Why I write fantasy fiction
Filed under Writing Journal on June 3, 2008
Tagged: Eternal Warlords, fantasy fiction, Relvan's Rescue, Shattered Amulet, webcomics, writing
It’s important, from time to time, to stop and do a self-assessment of the direction your life is taking: personally, professionally, spiritually. Are you investing your resources in the areas that you really want to? Are you making progress toward the goals you set six months ago? A year ago? Five years ago? The past month has been such a time for me.
This month will mark three years since Maiden of Pain was published. I should be four years into my five year plan. Instead, I’ve spent the last two years developing a multiplayer, turn-based strategy Flash game, and the only fantasy fiction story I got published was in a non-professional market.
Something’s not right with this picture.
Why I write
The first question to ask when trying to get back on track is why that track is better than the one you’re on. Writing is the best track for me because:
- I’m a better writer than a project manager.
- Writing is less of a financial burden than publishing a game.
- My skill set allows me to complete a manuscript without dependence upon someone else.
- I like to create with words.
Why I write fantasy fiction
There are lots of different types of writing, and I don’t find all of them satisfying. My experience as a technical writer has been an exercise in frustration and disillusionment. I like blogging, writing non-fiction articles, and have occasional ideas for non-genre stories. But my real passion is fantasy fiction. Those kind of stories come unbidden into my head, begging to be written.
It’s not easy for me to articulate why fantasy fiction is so appealing to me as a writer. I enjoy depicting the struggle of good against evil and building new worlds that lack the trappings of modern (or even futuristic) life. Perhaps it’s the fact that these stories could never happen to me, yet I want to experience them, that draws me so.
I can definitely tell you why I don’t write fantasy fiction: money. There are much more profitable kinds of writing.
Knowing is only half the battle
The information gleaned from a self-assessment is only valuable if you act upon it. Here are my action items:
- Finish production of Eternal Warlords: Arena (no, I’m not going to abandon it), but delay any future plans for game development.
- Post new blog articles three times a week. For now, the schedule will be Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
- Devote at least two hours a night, four times a week, to writing fantasy fiction for a professional market. Shattered Amulet will be my primary project, “Relvan’s Rescue” (and other Janner Kohl stories after) comes second. My webcomic project is third.
Are you doing what you like to do? Or are you on the wrong track? Why do you do what you do? Perform a little self-assessment in the comments.
June 3rd, 2008 at 6:19 am
That’s a tough question.
There are numerous things I like to do in small or medium-sized doses, but very, very few things hold my interest for extended periods of time (read: months, or years). It’s difficult to stay motivated in any one particular field of interest.
If I were to use ‘willing to spend two hours a day on it’ as a qualifier for strongest interests, then the following qualify for me: web design, playing MMORPGs, designing/writing tabletop RPGs, and biking.
I work professionally as a web developer, so I’m doing what I’m interested in as a job.
In writing this, I’m starting to think my blog (which is about nature, human nature, and green tech) is perhaps not focused on the right topic….
Ben Overmyer’s last blog post was Keep things in perspective
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:27 am
Your level of interest in a topic is a strong indicator of the sustainability of any pursuit related to that topic. If you find it hard to generate the energy necessary to maintain your blog, re-focusing might be the answer. It was for me and this blog.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:20 pm
I like blogging, I just forget to do it sometimes.
Well, more accurately, when I think of a topic to blog is usually when I’m not sitting in front of my computer ready to blog. I think of tons of topics to blog about in the car.
I like what I’m doing, and yet I don’t. Funny how that is. The problem with me is I like to do SO many different things, that I can never be satisfied doing just one. But security where I am (and more importantly the security of a steady income and benefits for my family), a stubbornness to change and get out of my comfort zone, and general laziness keeps me where I am, even though it is possible I’d be happier elsewhere.
Then again, maybe I wouldn’t be. That’s part of it too, that once you make a change, it’s difficult to go back to where you may have been happier. Not a risk I want to take at this point.
Lukahn’s last blog post was Famous Me
June 5th, 2008 at 4:18 am
Kameron, your Why I Write list is one of the best. Very clear and succinct. Something to tack up on the wall for sure.
I wrote my last book a little over five years ago, so it wouldn’t be fair to say I’m off track. I’m more sailed right off the edge of the world… That’s one reason I applied to Clarion West this year, trying to get myself back on the map.
In some ways, that helped immensely but life has a way of working it’s magic against the writer and soon you’re back at things that are not writing even though you’ve done a great job of convincing yourself that they are (or at least this is what happens to me).
Jamie Grove – How Not To Write’s last blog post was Write Funny: My Guest Post and Your Chance to Win a Free Book!
July 1st, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Very nice post. We could all use a moment of sit-down-and-think clarity to reassess plans. I find that making plans don’t really work out on a day-by-day or month-by-month basis, and often I seem way off track, but somehow, I seem to hit the mile markers more or less in time.
I found your post particularly interesting because I’m about to start writing a MMOG version of one of my books. It’s not fantasy in the western sense, but that’s the closest genre western publishers and readers understand, so I guess the game will be a fantasy game too.
Keep writing. I’m reading!
Ashok’s last blog post was The Ramayana continues, the Mahabharata begins, Ramayana graphic novel unveiled, Iron Gods complete and exclusive, only on The AKB Newsletter
July 1st, 2008 at 11:11 pm
“I can definitely tell you why I don’t write fantasy fiction: money. There are much more profitable kinds of writing.”
I love this comment. Loved it so much that I posted it to Twitter.
I too, need to create a list of “action items.”
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:28 am
Welcome, Ashok and RSD. Thanks for your comments.
I know a few folks on Twitter, and have considered creating an account, but decided against it knowing how easily I can get sidetracked. That’s also one of the reasons I’m only posting weekly to Pens and Swords. The less I have to think about blog topics, the more I can focus on my action items.
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:36 am
Wise decision. Twitter is a form of blogging unto itself, and blogging is a form of writing unto itself as well! I do them because I need to divert my mind from my writing–I tend to get too obsessive otherwise. My problem is too much focus, not too little. But if you need to focus on the action items, then staying off them is the right thing to do, because they can get pretty addictive in their own way.
Write on!