephanie Meyer, Brandon Sanderson and Eric Flint. In many cases it was his influence and words of wisdom that caused a new author to sell their first story. Now he has the privilege of helping other struggling would-be writers to achieve their success. He says, “Nobody makes it alone. We each build on one another.”

As part of his continuing desire to help struggling authors with their craft, he sends out periodic (ranging from daily to weekly depending on his schedule) "Daily Kick in the Pants", an article or essay with always interesting and informative things to say about the industry or about writing. I love them. I've learned tons, just from these little snippets. I would love to be able to attend one of his "Death Camps" one day. Go check out his site. There is a lot to peruse.

Okay, now that there is that huge lead up, guess what????? Mr. Wolverton has a new book coming out, a YA fantasy called NIGHTINGALE. On Friday. But...not from a traditional publisher. Mr. Wolverton is self publishing. (For the record, he actually got a SIX-FIGURE offer for this book, but he turned it down because he didn't like the digital rights clause. He saw it as that important.) But he's not just slapping it up on Kindle. He's doing something completely new and innovative. A MULTI-MEDIA E-book. What is that, you ask? Oh...it just has fabulous artwork. And videos. And a MUSIC SCORE. All part of the new reading experience. He calls them "enhanced books".

So, drum roll please.......as part of his blog tour to promote his new book and its release on Friday, October 28th, Mr. Wolverton is COMING TO OUR BLOG!!!!  ON FRIDAY!!!!

That's right, he is posting a great article on our blog on Friday about...well, you'll just have to come back and find out.

Squeeeeeee!!!! Sorry, I know I'm gushing, but I'm really excited, not only to get his amazing insight into the publishing industry right now, but I think that the more writer absorb his information and benefit from his years of experience, the more prepared we'll be when we get the chance to "hit it big".

So stay tuned...very exciting stuff happening around here!