Taking Your Sweet Time

If you'd never baked a pie before, would you rush to enter your first effort in a pie-baking contest? Would you expect a famous design house to scoop up your very first fashion designs? On your first essay into a sport could you be sure of winning a gold medal? I'll bet you're realistic enough to answer a resounding "no" to all three questions.

So I can't figure out why in the Cosmos so many first-time writers with little or no experience and few tools make such a mad dash to publish their work. Why do they fully expect their freshman effort to become a bestseller? Is that realistic? Of course we all have dreams, but to expect instant fulfillment of those dreams is simple self-deception.

In this age of burgeoning technology, everyone and his/her little brother are now capable of coming out with at least an e-book. Before you rush to be published, stop and think through what you are about to do. You want your book, your baby---especially if it's your first book!--- to be superior to all the rest that are out there.

If you work hard, hone your skills, and polish your work until it gleams like the Hope diamond, you stand a chance of actually succeeding. Maybe you'll never write that bestseller, but you won't be embarrassed to admit you are the author of "that" book! You'll make some fans. You'll have greater respect for yourself and your work. And in my opinion that's worth a heck of a lot more than writing the next bestseller.

So keep on writing, and keep on reading!

MRTighe

Fast and Furious?

Of late, I haven't blogged much. As usual, I've had way too many irons in the fire. I finally finished editing and revising my first space-opera, Galaxy Rand. The cover art is done. I'll be getting the novel ready for publication this year---after working on it for a good many years.

I've also finished transferring the first prequel to my Tartarus Trilogy to my laptop. I let it "marinate" before final polishing and editing. Malkis of Tartarus should be ready for publication in 2014. At the same time, I've been writing a rough draft of the second ( and final ) prequel to be titled Hero of the Gorgonian Wars. If all goes well, that sixth novel will be published in 2015.

That may sound as if I'm writing fast and furiously. I'm not. I don't turn out books like batches of cookies. Yum, cookies! I'll admit to being a bit of a perfectionist. I want all my books to be as perfect as humanly possible. But at my age I can't expect to be writing forever. With any luck, I might be able to keep it up until I'm in my eighties! But who knows?

So when I have a strong story stuck in my head, I want to get it down on paper as quickly as possible, but preparing a book for publication is quite another story. Takes me forever.Sorry, fans! It's (almost) four down and two to go. Thanks for your patience.

Keep on reading; keep on writing!

MRTighe

Look Out for the Pitfalls!

When you begin writing a book, especially if you write science fiction, horror, fantasy, paranormal romance, or the like, there are several things you must watch out for. First, you should familiarize yourself with what's already been done in your field. You need to avoid cliches and plots that have been done to death. Too many cliches can make your book downright laughable. Unless you are deliberately going for comedy, do your homework before you start writing.

There are other obvious things to avoid. For instance, if your vampire hero looks, sounds, and acts like Edward Cullen, you are going to be accused of copy-catting, even if you haven't! Here's an example from my own experience. For many years I've been kicking around an idea for a fantasy novel. I've found that naming my characters helps in plot development. So I named one of my main characters Trueblood. Errgh!

You can probably see why I was forced to rename him. His name became Gray. Uh-oh! Holy Toledo, Batman! Now I have to change his name again!

This time I think I'll wait until the last minute to christen this poor guy! Maybe I'll come up with a name that will be original and not appear to be copied from another source. I may have to name him Rzl-t'plk.

I'm not the only author who has stumbled into predicaments like this. When you come right down to it, the best we authors can do is try to be as original as possible, keep our eyes open, and keep our fingers crossed. I guess there are worse things than being accused of mimicking another author's work,

Keep on reading and for heaven's sake keep on writing!

MRTighe

Destiny Is Destiny

"Destiny is destiny", as the Tartarian saying goes. But what the heck does that mean? It's a complete enigma to most Terrans, but to anyone born on the planet Tartarus ( Ahn-eld in the native tongue ) the meaning is obvious: One cannot escape one's destiny.

Destiny is written---preordained---and therefore, so shall it be. And if you deliberately attempt to thwart your destiny, you will pay a great price. Tartarians firmly believe that everyone has a destiny, a specific role to play in the Universe, a firm purpose for being.

One's destiny is sacred and not to be questioned or avoided. Destiny is to be accepted and embraced.

What is your destiny?

MRTighe

Tartarus Is Hell !

According to ancient Greek mythology, there were two levels to Hell. The upper level was known as Erebus, the lower, Tartarus. Whatever you chose to call it, Hell isn't a very nice place. You certainly wouldn't want to be trapped there for life, especially not by choice.

So why on earth did I name one of the alien planets in my SF trilogy "Tartarus"? ( And by the way, I chose the name of my planets well over forty years ago. )

If you've read Book One: Judgment on Tartarus, or either of the two books that follow, you know that even the "temperate" zone of the planet is well-below zero. Its ice-covered, barren plains stretch between rugged mountain ranges capped with age-old ice, and glaciers flow inexorably between the peaks. Only deep, dark chasms interrupt the snow fields. The entire planet is literally one hell of a place!

No wonder the Terran explorers who discovered the planet gave it the name Tartarus---and its Twin Moons, Erebus and Cerberus---the name of the three-headed dog that guarded the gates of Hell. Terrans refer to the people who inhabit this planet as Tartarians. These people aren't native to this planet. They arrived centuries ago on a sleeper-ship. They were desperate to escape their distant homeworld, which was plagued by violence, wars, and lawlessness. Upon reaching the first habitable, but uninhabited, world, the ship awakened its "sleeping" passengers.

At first, the Twelve Clans dwelt upon the surface of the planet, eking out an existence, until a deepening ice-age drove them far beneath the surface---permanently. Tartarians employed the advanced technology that had brought them to their new world to establish sophisticated underground cities, complete with subterranean transportation networks. Rejecting lives of ease and luxury, Tartarians lived according to the strictest of Laws and punishments.

The planet Tartarus provided an environment without light, without warmth, without love or mercy or compassion. Therefore, I found it highly appropriate to name this planet Hell.

Keep reading---keep writing!

MRTighe

What Makes Me Fall In Love With A Book?

Have you ever bought a book because it had a great cover, only to find that the cover disguises a sub-par book? Or perhaps you read the back cover blurb, and it intrigued you? But some blurbs are flat-out misleading, leaving you disappointed, even angry.

I want a book that delivers on its tantalizing promises. I want well-drawn, sympathetic characters who speak and act realistically ( at least to some degree! ) I tend to fall in love with characters who seem to be real people, people that I'd like to meet and get to know better. I like to be left with no doubt as to who are the heroes and who is the villain. ( J.K. Rowling I'll forgive for fooling me! )

I love settings that I'd enjoy visiting and exploring; maybe I'd even want to stay there a while. But then, I also enjoy encountering fictional places so terrifying I'd rather die than be stuck there. ( J.R.R. Tolkien's Mordor comes to mind! )

I love books with plots that grab me, draw me in, then enfold me and won't let go. And they don't disappoint me in the end. If I just have to know what happens next or I'll be up all night wondering---if one more page becomes ten, or twenty---then I realize that I've fallen in love.

And if, when I'm through reading the book, I know I'll never be the same again, then that's a book I'll cherish and savor over and over again.

Keep on reading---keep on writing, my friends!

MRTighe

So What's Keeping You From Writing?

At some point in life just about everyone dreams of writing a book, usually a novel. From the outside looking in, writing seems easy to do, loads of fun. And the financial rewards seem enormous.

Sorry if it's news to you, but the truth is that writing is darn hard work, not always fun, and takes not only talent, but loads of time, accompanied by many headaches. And except for a tiny handful of writers, writing seldom pays off financially-speaking. You'll probably spend a good deal more than you'll ever make.

But for those who possess the requisite talent and the unquenchable desire to write, never allow any obstacles to stand in your way. To find time to write, many authors get up before dawn; others stay up into the wee hours of the morning to find the peace to write. Some write on their way to work, on buses, trains, even airplanes. I don't recommend trying to write in your car unless it's stationary, as in waiting for school to get out.

I never had time to write seriously until my youngest was in kindergarten. I worked at night and wrote when I got home, too wired to sleep. While everyone else in the house slept, I wrote. I began by revising work I'd started years before. When I ran out of money to pay for typing supplies, I applied for and won a literary grant.

After my own experiences, good and bad, my best advice is don't allow yourself to get discouraged; don't allow obstacles to stop you; and above all, don't stop writing! Write wherever and whenever you can and as much as you can. You may never get rich or be famous, but you will become a better writer, and that's reward enough!

Keep on writing!

MRTighe