Lou Paduano | Urban Fantasy Novels | Sci-Fi Crime Series

Finding Your Voice as an Author

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We all know what a Stephen King book sounds like. As readers, we know what to expect when we crack open a Dan Brown tale or even a yarn by Brad Meltzer. Each has a certain voice, a specific tone set from years of practice.

Finding your voice as an author is a journey much like producing a book. It is something I’ve been thinking about quite a bit lately as I dip into new endeavors and new genres.

Rules and regulations

There is something to this, for sure. Rules are important when learning the ins and outs of a genre. Reaching a target audience requires a bit of tweaking one’s voice in order to better suit that audience.

Everyone starts out that way. But dipping more to your strengths, even the discovering of those strengths, is part of finding your own voice.

Who you want to be as an author

This has been weighing on me. When I look back, how do I want to be remembered as an author? Entertaining? Sure. Poignant? Probably not so much.

It goes back to the writing. Theme and tone, each plays a part in determining our voice – that which is projected out to the reader in the form of a final book, polished series, whatever you’re writing.

Greystone, for me, is about opening closed doors. It’s about finding light in the shadows.

What I’ve come to realize is how much some notions carry through even to a completely different series. DSA has been taking over my mind the last few months and will be owning my life for the next three or four months as I close out the opening season of tales.

That theme of discovery returns here. The concept of control over our lives – something Henry Erikson introduced to Portents in The Medusa Coin – is very prominent. Is this a matter of not being creative enough to come up with something new or is this where voice is the most prominent? In the type of message being conveyed to the reader?

The conversation is fascinating to me.

What about in the writing itself?

That is, of course, a major proponent of an author’s voice. Sarcasm, flowing descriptions, snippy dialogue. Again, each plays a role in determining a piece of what you’re trying to impress upon the reader.

But it is in the sum of all parts that the voice comes together. More than the finished product, this journey is incredible and I’m loving each connection I find when I put down my pen to start editing.

The notions inherent in my thoughts, the concepts that creep up in the background are more than similarities, they are important nuances to how I view the world. Something I wasn’t cognizant of previously.

Like Greystone, I am also trying to open new doors. To discover more about myself through my writing. To push and pull each scene for more, to say more, to be more in each sentence.

All with the hope of discovering more about who I am, who I want to be, and that voice I want to share with you.

Thanks for reading.

Founder’s Day Commentary – Lessons from the Dead

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This is it! The final author commentary for Pathways in the Dark! One last look at Founder’s Day. SPOILER WARNING is in effect!

Lessons from the dead

This is an important theme for the series. It is best exemplified by Loren’s dreams. In them, Beth provides a story for Loren – offering him a choice. These are lessons being imparted to him and what they mean are coming to light in a few weeks with A Circle of Shadows.

What I failed to realize is that the dead hold lessons for more players in the series. What our main characters learn from them puts them on a path to the next novel, to the next moment in time.

It is a tried and true theme throughout the series. One never intended, but a vital one to the cast.

It started with Mentor…

As you’ll come to learn, pretty much everything starts with Mentor. His lessons, the small flashbacks imparted on Soriya allow her to realize her shortcomings and see where she needs to improve.

There is more to it, I promise. There are secrets coming to light down the line that show in greater detail the impact this fallen teacher on the lives of our cast.

But it started with his lessons. His tutelage. When he died he set her on a certain path, one she believes is built on disappointment and failure at not being able to save him. On not being able to protect Portents to the best of her ability.

It grows from that and where it ends next month will surprise some of you. Others will understand this is merely a natural progression of what Mentor taught her for so many years in the Bypass Chamber.

Ruiz and Edgar

I never made the connection until putting together this blog. Edgar Rusch fulfills this role for Ruiz in The Medusa Coin. He plays the role of mentor for one chapter and it is all it takes to push Ruiz forward in his arc.

Edgar badgers his old friend about coming clean with Michelle about things. Ruiz brushes it off but then Edgar dies and he is left with that lesson.

Those dying words of his best friend.

The lessons of the dead end up being vital to our present course. They propel this cast to make heavy decisions that impact the narrative on a fundamental level.

Ruiz takes a leave of absence because of his friend’s words. Because of the lesson imparted before his demise.

Loren and Crowne

I wanted that moment for these two players as well. Where the others have positive experiences to draw upon (debatable with Soriya, I know, but there were plenty of good memories mixed with the disappointment) I wanted to show Loren and Crowne as the opposite of this dynamic.

Crowne shows Loren the downside of obsession, of living in the past. Loren tries to pull him out, to force him to look forward, but can’t because of his own failings. They can’t lift each other up.

They can only fall into darkness.

That final conversation with Crowne, the anger behind his every word, mirrors Loren’s from stories like Resurrectionists and Gremlins.  At this moment, after Crowne falls, Loren can’t help but feel responsible. He can’t help but see the failure in trying to help and not being able to because of his own inadequacy.

But down the line? Will this be a lesson that propels Loren forward or will be wallow in defeat? Will he look forward? Will he follow the lessons offered by the dead and change?

A Circle of Shadows arrives on September 11th. Why not give it a read and find out?

 

Self-Editing Tips – 5 Areas to Question

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I’m in self-editing mode again. While trying to tie up the first half of the Greystone series with a nice ribbon, I’ve been staring at the same passages for weeks asking questions on top of questions. In my search for answers I realized that there are specific areas I tend to look at when looking over my work.

Five areas to question when self-editing

  1. Perspective – I tend to stick with a third-person limited perspective and only follow one character’s train of thought per chapter. Because of this I am constantly questioning the choice of that character on a chapter by chapter basis. Does this moment work best following Loren or Soriya? Should it come from Soriya because she is more emotional in this moment or should it be Loren because of his more methodical thinking? Sometimes I’ll play with it both ways to see what works best but usually I’ll know before I start – either through an action in the chapter or a line of dialogue – the best angle to approach the scene.
  2. Setting – Why here? Why now? There is a scene in The Medusa Coin I circle back to when it comes to setting. Soriya is on the roof of the Rath Building and she summons Loren for a conversation. He hates heights and she does this anyway. It’s a moment of control for her at a time when she has none and it was important to have that piece in the background of their discussion. The setting for each scene should help build the action, build the image of the world in the reader’s mind. Question each choice to find the best option available that makes sense for the narrative and realize why it is the best choice.
  3. Tension – Is there enough? Does it filter in at the right beat or does it come too late? Does the scene start too early and needs tightening to punctuate that tension? Conflict and drama are key here. I like banter. When I write a Ruiz/Loren chapter there is always banter between them. It works for them. But any scene with Mathers involved? There’s no playing around. It’s anger times ten right at the start and it gets worse as the scene plays out. Knowing the narrative, knowing the direction of the conversation before you set words to the page allows you to play with the timing, the flow of the dialogue – all leading to a natural explosion of conflict between characters. Hold off too long or spring it too quickly and the reader will catch it.
  4. Advancing the Plot – Why is this moment necessary? Do we learn something new? Is there another way to tell this moment or wrap it with some other event to tighten the pace of the narrative? Each beat requires purpose. If Loren finishes his shift and heads to a diner for some eggs there better be a reason behind showing it to the reader. The diner is a haven for a local drug lord involved in one of his current cases maybe? A girl he likes works there? The victim ate there recently and ended up decking his waitress for poor service? Plot based or centered on character (or hopefully both), there has to be a reason for the scene to exist. If not? Fold it into another narrative beat. He doesn’t go to the diner alone, Ruiz is there too and the two talk about the case only to meet the waitress the victim decked right before the end. That way he doesn’t have to catch Ruiz up in the next scene, both beats are right there for the reader and that advances the story to the next action.
  5. Narration – This is the most difficult for me and can be connected with the questions pertaining to perspective. It typically boils down to one thing for me – What is the mental state of the perspective character at this exact moment? Where are they in their overall arc for the novel? Are they reeling from a recent loss? Are they cold or too warm, pissed or calm? Action, tension, and setting all play a role in this. Each feeds into the mental state of the character that will drive the action for the next narrative beat.

Question everything

If you ask me I will tell you the truth when it comes to self-editing. I don’t like to do it. At all. It is painstaking and the questions never truly end.

Does it help the work? Of course it does. It is the most important step in the process and should never be skipped.

Question every choice you made. Defend those you can without a doubt. When doubt does come into play? Realize it and make a change. Play with different outcomes, different situations or dynamics. Switch the perspective.

Make choices and question those.

Eventually you’ll hit that sweet spot and hit the send button to your favorite readers. Eventually.

Thanks for reading.

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