Hacking My Brain

I'm going on vacation next week.  I'm hoping there will be no wireless access of any kind, and I hope I don't figure out how to tether my netbook to my phone.

Here's why.  Yesterday, I read an article in the New York Times about five neuroscientists on a camping trip in the desert.  They are experts on the human brain who study things like memory, motivation, and attention.  While their trip didn't qualify as a real experiment, they wanted see how going off the grid affected their mood and memory.


One of the scientists in the article has a pet theory: If we are expecting new emails and Facebook updates, some part of our brain is using a little bit of energy, even if we're not currently checking for updates.  In the absence of technology, this energy would go to some other task, like better memory or problem-solving.

I've pondered this all day as I drove to critique group, shopped, and waited in traffic.  I pondered the past two weeks, where I've busily rushed about the internet: marketing my book, submitting my novella for review, posting on forums, writing tweets, composing blog posts, finishing up short stories, checking Facebook, checking book sales, and checking blog stats.  (And appositely, as I write this my phone rings!)  There is always something more to do, and nothing is ever "done".  It becomes an addiction we can all relate to. I find myself, work-day long over, refreshing at Facebook with a blank stare, waiting, hoping, wishing someone would post a YouTube video.

Once upon a time, human survival depended upon attention.  Guards and hunters would keen their ears and eyes, looking for any slight disturbance.  Even if their minds wandered, some part of their brain was reserved, listening for strange noises, watching for a rustle of leaves.  And when the moment struck, they were filled with a surge of adrenaline -- What is it? Is there danger?  Do I fight now?  Do I alert the tribe?

This dopamine reward kept us alive.

Now we look for new tweets with the same rapt attention.  Even when we aren't actually looking, some part of our brain is being held open for that moment when the mouse strays to the tab... click, is there a new email? Yes!

But it comes at a cost.  For me, I lose my creative spark.

I miss the days when all I had was a 386.  It could only do one thing at a time, and not do any of those things well.  Dialing up to a BBS or the internet took minutes, so I reserved that for a specific time of day.

Ideas came faster and stayed in focus.  I would dwell on a story or character all day long, maybe even for a week, until I had a chance to write it down.  These ideas gave me a lot of energy (dopamine and adrenaline), and nothing else competed to reward me.

I still get these surges of idea-energy.  But they quickly vanish, replaced by the next cheap thrill.  Last week, I started a story, got 600 words in, and became blocked.  While falling asleep, I thought about it, and finally got some ideas.  But by the next morning, after touching the internet, that energy was gone, and I found myself trying desperately to get it back.  I finally did, but it was a struggle, where I spent a lot more time screen-staring than writing.  It's something I'm not used to.

So I'm looking forward to this vacation.  I'm taking a netbook, and I plan on spending a lot of time working on my next project.  No marketing, and hopefully no (or almost no) twitter, Facebook, or other online distractions.

Long term, I have no solution.  Any restriction I think of imposing upon myself is met with internal rejection from my inner-addict.  My biggest problem is that I want to know what happens next... I can't bear to let Twitter scroll by without getting caught up.  And if I go too long without checking it, I will get too far behind.  It's a compulsion.

What do you think?  And if you read the New York Times article, what ideas does it inspire for you?

Anatomy of a Magic System

I posted over at Indie Urban Fantasy last week, on the topic "Anatomy of a Magic System".

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. -Arthur C. Clarke

At my writer's critique group last week, one reviewer asked of a fellow-novelist, "Your character used a lot of magic here. What does it cost your character?" Like any good writer, he had an answer -- an answer he assures us will be made clear in a later chapter. 

There are two types of magic in fantasy genres: Mystical and Scientific. 

Mystical Magic unapologetically has no explanation. As readers, we are asked to suspend disbelief for the sake of the story. Magic just is, and you shouldn't question it. Gandalf appears out of nowhere, The Force is present in all things, and Excalibur is stuck in a stone because that's just how it is.

Scientific magic has a system, rules which a caster must follow, and reasons (implied or express) for its existence. As readers, we are let in on these secrets (more or less), and the plot itself is driven or bound by an internal consistency. Vampires must drink blood, mages must recharge their mana supply, and water spells always beat fire. 

Traditional fantasy exists in a self-contained world, so it's easier to believe mystical systems.  It's set so far in the past, or in a completely alternate reality, that it we don't always need an explanation. Magic just is, and that's ok. The evil overlord is evil because he ... well... isn't it obvious? Needless to say, there are many examples of scientific magic in traditional fantasy, for instance The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind, The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, and His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman. But we're just much more likely to see Mystical, especially in older works.

Contemporary magic systems are more likely to use scientific magic. In the context of technology (cars, cellphones, computers), modern characters are used to having their questions answered (like "Where is that blue light coming from?" and "How does this telepathy stuff work, anyway?") If the character doesn't know (or at least ask), the reader will not suspend disbelief when the demon is summoned or when the second law of thermodynamics is broken.

In order to make the reader believe that the character believes, the writer has to explain. Or at least give the sense that there are rules, and that those rules are being followed. 

The explanations themselves can be scientific in nature (genetics, radiation, toxic chemicals, or untapped human powers) but not necessarily. The important thing is that magic follows some set of consistent rules, and that those rules match some kind of internal logic.

A good magic system must contain a few basic elements. The easiest, and most obvious, is power. Magic can bring about the improbable and impossible. Mystic magic operates this way, as well. We don't really need a complex set of rules for this to be true.

The next most important piece is the cost of magic. If magic were free, then why don't witches rule the world? Wizard duels would go on forever, with nary a clear victor. So magic has to cost something. By default, it is assumed magic costs energy, be that in the form of mana, MP, blood, or just the need to eat more than usual. But some systems get delightfully more creative. Sometimes overuse of magic leads to a karmatic cost. Or one of my favorites (and the one used by my fellow critique-group novelist in the example above) you pay for magic by slowly losing your sanity.

You also need a believable (and hopefully interesting) casting method. It's kind of boring if your mage walks around snapping his fingers to shoot fireballs or make kittens disappear. Isn't it more interesting when there is some kind of ritual, chant, or coveted magic item? Harry Potter wouldn't be nearly so entertaining without the silly magic words. I love innovative spellcasting methods. One of my favorites was from the Myst video game series, where spells had to be sketched in a book before they could be made real.

Limitations. Magic must have some limits. Again, we wouldn't have a plot if a vampire with a year's supply of blood, or a mage standing on the world's strongest ley line, could instantly take over the world. In some systems, spellcasters are bound to the class of magic they are trained in (Necromancers can't heal and druids can't raise the dead.) Fast zombies die easily, and while slow-zombies are impossible to kill.. at least they're slow. I especially love spellcasting characters who always need a certain material to work with. I can't help but think of the anime series, Read or Die, in which the protagonist can only cast spells that affect paper. It's really fun to see how she resolves problems with this limitation!

Weakness is the last requirement. Superman has his kryptonite, vampires have their sunlight and stakes, werewolves have their silver, and faeries have iron. Not only do mythological characters need weaknesses, but so does their magic. This is often a paper-rock-scissors pattern of white magic beats black, air beats water, brains beat brawn. In my urban fantasy system, faeries depend upon human credulity in order for their magic to work. In the face of willful disbelief, their power crumbles.

What are your favorite magic systems? What is your favorite magical weakness, limitation, cost, or casting method? I'd love to hear it!

Anatomy of a Magic System

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. -Arthur C. Clarke

At my writer's critique group last week, one reviewer asked of a fellow-novelist, "Your character used a lot of magic here. What does it cost your character?" Like any good writer, he had an answer -- an answer he assures us will be made clear in a later chapter. 

There are two types of magic in fantasy genres: Mystical and Scientific. 

Mystical Magic unapologetically has no explanation. As readers, we are asked to suspend disbelief for the sake of the story. Magic just is, and you shouldn't question it. Gandalf appears out of nowhere, The Force is present in all things, and Excalibur is stuck in a stone because that's just how it is.

Scientific magic has a system, rules which a caster must follow, and reasons (implied or express) for its existence. As readers, we are let in on these secrets (more or less), and the plot itself is driven or bound by an internal consistency. Vampires must drink blood, mages must recharge their mana supply, and water spells always beat fire. 

Traditional fantasy exists in a self-contained world, so it's easier to believe mystical systems.  It's set so far in the past, or in a completely alternate reality, that it we don't always need an explanation. Magic just is, and that's ok. The evil overlord is evil because he ... well... isn't it obvious? Needless to say, there are many examples of scientific magic in traditional fantasy, for instance The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind, The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, and His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman. But we're just much more likely to see Mystical, especially in older works.

Contemporary magic systems are more likely to use scientific magic. In the context of technology (cars, cellphones, computers), modern characters are used to having their questions answered (like "Where is that blue light coming from?" and "How does this telepathy stuff work, anyway?") If the character doesn't know (or at least ask), the reader will not suspend disbelief when the demon is summoned or when the second law of thermodynamics is broken.

In order to make the reader believe that the character believes, the writer has to explain. Or at least give the sense that there are rules, and that those rules are being followed. 

The explanations themselves can be scientific in nature (genetics, radiation, toxic chemicals, or untapped human powers) but not necessarily. The important thing is that magic follows some set of consistent rules, and that those rules match some kind of internal logic.

A good magic system must contain a few basic elements. The easiest, and most obvious, is power. Magic can bring about the improbable and impossible. Mystic magic operates this way, as well. We don't really need a complex set of rules for this to be true.

The next most important piece is the cost of magic. If magic were free, then why don't witches rule the world? Wizard duels would go on forever, with nary a clear victor. So magic has to cost something. By default, it is assumed magic costs energy, be that in the form of mana, MP, blood, or just the need to eat more than usual. But some systems get delightfully more creative. Sometimes overuse of magic leads to a karmatic cost. Or one of my favorites (and the one used by my fellow critique-group novelist in the example above) you pay for magic by slowly losing your sanity.

You also need a believable (and hopefully interesting) casting method. It's kind of boring if your mage walks around snapping his fingers to shoot fireballs or make kittens disappear. Isn't it more interesting when there is some kind of ritual, chant, or coveted magic item? Harry Potter wouldn't be nearly so entertaining without the silly magic words. I love innovative spellcasting methods. One of my favorites was from the Myst video game series, where spells had to be sketched in a book before they could be made real.

Limitations. Magic must have some limits. Again, we wouldn't have a plot if a vampire with a year's supply of blood, or a mage standing on the world's strongest ley line, could instantly take over the world. In some systems, spellcasters are bound to the class of magic they are trained in (Necromancers can't heal and druids can't raise the dead.) Fast zombies die easily, and while slow-zombies are impossible to kill.. at least they're slow. I especially love spellcasting characters who always need a certain material to work with. I can't help but think of the anime series, Read or Die, in which the protagonist can only cast spells that affect paper. It's really fun to see how she resolves problems with this limitation!

Weakness is the last requirement. Superman has his kryptonite, vampires have their sunlight and stakes, werewolves have their silver, and faeries have iron. Not only do mythological characters need weaknesses, but so does their magic. This is often a paper-rock-scissors pattern of white magic beats black, air beats water, brains beat brawn. In my urban fantasy system, faeries depend upon human credulity in order for their magic to work. In the face of willful disbelief, their power crumbles.

What are your favorite magic systems? What is your favorite magical weakness, limitation, cost, or casting method? I'd love to hear it!

Going Indie

It's 1994.  I've finally gotten over my prudish attitude towards music, and I start listening to pop.  Move to 1996. I'm a little late to the party, but my ears can now tolerate rock.  And I'm falling in love with alternative.  The top 40 charts, ironically, are being taken over by indie music, or at least music that has been made to sound as indie as possible.  1997, MTV plays a video by Reel Big Fish called "Sell Out" that openly mocks the music industry, which can no longer survive without giving at least a slight nod to the cultural ideas of the counter-culture that hates it so much.

Then the MP3 revolution hit.  Big business responded with lawsuits.  Finally, when that strategy failed, they decided to actually sell digital music, and they are now making more money that ever before -- not via CD sales, which have dropped to almost nothing, but through digital music.

Indie music has never been healthier.  Artists now have power to negotiate better contracts because bands have alternatives to "selling out".  Music is less expensive to record, distribute, and market.  A really good artist with a firm niche can rise to the top without the help of a record executive.

Flash forward a little more, and watch the same process happen, but in reverse, to the publishing industry.  For a number of reasons, piracy is not as big of an issue when it comes to books.  For one thing, the industry offered legitimate ebook formats early on.  In fact they essentially drove the demand by being the first to invent them in the first place.  Kindle is no Napster; it was designed by big business for the specific purpose of selling books legitimately to as many people as possible.

Ebooks began as the legitimate child of the publishing industry, and with this legitimacy, ebooks are rapidly gaining market share over paper books.

Let me introduce the bastard stepchild of self-publishing.  Once, this form of publishing was known disparagingly as "Vanity Press".  Now it is finally getting adopted and gaining a legitimacy of its own.

One problem with self-publishing in the past is that it was very expensive.  An author had to front the project with a few thousand dollars for a print run of 500-1000 books.  That is no longer a problem.

The next problem was slush.  Vanity press books had a reputation of being crap.  They were for authors who had been rightfully rejected for publication because they were bad and the author was desparate and vain enough to front the money to publish them unedited.  Sure, plenty of good books were rejected, too, but self-published crap tarnished the reputation of the whole lot.  So typically they sat in cardboard boxes molding in the garage.

Publishers still provide a valued service, though some would argue they do so poorly.  A publisher says, "Hey! Ignore the slush pile.  This is the book worth reading."  Technology will hopefully solve this problem as well.  Collaborative filtering (aka customer ratings and reviews), blogs, and review sites help the cream rise to the top.

Over time I suspect we will be seeing additional mechanisms to improve indie quality.  Based on a recent survey I received, Amazon is looking into providing more author services, including low-cost proofing and editing.

A lot of us don't trust publisher opinion anyway.  Because these days, books are rejected on all kinds of grounds -- maybe the writing sucks, but more likely, business is poor for the publisher.  Or they're not taking on any new authors.  Or the genre is wrong.  Or the book is too extreme, or doesn't quite fit any genres.  I've heard so many stories of rejection letters that stated, "I liked the book, but... you're not already famous".  I also recently heard a story about an African-American author whose characters were white, but upon discovering her skin color, the publisher categorized her book under AA Fiction, where it didn't get as much visibility.

On the other side of this coin, I've read traditionally published and edited books (some of them bestsellers) that are poorly written, poorly plotted, poorly proofread, or all of the above.  Some of these have inspired me to keep writing -- if he or she can be published, then so can I!

I'm hoping I'm right, that we will see a rise of excellent, well-written, and extremely popular indie books -- that being indie itself will be a selling point to drive business, just the way it has been in the music and movie industries.

This post is part of a blog carnival. To find the other posts in this carnival, go here.

Letting My Characters Be Themselves

Sometimes my characters say things I disagree with and do things I never would.  Rarely, I censor them, for example if it wouldn't be that big of a deal, wouldn't hurt the story or take away from their character.  But usually I let them be who they are  This comes with some risk.

If a protagonist says something I disagree with, I worry that my readers may think I would also say something like that.  Oddly, I'm more worried about offending people I do know as opposed to complete strangers.

Sometimes my writing is an outlet for things I believe in.  My characters can't help but reflect my values.  And if my values offend, so be it.  But when, in the act of being themselves, they say something I completely disagree with, that I think may offend others, it's a little scary.

I'm not a vampire, but I was interviewed..

I was interviewed by Kipp Poe for his blog. The topic? On writing. Here's an excerpt:

What is the most productive time of the day for you to write?

My most productive time is when the inspiration strikes me.  The second most productive time is when I make myself sit down and write something, whether I want to or not.  There doesn’t seem to be a particular time of day. 

I do have a routine that helps.  I should be well-fed, have a candle lit, a steaming cup of tea on the warmer, and my earphones in with some kind of electronic music playing.

If you'd like to see me answer a few questions about the art of writing, you can see the full interview here:

http://kippoe.blogspot.com/2010/08/luna-lindsey-interview.html

Changing Blog Services

I'm saying goodbye to WordPress. They limit a lot of the types of links you can include, which made Amazon links less pretty and more difficult to set up. I'm finding Blogger is impressively more flexible and easy to use.

I've copied my posts here from the old blog. Sadly, I had to leave all comments behind. :( I knew this move was coming though, and decided it would be easier to do it sooner than later.

The domain name changes are taking a while, so for now, www.lunalindsey.com is pointing to google.com. I hope I did it right!

I spent the day marketing, and submitted my new book for review at a number of blogs. There's still so much to do.

Make Willing the Prey

It's published!



Faeries: Cute, sparkly, magical and serene. Only one of these is true; They're magical. Save the rest for vampires. If you attract the attention of a faerie, you might wish all they wanted is your blood.

Sandy Windham is a lonely history major piled up to her elbows in books, facts, and the names of dead kings. Old wars and dynastic successions mean more to her than finding love. She's the least likely person to ever believe in faeries, and she especially wouldn't want to marry one. That's why she's caught the eye of Haun, a wicked faerie who's been put to an interesting challenge: Get a banal girl to marry him.

At first Sandy is delighted to receive so many luxurious gifts from a secret admirer. All she has to do is play his silly little games. It's flattering and fun, and she hopes to one day meet this mysterious romantic.

But before long the seduction turns chilling and Sandy wants the game to stop. By then it's too late. She and her friend Jina are ensnared in a web of illusions they may never be able to escape.

Once upon a time, fairytales were scary. Now they are again. Make Willing the Prey is a dark urban fantasy and horror novella that will startle you into believing in faeries.

Excerpt:

A draft fluttered the book open. It sped through some pages, while on others it slowed, as though it were looking for a specific paragraph.

The pages stopped moving near the center of the book. Sandy leaned in to read the page, looking for some kind of meaning or reason. Before she could see a single word, the center of the book began filling with red. Not wax this time. Blood.

The blood seeped upward from the center, absorbing into the white paper and crisp black words.

"What, did you get a little bored you sick f***?" Sandy shouted at the ceiling. "Decided it's time to play again?"

There was no answer. Instead, the edge of the pages, untouched by blood, began to rot. They crumbled with age, as though the book were bio-degrading before her eyes. The blood-soaked portion remained unchanged.

Yet the blood continued to flow. It now pushed away brittle bits of paper. Dirtied and thickened with dust, it oozed gently onto the floor.

"We've done something wrong," Lewis whispered.

Sandy smelled something dead. An acrid, nose biting smell. She looked up and around, sniffing, trying to find its direction. Jina had moved to her side, firelight shining on her face.

Sandy looked back at the book and Jina screamed. The body of a green salamander twisted back and forth as it walked off the edge of the cloth binding. Tiny footprints of blood trailed behind it.

"Let's go. Now." Lewis pulled Jina towards the door. Sandy followed close behind.

Faerie Tales

Make Willing the Prey is still not quite out. I hit refresh on my Amazon DTP bookshelf every hour or two, but that's not making it go any faster. :)

I'm really excited about this story. It's the longest thing I've ever completed. The characters are great. The pacing and plot turned out much better than I expected before the rewrite. The genre is booming right now (dark urban fantasy -- thanks Twilight!) I'm tackling an oft-ignored supernatural race: faeries. I'm returning them to their folklore roots (dark, not-so-nice, alien morality) in a modern setting.

Given the state of the story before the re-write, I'm really pleased with how it went. It's amazing what your characters will do for you if you development well enough and give them free reign now and then. I'm a firm believer in the philosophy that your best stories write themselves.

The world of Make Willing the Prey is very interesting, and I'm going to continue. There is a series here, but I'm not necessarily thinking of a direct series. I'm thinking of stories where the same characters weave in and out, and sometimes interact, but it will be much less of a "trilogy" and more of a universe.

This is one of those times where I must balance "art" with "money". Traditional trilogies are done so often because they sell books. People who like Make Willing the Prey will want to know if [spoiler redacted] ever ends up [spoiler redacted]. Or how [spoiler redacted] ever [spoiler redacted]. So they will buy my next book to find out. But if I don't use those exact same characters and follow up on those exact questions -- if instead I follow those characters separately through separate stories so they can grow and develop and then follow up on their goals two books later -- readers may be disappointed.

These are the sorts of things I think about when weighing my next project.

There's also a new character that's driving to get out. I'm really curious about her. I suspect she will be a main character in my next project, but I don't know anything about her, or if she even knows any of the characters in Make Willing the Prey.

I'm also looking for a name for this faerie world I'm building. I had an idea few weeks ago, but it's gotten one thumbs down so far. I want something that reflects the dichotomy of my universe -- Dark, gritty, not-always-pleasant, often creepy on the one hand. But also magical, capable of goodness, love, light, art, and beauty.

My idea was "Undying Dreams". What do you think?

Defcon 18, Writer's Group, and Publishing

Three topics that have nothing to do with one another!

Two weekends ago, I attended Defcon with Roland. Last year, I live-blogged the event, but that was a different year, a different blog. :) This year, I learned interesting things about facial recognition software, cyberwarfare, psychosonics, and how to flirt. The first three I learned via talks, and the latter I learned via practice at parties.

As Defcons go, this one was very uneventful. There were only two things of note: GSM cellphone conversations can now be hacked. In other words, even though your conversation is encrypted, someone can set up a listening station and hear your call. For about $1500. I expected to hear of someone getting arrested for this, but oddly, no. Secondly there was a knife fight at a party next door to the party we were attending. Yes, there was an arrest in that case.

No killer bees, no ATM fraud, no amazing pranks for everyone to buzz about. Even the Wall of Sheep was pretty weak, since they encrypted the Defcon network this year.

I wonder if it was just an off-year, or if Defcon really is going mainstream.

Last Saturday I attended my new writer's group for the second time. I ended up liking this this group. My expectations were really high, but they've met them. I've loved the stories I've critiqued so far.

The only thing I worry about is that I'm not sure anyone is a grammar Nazi. My old group had a great grammar Nazi. Sure, she'd strongly disapprove of stylistic creativity; i.e. if the story flowed better to break grammar, she would still make a big deal out my precious sentence fragment. But she served a very useful function: She knew all about grammar, and nothing missed her careful eye.

In the new group, I worry that I am the grammar Nazi. This scares me for two reasons: One, I don't actually know everything there is to know about the elements of style. And two, if I'm the grammar Nazi, who will catch my mistakes?

Maybe next time I'll have something to submit, and then I'll know for sure. I should work in a few intentional, glaring mistakes, just to see if anyone catches them.

Yesterday I worked really hard on the final steps of publishing my novella, Make Willing the Prey. It took much longer than I had planned to do the final revisions, think of a title, write the new epilogue, finish the cover art, format the text, reformat the text, write the description, and do the final tweaks. I was almost two weeks past my unrealistic self-imposed deadline, so yesterday this thing was getting published OR ELSE!

So at something like 6:30pm I finally clicked Save and Continue at Amazon. Now I'm just waiting for their final review. I'll make a formal announcement when it's finally ready.

I am a bit worried about the cover image. Even though I uploaded a file of the right dimensions, the sample thumbnail looked distorted. I'm really hoping it was just a low-quality preview and that the actual cover art will look fantastic. Otherwise I will have to keep tweaking it and will likely hold off on the official announcement until it's perfect. Amazon's 24-48 hour lead-time on any changes is really frustrating in this regard.

I'm going to take the rest of this week to focus on marketing and posting it to Smashwords and other markets. (Unrealistic expectations again? lol).

Then I'm going to start cooking on the next project. I only have vague ideas right now. Since I haven't written any fiction from scratch in ??? years, I will spend some time this week on writing exercises to get the juices flowing. I can work from an outline, but I need my characters and settings to exist first so I know what actions they might take. I'd like to talk more about this, but this post has wandered enough already. :)