Monthly Archives: January 2018
Sometimes it is, Sometimes it Ain’t, When it is, It Really is, When it Ain’t, it Really Really Ain’t
I’ve never suffered from writer’s block; nor am I the type to knock on wood after making such a statement. Knuckles against a wooden surface never did it for me. What I have been plagued with from time to time, I like to refer to as the “Slo-Mo Syndrome.” It’s closely related to the, “some days you’re the windshield, some days you’re the bug” disorder.
Here’s how it works. You climb behind your computer on any given day. Pulling up your virtual manuscript, you bid your latest offering, “Good Morning.” Next, you begin to type. Slowly at first the words crawl across the screen. Your fingers heat up as the cobwebs fly from your ears, freeing your mind to spew ideas unabated to your awaiting fingers. On these days your soon-to-be novel writes itself.
When the “Slo-mo Syndrome” strikes, your day goes something like this. You write a fifteen word sentence; then something catches your eye. “Good thing I saw that,” you say. Before you know it you’ve re-written seventeen words from a fifteen word sentence. Once again you ask an unanswerable question of yourself. “How did that happen?” Multiply this scenario by however many sentences you can bare to write and who knows, you may end up with a paragraph you can actually use. Not bad for a full day’s work. So goes the “Slo-mo Syndrome.”
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Filed under On writing
Use Your Writing Process or Process Your Writing it Doesn’t Matter as Long as Your Process Processes Your Processable Process
Have you ever given much thought to the writing process? I am going to assume the answer is no since it’s not something I ponder on a regular basis. Now, just suppose I found myself in a pondering mood; the writing process might just be something I would ponder at that particular moment. In fact, let’s say I’m in the middle of pondering that very subject.
Some authors begin their novels by establishing the plots and an overall rough outline of how the book will flow. Then again, others will forego the rough outline of the entire novel, expanding that into a rough outline of each chapter. There are many ways to structure your writing and none of them is wrong. Each author uses what works best for him or her and that’s how it should be. Me, I fly by the seat of my pants. When I begin a novel, I sit before the virtual paper on my computer screen. I commence to thinking, eventually coming up with a character and a task for this character to do. I write science fiction and fantasy so this individual could end up anywhere, his destination limited only by my imagination. After that, I’m in it with all four feet, adding characters–sometimes human, but usually not–developing a world and allowing the book to write itself. Whew! I’m working up a sweat just thinking about it. What it boils down to (and don’t forget the boiling point drops 1° for every five hundred feet you rise in elevation) is write how you like and don’t forget to have fun. Gotta go…an idea just popped into my head.
Filed under On writing
What People Are Saying About TERMINAL CORE:
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They were a small band of rebels, determined to save their planet from the greed and corruption of off-worlders bent on milking its very core dry. Aon isn’t a very large planet, but its core is very special, priceless, actually and there are those who will stop at nothing to have every last piece of it, destroying both the planet and its inhabitants. As good takes on evil in the battle to save Aon, the core itself comes alive with deadly creatures bent on self-preservation and no one is safe.
The Wild West meets Science Fiction in Lynn Steigleder’s TERMINAL CORE as an off-world mining company will try anything to own the priceless element, caladium, including killing a planet.Characters with simple grit and pluck come to life as futuristic tools able to create everything from food to clothes with a thought let us know that we are NOT home on the range and those horses are not from Earth. Feel like you are in a creative warp between the nineteenth century west and a futuristic sci-fi adventure. This tale of survival will keep readers firmly planted on Aon soil, at least until the core creatures come out to play.Clever writing, interesting characters and a unique spin on other world survival, this is one for the “must try this,” pile! Lynn Steigleder has his creative juices on a rolling boil!I received this copy from Lynn Steigleder in exchange for my honest review.
The Wild West meets Science Fiction in Lynn Steigleder’s TERMINAL CORE as an off-world mining company will try anything to own the priceless element, caladium, including killing a planet.Characters with simple grit and pluck come to life as futuristic tools able to create everything from food to clothes with a thought let us know that we are NOT home on the range and those horses are not from Earth. Feel like you are in a creative warp between the nineteenth century west and a futuristic sci-fi adventure. This tale of survival will keep readers firmly planted on Aon soil, at least until the core creatures come out to play.Clever writing, interesting characters and a unique spin on other world survival, this is one for the “must try this,” pile! Lynn Steigleder has his creative juices on a rolling boil!I received this copy from Lynn Steigleder in exchange for my honest review.
This was one of the most unique, out there books I’ve ever read. It was highly creative which made me want to keep reading. It’s completely different from other sci-fi books that I read which I was worried about when I started it. I read a lot of science fiction books and because of that, I’ve read a lot of what feels like the same book written in a different way. Thankfully this book was on a level on its own and I loved it.
The chapters were really short which I liked at first but after a while it made the story feel jumpy. Like it would jump from scene to scene, character to character and it got frustrating the deeper into the story I got. That’s probably just a personal preference, though. I tend to like stories with one POV so when I read a book with multiple POV’s I favor one and it can make things difficult for me. The world building made up for any POV issues I may have had. It was amazing, I felt like I was in the story too.
I liked the wild wild west feeling I got while reading this, especially with the first few chapters. I also got a Men in Black vibe a time or two. All in all, this was a very interesting Science Fiction that really drew me into the story and didn’t let me go. I highly recommend it. (less)
This was definitely one of those outside the box books. The plot was very creative, which is a nice change from the same old boring stuff a lot of authors recycle over and over again. If you are looking for something new I would highly recommend this book!
Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton
I’m far from the first reviewer to point out the obvious—that Terminal Core is certainly sci fi, but it’s also filled to the brim with the flavor of the old, wild American west. On the remote, small planet of Aon (which has a solid core made from Calladium, the most valuable element in the universe), cities no longer exist and the world is very much like an open frontier. Characters wear Stetson hats and cowboy boots and ride horse-like six-legged animals carrying saddle-bags. Some characters speak in dialects that would be equally appropriate for 19th century ranch hands, cattle drivers, or prospectors. On this world of mostly men, much time is spent engaged in drunken fist fights inside old-fashioned saloons where everyone wants their whiskey.
On this back-water world, earth’s president and some duplicitous humans plan to destroy Aon to harvest its valuable core. To accomplish this, crude oil from Earth is shipped to Aon, refined and used to dissolve Calladium. In response, an animated, telepathic being that lives in Calladium incongruously calling itself J. Smith takes two of his “bug thugs” and two human hostages to earth to destroy the extraction centers for the oil. Even more frightening are the lethal creatures on Aon that burrow through earth and flesh. It’s as if the planet is defending itself against the intrusive offworlders.
As the story progressed, told with various points of view recounting a batch of alternating storylines, I was reminded of the novels of L. Sprague de Camp, especially his books of light, entertaining adventure populated by humanoids living among strange aliens using weird, exotic technology. De Camp didn’t explore speculative themes but rather took readers to faraway worlds where nothing was intended to provoke deep thought. Seems to me, Lynn Steigleder is in that tradition.
While not publicized as a YA novel, I think that readership would be an ideal target audience for Terminal Core, especially when all the frightening “monsters” start popping up from the ground. Likewise, I’d think Baby Boomers who might be a bit nostalgic for the breed of sci fi adventure stories we got to read before “hard science fiction” came to dominate sci fi might enjoy a book that is simple entertainment. I’ve read reviews that suggest that fans of Western stories might like Terminal Core, but I’m rather doubtful about that. As it goes along, Terminal Core becomes less and less earth-like with the settings, characters, devices and animals more and more fantastic and unusual.
Yes, Terminal Core is often grisly but few modern readers are going to be put off by weird creatures eating or squashing people and other biped species. The violence kicks into serious high gear in the final chapters when a band of hearty humans battle a relentless tide of killer beasts trying to exterminate all the humans on Aon. I must admit, the final sentences of the book are the most out-of-left-field twists I’ve ever read. Seems to me, the conclusion is a bit gratuitous—to say more would be a major spoiler. And as Terminal Core is apparently planned to be a stand-alone saga, you might find yourself fantasizing your own sequel to Lynn Steigleder’s very imaginative grand finale.
Filed under On writing
Author Lynn Steigleder 