UnSung is Here!

This book, like all books I finish, had a very special goal. I wanted it to be a true epic entry. I'd gotten caught up in the word count for traditional publishing years ago and I always feel like it might have affected, for better or worse, how I approached writing. Instead, I removed those mental restrictions and just set out to bring in a word count that the book needed--I could get carried away, but it would still need a limit if I were to put it in paperback. There's only so much a spine can hold (or that a reader might want to hold). Luckily, with a decent font size, it still came under the 825 page limit by about 100 pages so it's definitely not stretching the next book too thin either.

Ahem, first things first. The universal book link to find the retailers is HERE but feel free to just pop into your favorite store and type in my name (Krista Gossett-- I have no clue how people are arriving here, so I'll not take chances).

UnSung is a part of the UnQuadrilogy, a series that explores the mistakes of the four Gods broadly through the messes that the humans and other creatures have to clean up. The layers come in bite-sized subplots, driven by a cast of characters of all different fantasy races and backgrounds. At least one main character tends to have a disability that also makes them more open to abilities that the 'able' do not. There are typically several plot threads that are character-driven and these tend to establish the 'chapters'. The only format that is consistent is that each book has three parts and an epilogue. The Prologue in UnSung is actually used to shift the view point from Talia's view in the Epilogue of UnNamed to some of Aiden's history and his view of events. This means that, at this point, it's not necessary to have read UnNamed (although you may appreciate knowing some of the characters reappear in UnSung and there are some Easter eggs tied into the story). UnSung does mention some of those events in passing, enough that they make sense on their own. I can't guarantee I'll keep this up for later books, since it gets more difficult (and tedious) in an epic to keep mentioning past events. For UnSung, it was not cheesy or tedious or I might have scrapped it.

In truth, it's not difficult to make at least 90% of each book completely standalone. For one, each one deals with new main characters. This is because their roles end up taking on a more significant one later. I also attempted to make it difficult to discern which of the characters is actually a 'main' character. Someone who plays a significant story-telling role may not be around for the long haul. The way the plots move serve to: 1) develop a character, 2) create an understanding of a subplot, or 3) support the main plot. I don't set out to kill or protect the characters, only to make sure each piece plays a clear role.

For this reason, it feels odd to assign each book a description. I can tell you the leading story-tellers (at least, to a point), the main plot, even some of the more significant subplots. However, knowing the books as I do, I can't really place significance on anything for you. It's a slow-burner fantasy that changes pace. It plays with politics, adventure, deceit, psychology, light and dark humor. I've always been drawn to fantasies with layers--not ones where the romance is the only driving force or constant or death and nihilism is the goal. I like it to be a multi-faceted playground that leads to a definite conclusion, yet still lets the reader keep it open to their imagination.

So-- each book concludes something. Each part concludes something. Each plot finds a conclusion. It's my hope that readers can also connect to at least one character, if not more. My expectations as a writer certainly considered what might appeal to a fan, but ultimately, my focus was on telling a complete story, yet one that I could expand on again and again.

UnNamed is already in the process of receiving more short stories. My nameless mercenary keeps me curious, keeps me wondering how his early life shaped the man he would become. The tricky thing is though that the short story spin-offs are more difficult to classify. Some of my short story spin-offs have verged into erotica, some adventure, and some seem more like investigative mysteries. I wonder if this is a sign of lacking discipline, or... Rather, I am willing to write what the story needs to be rather than restricting it to rigid requirements.

I know I'm roundabout getting to this, but UnSung starts with two scared young people, Aiden and Talia, who flee from the scene of a horrific murder, neither sure if anyone will believe they aren't responsible or that they can withstand the consequences regardless. They journey to the continent of Melikai, each trying to establish their own lives, each bothered by the whispers of a vast trade city turning ghost town. When they realize there is no such thing as a normal life for them, it leads them to extraordinary circumstances and deeper mysteries.

If I can manage to hook you for the long game, it will all become clear. As a fan of Sherlock Holmes and authors like Dean Koontz and James Patterson, I've always been a fan of dropping clues that feed you bread crumbs along the way. My characters, no matter their vocation, all play a bit of an investigative or driving role. I've said before, I don't set out to write paragraphs of self-congratulatory prose--enough to romance you to the elements, but not so much that you lose track of where you're supposed to be. If you WANT to wander in thought, I let that be your prerogative, not the hostage situation I put you in.

Between the drawing and the winter hobbyist stint, I haven't yet gone back to UnHeard. It got a huge draft boost during NaNoWriMo and I'm invading short story territory as well. UnHeard, like my other books, sometimes gets ambitious boosts (I've hit 10K in a single day more than once), sometimes a few modest 2-5K stints, sometimes dry spells because... I do more than write. I've had a few people urge me to pick an area. 

Easier said than done. I love drawing, but that's a challenge on my physical health that writing isn't, namely because I have bad habits in posture and ergonomics that I can't seem to correct without expensive equipment. Comics would be a lot more lucrative to do for me, but I need to take different risks and the planning is trickier. I'll certainly try it, but...

I do resolve to at least finish up the UnQuadrilogy first. So writing will be full-time at least for the next couple years. It won't be going away, at least as long as there are ideas I like better in that medium. However, if comics take off and I can handle the physical demands, it will become the priority.

That's a 'we'll see' situation. Being a modern artist is largely about flexibility, rather than just humping the same tree. We just don't live in a time where we can staunchly master one area, room and board a part of our apprenticeship. Certainly some can, but they are not only extremely lucky, but exceedingly rare. Most of even the most successful artists I know are rarely able to just master one area. Rather, they have to get pretty damn good at a lot of things and hope they actually like the ones that come into demand.

I loved crochet (and still do) but as a business, it sucked all the fun out of it, made it into something I didn't like. I find that writing and art don't poison in their reception, good or bad. It's easier for me to turn people down or accept/ignore criticism. With crafting, I just don't seem to have the same patience. Nevertheless, I treat it with integrity, refusing to sell crafts for peanuts. If I love you, I'll gift my work, but otherwise, don't even bother asking me to make something if you're not up to paying crafter prices. I don't fuck with negotiation or tolerate being devalued in any area. I won't demean the ones who brave the market by undercutting them. You want days of someone's life for a handcrafted piece, pay for it.

Uh-oh, someone is avoiding creativity today... (me...). I started some lifestyle changes today and the morning hours passed by fast. I might draw a bit, but really, I'm still adjusting to things that might require a bit of forgiveness for the break in ambition.

Thought Dumps

I'm going to enjoy a little aimlessness here. Let's start with the NaNo word count: 34,477. That's twice the minimum daily average still, but I'll keep it up (and more) as much as possible. I don't hate reaching goal halfway through the month, for sure. I do have a couple of Thanksgivings to tuck in and if I'm mentally done with drafting, I can take a break or switch to editing or designing.

Moving on...

One thing that is becoming a habit is the increasing amount of time I'm spending coming up with back stories or subplots. Even as a gamer, these were always my favorite parts of gaming. The parts that were rarely ever told through action or skill-- just the emotional, intense, sometimes even vague developments that don't always reach the page. I more often use these rough events to internally explain why and how my character reacts as they do.

I'm not a stickler for the 'show, don't tell' nonsense, which I've explained before often seems too coy and just as repetitive as saying things outright. SHOW me how their feeling, don't TELL me they're happy. SHOW me the atmosphere of the bar, don't TELL me what it looks like. 

SHOW me there's a dog with sunglasses at the bar, don't TELL me...

I've heard that Steinbeck's work is to blame for this 'rule'. I can't hate the guy because he's a fan of quick, cool moral quoting like I am. I don't avoid showing and certainly, sometimes it's more effective to create a mood when you describe being swallowed in a man-shaped shadow rather than saying a tall man stepped in front of you. Still, more often than not, those that take the advice start to stack up a bunch of these: biting lips, balled fists, clenched teeth. These details can be fun to roll out for a scene where someone is pretending to be unbothered, but they keep telegraphing physical signs of tension. Other times, there's no build and these repetitions are doing quite the opposite. Unless it's truly effective, sometimes 'she was nervous he wouldn't come' is a-okay. Unless holding out that she is 'waiting on someone' or 'who it is' happens to be a good build, I'd push it through.

To be honest, there are just some genres where it works nearly every time, like mysteries or crime. When you want the reader to have to figure out the details before they are 'revealed' then it's perfect for this. I've heard some fantasy readers say they like it, but I find fantasy a place where dragging through every scene this way is tedious, both as a writer and a reader. Fantasy is more fun as a roller coaster, one where you change pace, structure, intent-- all at the drop of a hat for the sake of the story. You want those blockbuster twists. I'm definitely a fan of slow builds, but it has to stay relevant and hopefully interesting. There are many fantasies I just couldn't stomach unless they come out with an abridged version, because it became just as tedious with exposition as it did the very, very showy shit. Which is terrific if you're writing a proposal as a project manager. As a novelist, that shit needs polished up.

Here's another thing: like any writer I can talk a big game, but there's a big chance I'm breaking my own so-called preferences and rules. I'm probably leaning on a bias due to taste and experience. This is why it's okay to call my bluff. In fact, I appreciate being told where I've slipped up. It gives me a chance to reanalyze it and either defend why I did it or mentally seal in what to avoid in the future.

I wandered off of talking about back stories, but it came up because I was looking at my notes today. I haven't looked at them since I started drafting and realize I deviated a bit and still like the original ideas more. So I'll need to tweak the draft on that account, but at least it didn't deviate much. I certainly had the intent in line, so it's minor. 

There are some back stories that just don't fit into this series the way I intend it, but they also fit into the prequel area, a time long before any of the characters were alive in this story, back to where the trouble originated. I had originally gone with the name UnQuadrilogy with the intent to do more than four books anyway (because who doesn't like an intentional Douglas Adams-style gaffe, oxymoron intended?). So I think once I write the last of the main series, I want to go back and play with that prequel! I warmed up to some flashbacks in UnSung and I'll continue to throw those in where they fit, but I think there's a depth I want to reach that would just throw the main series too far off track to try to squeeze it all in.

So I'm thinking of a name for it already. UnFinished? UnEnding? UnTold? Perhaps I'll poll these later, but it's still quite the task to get these all tied up.

Chime in on this one, if you like. After UnNamed, UnSung, UnHeard and UnVeiled, which name do you think might make for a great prequel name?

Bras Don't Prevent Sagging Breasts and Other Reasons Why You Should Always Research What You Think You Know

Funny the things that inspire a bit of thinking... Hey, did you know that bras have never been about long-term preservation of breast shape and defying gravity? However, the study that actually asserts that bras can actually make the ligaments that hold up breast tissue 'lazy' is not as nearly as old as the bra, even fairly new. Like 15 years leading up to the study's conclusion in 2013 new. (LINK) If you hop around, studies tend to offer one exception-- supportive sports bras. Yes, bouncing while exercising actually CAN be detrimental (and painful). Personally, I stopped buying vanity bras many, many years ago and actually wear padded t-shirt type lounge bras all day and night long. This is more about preventing 'headlights' and assuring comfort, but the issues like back pain and sagging actually seemed to self-correct since. However, one of the reasons women gave me for getting a bra the moment my board-flatness became bountiful was to prevent sagging.

Precisely why everything you're SO sure about probably needs to be fine-tuned more often. 

Women's anatomy has faced a lot of confusion over the years. I can't say for certain modern schools are correcting this, but I remember my health class made it clear that the hole at the head of a penis routed both urine and semen. Sex education seemed to gloss over anything more than the basic sexual organs so we learned words like vulva, cervix and uterus, but not that we don't at all pee from the same hole we pop babies out of. Women find this out the hard way. It's not always when we first start out period either. Many girls start with pads because tampons seem terrifying (even once they've had sex-- a dry tampon is never painless to remove). In fact, it became clear several years after I started my period that they weren't that close at all-- when I peed on my hand a little trying a tampon. I don't mean to be too crude here, but women kind of have an 'aha' moment about their bodies that men don't have the benefit of. Men married for 30 years, quite familiar with their wife's parts, sometimes don't know this. Hell, some women probably don't really think about it-- at least until they have to have a catheter inserted or some other revelation of the actual location. (For a hilarious example of this, Orange is the New Black has an episode where the trans-woman character has an entire prison full of women using hand mirrors to prove it.) Vaginas themselves aren't really that sensitive (again, to my knowledge). I can pick up things like pressure, but the only thing even remotely sensitive is the clitoris. It's actually a combination of internal pressure and clitoral stimulation that leads to orgasm. Again, for some women-- sorry, we're just not all in the same category here either. Some women get nothing out of penetration and only rise to clitoral stimulation and vice versa. This is why some swear foreplay is better than intercourse.

I've probably lost some of the men with this one, but if you're still with me, it's actually important that I used examples involved something I actually have personal knowledge with. We don't actually talk about many of these things; not because women's bodies are 'shameful' (I really wish extremist feminists would choke on a dick every time they try this argument) but because often, we feel fucking stupid that we didn't realize it sooner. Why anatomy classes and sex education classes haven't decided where a woman's pee hole (and I shit you not, this is medically accepted terminology even) fits on the curriculum is beyond me, but nevertheless...

You don't know what you think you know about most things.

This goes for that degree you earned. Technology, medical, law, art, information-- it ALL changes. This is why many legitimate colleges often offer supplemental courses for life. So when a new program, a new law, a new medical condition comes along, your expertise doesn't rely a 20 year old education that is sometimes dangerously obsolete. This is why certain professions do keep active databases to consult for every case, every diagnosis. One missed symptom could lead to a deadly diagnosis. Let's not be over-dramatic here and wind it back down. Even as an artist or a writer, you don't want to fall behind on digital technology. Even if you use a traditional medium, it's imperative you learn how to digitally capture it best to take advantage of presenting it on social media or websites to attract buyers and fans.

Your stories are not less affected, writers. Even when you write fantasy, it's not really the easy way out to construct a world from scratch. It should be easy to just look up historical facts for your medieval fantasy and take them for rote because history doesn't change, right? Nope, sorry-- even dinosaurs are getting more entries in terms of subspecies and discoveries. It's also just as likely that a certain weapon or tools actual uses might have been given an educated guess-- at least until Bob the Butcher's leather-bound diary is found on his excavated body, revealing some actual uses even experts didn't foresee.

Knowledge can often give us a sense of ego, especially when we tend to know more than most people. Attaching 'expert' or 'master' to our name doesn't not make us the last word either. If we understand the weight and responsibility of knowledge, then we should always be suspicious of how it is spun or even how we spin it in presentation. Even when it makes perfect sense, we should always check for ourselves. Beware of bias, beware of ego, beware of that little trick the brain like to play on everyone-- filling in the blanks to bury the fear of the unknown.

Embrace the doubt of what you might not know. Check again when your ego seems oh-so-certain even. There's really no shelf-life or acceptable age for knowing what questions to ask. The internet now gives you a place to quietly feel stupid and educate yourself. Even the most intelligent of our species sometimes took a few thousand years to even think to ask certain questions, let alone answer them. Factors like religion, culture and society even buried some of them on purpose. Curiosity, historically, killed a whole lot of inquisitive kitties. New studies will disprove old studies and old studies will actually be found to be correct with the new study being fudged so the claimant could make a name for themselves (if you wonder why brain-dead anti-vaxxers exist, it's because of this. LINK). And no, you don't get to pull Darwinism's natural selection against babies and kids with auto-immune disorders if you're a fucking Creationist.

It's okay to carry biases, to write with biases (in fiction, especially), but at least be self-aware. There are times where cherry-picking is actually about separating the wheat from the chaff, but there are also cherry-pickers that are goblins against reason and progress. When you hear people vilifying vaccines for trace amounts of poisons, they will absolutely refuse to acknowledge there are trace amounts of cyanide in apple seeds, that any damn thing you consume could kill you if you consume enough of it. However, in certain doses, they are also helpful, even life-saving. You often get debates where they ask you for sources-- not so they can change their mind but so that your endless search for verified sources will wear you out enough that you realize it's a waste of time and give up. This is how keyboard-warriors 'win.' They don't actually need intelligence or proof-- they just need you to realize that you have better things to do in life than suffer fools.

Back to my fantasy peops, I hear ya when ya say 'it's fantasy; there are no rules.' You're almost right, but it isn't that there aren't any rules, it's just that it's your burden to explain them if you're suspending belief. I agree that fantasy is where you can rewrite society, create utopias and dystopias, and so on, but it is actually difficult to make this work if you're not making sure all the characters and plots uphold rules that probably don't come as naturally to you as you think. You'll slip into what does come naturally and realize you've destroyed entire chapters by traveling down a contradictory road, every piece after supporting the exact opposite intent. Our genre isn't as easy as it's made out to be (nor as complex as some writers have tried to make it-- not all fantasy requires companion glossaries).

In my previous post, I talked about planning. If you want complex ideas to translate well, you might spend a LOT of time researching and creating a strong web of seamless logic. However, one of the reasons we turn to beta readers is because we're not always flawlessly capable of knowing which questions to ask sometimes. We're so immersed in this rich landscape of details that it's stupidly easy to forget our left-handed swordshuman appears to be ambidextrous when they are just as good with their right. (I almost typed 'he is just as good'-- unconscious defaulting that was caught this time, but next time...) (Side note: If you have a swordshuman and it's not said in comedy, fuck your story. Chances are your shit is FILLED with virtue signaling of the PC variety.)

Strong opinions, strong language, are just that. They empower some and are distasteful to others. In my experience, market research is very nearly pointless. Safe stories just don't appeal to some people, edgy ones come off as trying too hard for others. Self-awareness, again, gives you some idea of the types of people who will like your story and the ones that won't. I've been in so many groups where egos set out to squash your ideas with yellow language like 'I don't see why anyone would like this idea in a book.' You know, as much as I loathe PC bullshit, there are plenty of people who are gasping to keep it alive too. I don't have to like it-- it's there whether I do or don't. Logic doesn't support the market, not really. It's WHY psychology fascinates me. There seems to be no bottom, no destination for what people are capable of. Studying it makes it conscious why I don't like certain people and am drawn to others. It also helped me understand why I tend to attract psychopaths (but how I learned to make them bored with me).

The more abyssal the research, the more tempting; I truly believe that. At some point, your deep dark rabbit holes will be the sort of obsession that people will try to shame you for or tell you it's useless. Some people dedicate their entire lives to research that which they are never credited for until their work is passed on and completed well beyond their years. It's easy to think of it as tragic... but never pity the ones who embrace their purpose. Lack of faith is pitiable to them. There is nothing harder or more satisfying than latching onto that purpose. People with a purpose, they'll stop arguing sanity with everyone. They won't suffer others to wear them down. They'll even tell you you've won if it will shut you up.

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UPDATES: my laptop charger came in the mail and I couldn't be more psyched that I have my laptop working again! This is why my posting speed didn't taper off TOO much from the daily. I was aching to get back to typing and scheduled posts like crazy.

There was beginner's angst, just what I was afraid of. I stared at my laptop like it might bite me. So I couldn't just dive right back into UnSung. Instead, while making sure my backed up files were up to date, I came upon my script for the webcomic. Ended up spending a few solid hours writing up some more episodes. In truth, I want to plan about 20 episodes before I set out to draw it. I'm up to about 10.5 episodes.

What else? I opened some templates and set out creating color palettes for the UnQuadrilogy covers. I decided on a cohesive theme to extend across the series. As much as I love the original UnNamed cover, it doesn't quite carry over in theme. I'm going to try a very different style than my usual comic style, but it's important to me to show off my flexibility in design and mood.

So September... I wasn't expecting to get my charger so soon, so it gives me a couple of weeks' boost actually! I've decided that UnSung Part III and other writing projects are going to get a solid binge in the next two weeks. The planning gave me so much momentum, it might go quicker than expected.

October will definitely include prepping for NaNoWriMo and making sure I market the anthology. I actually want to focus on art here though. My writing got a longer run than planned and I want to hunker down on those UnQuad covers. I do want to try to cram as many of my big projects' needs into the next seven weeks as possible so I can crack down on NaNoWriMo in November.

November is the No is NaNoWriMo. First and only focus... 'Nuff said.

December-- what I call PeEdDiMo. Please don't coin that, no matter how much it makes you laugh. Personal Editing Disaster Month. I'll edit my NaNo mess, UnSung's draft and whatever other carelessly written messes I end up with. It's... not really as bad as it sounds. I'm an eager masochist when it comes to editing. It's not exactly easier now that I have great methods to streamline it, but it's massively satisfying to be done with it because of what a pain in the ass it is. Give it a good spanking and it's all goosebumps and tingling, not welts and bruises. 😉

Future updates will probably just explain what actually happened. Heh. Sometimes I wander from intent. Not a bad thing. It really just ends up meaning the priorities are spread out between things differently. I might not have gotten as far as I hoped with x project, but projects a, b, and c might have gained from it.