Category: McGuire

As always, some of the things in the newsletter are time-sensitive. Or at least they were when the newsletter came out and all the subscribers got it. Now they’re historical events…
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Well, the past few weeks have been… days.

Absolutely.

Me word real good.

I don’t have as much for you this month. For a few reasons.

The big one is we sort of became a plague house over the past three weeks. My partner and I are still masking when we go out into the world, but I still somehow managed to catch a nasty cold at the end of April (just in time for my mom’s visit to California). Everything got raw enough that I ended up losing my voice for a couple days and then passed it to my beloved. Which really sucks because I’ve always had a pretty robust immune system, since I was a little kid, and she.. doesn’t. So I got over it in about a week and it took her, well, until about now. She’s still fighting off the last of it as I write this.

And of course this overlapped nicely (if we can call it that) with one of my cats needing surgery. My dear, beautiful Goblin has been suffering from glaucoma for almost a year. We’ve been managing it with eye drops for most of that time, but it would still swell occasional, and it finally became undeniable that he’d lost all sight in that eye. So we made the decision to have the eye removed. It was extremely nerve-wracking for me because I have a pile of eye-issues related to a childhood trauma of my own. And it didn’t help that it was a whole process of appointments before the actual surgery.

Goblin came though it fine, don’t worry. I probably stressed about it way more than he did. He didn’t like wearing a cone for two weeks, but it’s off now and he’s happier than he’s been in a while. Plus he was dealing with diminished vision for so long that losing the eye hasn’t slowed him down at all. Really it’s just me feeling guilty I took so long to do it because of my own fears.

Fear stops us from doing a lot of things. And I’m not just excusing myself when I say… that’s understandable. It all comes down to facing our fear and doing the right thing. Taking that next step, even when it makes us really uncomfortable. Like they say, courage is when you’re afraid but you do the right thing anyway.

So it’s okay to be scared. Just don’t let it stop you from being brave.

I mean, Goblin’s got one eye now and no depth perception, but he threw himself up on top of the wardrobe this morning.

In other news…

God’s Junk Drawer is done with copyedits. Levi, the copyeditor, went through the whole manuscript with notes, grammatical corrections, some questions, and a few suggestions. And then I spent about a week and a half going over all of his notes (while also juggling a sick beloved and a depressed cat forced to wear a post-surgery cone).

Quick explainer, which I probably should’ve done a while ago. Some of you probably know this, but there’s a few different types of editing. The editing I do in early drafts, and then do again later with an editor, is usually called developmental editing. It’s when we’re actually trying to shape and form the manuscript. Tightening some parts, adding others, changing some altogether. Some books don’t need much of this. Some need a lot. It all depends on the writer’s individual style and how polished a book they tend to turn in. I’ve turned in some manuscripts that I felt were really solid, but also one or two that were, for various reasons, not solid at all. Bordering on liquid. One may have assumed a gaseous form. I think one editor would completely agree with that.

Copyediting, on the other hand, is the nuts and bolts phase. It’s when someone– a copyeditor– goes through and makes sure all the spelling and grammar’s correct. That all the dates and names and other random facts line up. It’s a meticulous, line-by-line job.

It’s also a tricky one because, on the writer side of it, a lot of us play with grammar and sentence structure and sometimes even spelling to make the story do the things we want it to do. If you’ve read any of my books (like, say, The Broken Room) you know that I like a certain pace to action. I want it to read fast, like you’re seeing it happen. Or trying to see it happen, but sometimes it’s so quick we just see the blur and put it together after the fact. It’s not unusual for me to deliberately create a run-on sentence to help sell the quick, breathless speed things are happening at. And this often means breaking a bunch of “correct” rules. A good copyeditor will see this and the reasoning behind it. I’ve shown them I know the rules and I also know how and why I’m breaking them, and what that breakage is going to accomplish.

Point is, I had a good copyeditor on God’s Junk Drawer. Levi saw what I was trying to do in a lot of places, but also caught a few spots where maaaaaaybe it should be this? Or that?

The next stop… layout! And then ARCs!

We also have a cover now and it’s… it’s pretty damned cool. I can’t show it to you yet, but I’m pushing to make sure all of you subscribed to the newsletter are the first folks to see it.

Oh, I also finished that comic script and the editor said… it was actually pretty solid for a first try. He suggested one tweak and, yeah, it was a good suggestion and makes a few things work better.. As I’ve said, it’s a new format for me so I’m still stumbling through it, but we’re moving forward.

What else do I have for you…

Cool Stuff I’ve Been Watching
I’ve got to be honest…. not a lot. Well, not a lot I didn’t talk about in the last newsletter. Doctor Who is still fantastic. The Grimm rewatch continues (we’re almost done with season three) and I have many, many thoughts about it. We’ve also been watching the last few episodes of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur and godDAMN that show should’ve run for four or five seasons. And of course, as I write this tomorrow’s the premiere of Murderbot. And some point soon I’m probably going to binge all of Andor in two or three nights.

Cool Stuff I’ve Been Reading
With all the sickness and cat stuff… not much, I’m ashamed to say. I read an early draft of a friend’s clever and very timely book. Currently reading Overgrowth by Seanan Mc *cough* Mira Grant and I’ll be talking with her about it next week at Mysterious Galaxy (if you happen to be in the area). Next up for me… Well, I just got another blurb book, but I may dive into this Godzilla novelization/ translation. And then Staircase in the Woods is just sitting there…

Cool New Toys
I’m in that part of the year where I try not to get much for myself because my birthday is coming up. But a bunch of preorder stuff showed up, and I took advantage of a few sales. The biggest one is that I finally got my Marvel Legends Rom, an action figure I’ve essentially wanted since I was nine. I haven’t even taken him out of the package yet, and I have some plans for once he’s out (expect many photos). I also ended up building my own custom Four Horseman demon. He doesn’t have a name yet, but he looks really cool.

And I think that’s all I’ve got for you right now. As always, thanks for reading. See you again in thirty days or so.

Is Cyber Monday even a thing anymore? I mean, Black Friday starts on Monday or Tuesday at this point. then spills over the whole weekend and two or three days into the next week. Is it just the Black Weeks? Cybercember?

Anyway, I’ve got a few holiday recommendations for you to check out at your friendly local bookstore, if you’re so interested. Just some things I read this year that I really enjoyed and I thought some of you may enjoy, too. Or maybe someone you know would enjoy them.

I mean, assuming you’ve already given them all of my books…

How To Make A Horror Movie and Survive by Craig DiLouie – the other movie-related horror book that came out this year. Craig’s book is a beautifully gory, disturbing story about Hollywood and how obsessive some artists can get and what they might be willing to do in the name of art. As someone who worked in the film industry for many years, I found too many parts of this book completely believable.

Chronicles of the Lazarene by Charles Soule– this is a companion book to The Endless Vessel, which came out a year earlier. They tell the story of a mysterious research ship (for lack of a better term) that’s been sailing the seas for almost three hundred years now. They’re absolutely both worth reading, but I have to admit… I kiiiiiinda like this one a little better.

What If… — three different books, technically all stand-alones, although there’s a thread weaving through them that’s much more obvious by the third book. What If… Loki Was Worthy (by Madeleine Roux), What If… Wanda Maximoff and Peter Parker Were Siblings (by Seanan McGuire), and What If.. Marc Spector Was Host To Venom (by Mike Chen). They thread the line between comics and the MCU, and have some fantastic easter eggs, so they’re great for casual fans or die-hard ones. Full disclosure–Mike named one of Jake Lockley’s informants after me, but that didn’t influence this recommendation. But I am now Marvel canon!

California Bear by Duane Swierczynski –a wonderfully twisty and deranged crime novel about a man released from prison to help an idiot ex-cop, his brilliant daughter, and a reality show based on a legendary serial killer. And honestly, saying anything more than that would be telling. Just trust me, you’ll love it.

A Brief History of Flowers by Advolly Richmond—okay, this probably seems like an odd one but… it’s just what the title says. It’s a collection of short historical anecdotes about how different flowers ended up becoming garden favorites, how they were named, weird stories around them, and it’s all kind of fantastic. Great for history lovers or garden lovers.

Atomic Robo by Brian Clevenger and Scott Wegener ended up being my comfort read this year. Reads, really, as I went back over older books and read some newer ones. It’s the ongoing tale of a sentient, indestructible robot created by Nikola Tesla and the team of scientists and adventurers he’s gathered around himself over the years. It funny, exciting, a little creepy at times—really it’s just absolutely perfect. You can pick up almost any volume and read it as a stand-alone, or start with Atomic Robo and the Fightin’ Scientists of Tesladyne.

I know that’s not much, but I shamefully admit I didn’t read as much as I wanted to this year. And a good chunk of what I did read was stuff that’s not coming out until next year. So if you wanted to preorder some things (gifts of Christmas Yet To Come) I’d highly recommend Coyote Run by Lilith Saintcrow, The Contest by Jeff Macfee, and Two Truths and a Lie by Cory O’Brien.

Also, just in case you missed it, I’m running my usual Black Friday offer for whoever may need a little help this season.

And shamefully, once again, please feel free to give any of my books as holiday gifts. Give lots of them. In multiple formats. I can make recommendations, if you need them.

Next time… the truth about cats and dogs.

Until then, go write.

 No, no, I’m not talking about you.

 I’m talking about him.

You know who you are.

There’s an issue that came up in one of my weekend B-movies recently, and it also came up in a book I was reading last month. Not the first time I’ve seen it in either format. And I thought it was worth talking about for a minute or three.

And that issue is cheating.

I’ve talked about twists many times here on the ranty blog. I friggin’ love a good twist.  Seriously. I will forgive a story a lot if it can knock me over with a completely unexpected reveal that seems obvious in retrospect. That’s the kind of thing that makes me want to grab a book and read the whole thing again. There are movies I love to rewatch just to see how beautifully the filmmakers set up a fantastic twist.

Now, in the past, I’ve addressed a problem some writers have when they try to set up a twist. And that’s when the revealed information—the twist—is something the reader couldn’t possibly have known or even guessed. If I tell you Wakko is actually the clone, it makes us realize how we-misinterpreted some parts of the story and a couple things line up now that didn’t before. If I tell you Phoebe is actually the clone, it makes us ask who the hell Phoebe is. Is she even from this story? Also, wait, this story is about clones…?

In the past I’ve tried to soften this criticism by saying the writer didn’t understand how to set up a twist. And while that’s still true in the big scheme of things, I think it might be  a little more helpful to just be direct. When this happens, the author is cheating in how they tell the story. They’re lying to the readers.

And sometimes, you just have to call out the liars.

Yeah, this sounds a little harsh and a few folks may already be raising their defenses, so let’s take a moment and be clear what we’re talking about. This is a very specific thing I’m referring to. Cheating is a deliberate thing, a choice, as opposed to a simple mistake.

All that said, let’s talk about what makes a good twist. I’ve talked about these all at different times, but I think a good twist always has four distinct elements.

1) My readers and my characters don’t expect a twist is coming. If I tell you there’s a big secret about my cat you’ll never guess, you’ve been flat-out told there’s something about my cat you wouldn’t expect. Likewise, if the shadowy figure is constantly referencing things only certain people could know, they’re probably connected to one or more of those people. It’s hard for any twist to land well when people are on the lookout for it.

2) The information a twist reveals has to be something my readers and characters didn’t already know. Telling you I have cats is not a big reveal, especially if you follow me on Instagram. This information has no weight. Telling you one of my cats is a cyborg is a reveal—that’s something you didn’t know.

3) The information revealed in a twist has to change how my readers and characters look at past events in the story but (very important) this information can’t contradict the information they’ve been given up until now. I can’t say my cat’s actually a plush toy dog after calling her a cat for a hundred pages and talking about the vet bills when she got her cyborg parts. Worth noting—this is when a lot of twists go wrong.

4) Finally, a twist needs a certain amount of time to build up strength. It’s really tough to have a good twist in the first five pages of a novel. As I mentioned above, a twist needs to alter our view of past events, which means… there have to be past events. If my cat’s showing off her laser eyes and adamantium claws on page eight, this isn’t a twist—I’m just introducing a character.

Granted, these are my own requirements, not something (to the best of my knowledge) taught in any courses or books. For this little rant of mine, it’s 2) and 3) we’re most concerned, because that’s where the cheating often comes into play. Because cheating (and lying) usually involve the manipulation of information to suit your own needs.

Now, right up front, it’s really common for me, as a writer, to lead my audience into believing something. To carefully choose words and phrases to make them think X when the truth is Y. This is a standard aspect of storytelling—what I want the reader to know and when I want them to know it.

But it’s important that I don’t cheat. I may leave a few facts out. I may deliberately guide them down a different path. But I can’t lie to them. The moment I lie—even if I’m doing it to make the story “better”—I’ve broken the contract. They’ve got no reason to trust me, and it’s not unfair for them to start doubting and questioning everything in the story.

So what do I mean when I’m saying cheating or lying? Let’s break it down by those two points from above…

As far as 2) goes, I need to be revealing information the audience doesn’t know, but it has to be information they could know. It can’t break the characters or the world I’ve established. It needs to fit within that context.

For example, if my twist is that Bron from Game of Thrones has psychic powers because he’s actually a mutant from an alternate future timeline… well, it’s definitely information we didn’t know. But we never could’veknown it. With everything we’ve been told it’s just an impossibility in this story. Likewise, if I’m writing a murder mystery and the big twist is that the murderer is Phoebe… we should all know who Phoebe is. Revealing a name we’ve never heard before at a critical moment doesn’t really solve anything.

A good way to think of it is whatever information I’m revealing in my twist is something my readers should be able to guess—even if it might mean a few guesses. If I have twenty characters/potential suspects in my murder mystery, the reader shouldn’t need thirty-seven guesses to name the murderer. If I’m three hundred pages into my grimdark medieval fantasy story, I can’t abruptly say the dark lord’s secret weapon that’s wiped out armies is a battlemech with a meson death ray. Why would anyone ever guess that?

When we’re talking about 3), the big cheat is usually just a straight contradiction. The facts I give on page 150 or 200 just don’t line up at all with the facts I’ve given you before. I’ve told you two or three times that Wakko’s a computer programmer but then it turns out really he’s a genetic engineer.  Numerous characters have said there’s nothing within a hundred miles of our village, but then they escape to the town on the other side of the valley. And if you find out on page 175 of my political thriller that the secret informant is actually an angry ghost… well, I’d understand if you tossed it aside at that point.

One of the worst examples of cheating is when we’ve been seeing over a character’s shoulder or “hearing” their thoughts for a hundred or so pages and they just, y’know, never happened to think about the fact they’re the serial killer the whole city’s searching for. Or that Wakko constantly calls himself as a computer programmer (even in private) until we find out he’s the genetic engineer who activated Dot’s Zoanoid genes (double-geekery reference). This is the kind of things that make readers grind their teeth, and it really stands out on a re-read.

In the end, these lies are just about no being honest with my readers. I’m lying to them about what Wakko does. I’m lying about what’s going on in his head. I’m cheating to create a certain effect rather than actually creating the effect.

Y’see, Timmy, I think the reason some writers fall back on these blatant cheats and lies is… it’s easier. Doing the work is tough. Lying is simple. And if I just don’t feel like doing the work, it’s really tempting to just say Wakko’s a computer programmer and move on.

Good writing is tough. It’s work. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it is. There are a lot of nuances to this art and they’re going to take actual effort if I want to come close to mastering them. To pull off a really good twist is probably going to mean going over my manuscript two or three times, making sure everything lines up and fits together just right.

But when you do it–when you do the work and don’t lie, don’t cheat—that’s when you make something that sticks with people. Something fantastic they’ll remember and talk to people about and recommend constantly. Because a great twist makes a good book twice as good. The readers get to enjoy the whole story, and then they get to enjoy it again, seeing and appreciating how everything fits seamlessly together.

True story. Like a lot of my books, Ex-Patriots has a twist in it. It’s such a big twist that, when one reader hit it, she couldn’t believe I could’ve slipped this past her for the entire book without her noticing. In fact she immediately re-read the whole book, convinced I had to have cheated. And when she realized I hadn’t, she (somehow) hunted down my phone number and called me to rave about it and congratulate me.

And that, friends, is how I met Seanan McGuire.

Do the work. Don’t cheat. Don’t lie.

Good advice for writing and life.

Next time, I wanted to talk to you a bit about characters.

Until then, go write.