Originally posted on my blog epicjason.com.

In 388 B.C. Plato urged the leaders of Athens to banish all storytellers because he saw them as some of the most dangerous people. Unlike politicians and philosophers who stood before the crowds and openly espoused their ideas, storytellers worked more subtly. Under the guise of an emotional narrative, they could shape and move their audiences without their listeners even realizing it.

Plato’s judgment of storytellers as dangerous is debatable, but his conclusion that stories are powerful is true.

We have all felt the power of stories.

I can recall countless times when stories have pushed me in the right direction. When my natural inclinations push me to despair and resignation, I remember the battle of Helm’s Deep in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Two Towers and I’m inspired to hope even when circumstances are grim. When I’m tempted to become bitter and unforgiving, I remember the gracious priest in Les Miserables who gave the convict Jean Val Jean a second chance at life.

Stories have power. I would argue that they are our greatest teachers. As story guru Robert McKee writes:

The world now consumes films, novels, theatre, and television in such quantities and with such ravenous hunger that the story arts have become humanity’s prime source of inspiration, as it seeks to order chaos and gain insight into life. Our appetite for story is a reflection of the profound human need to grasp the patterns of living, not merely as an intellectual exercise, but within a very personal, emotional experience. In the words of playwright Jean Anouilh, ‘Fiction gives life its form.’

Since stories shape and reflect culture, I hope you can see the responsibility that storytellers bear. Our stories need to move our world towards something better.

But how can fantasy make the world better?

It is easy to see how nonfiction and realistic fiction writers can do this since the real world is where their stories take place. But how can fantasy authors (of which I’m one) make a difference in the real world? Is our genre nothing more than mere entertainment—an escape from what is real?

I posed this question to one of today’s fantasy greats, Brandon Sanderson, and he replied back, saying, “By removing distractions and creating something fresh, we can look at problems from a new angle. Fantasy books are about the real world seen through a different lens.”

Consider this portion of “The Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll: Continue reading →

The common thread that authors share…

I was pretty happy to read Cathy’s review of #SwampGhosts yesterday. Made my morning! 🙂

I read and enjoyed Deborah’s review of Rayne Hall’s Deep Point of View in October, and when I discovered Hall’s entire series was in Kindle Unlimited I gave several a try. My favorite was Writing Short Stories to Promote Your Novels, which charged me up to put together a free anthology of paranormal short stories and novellas with some friends. (I hope you’ll check it out — I’m really proud of it. And did I mention it’s FREE?)

Ahem, back to the point. I know everyone’s time is limited, so I wrote up a quick cheat sheet based on Hall’s excellent book. I hope this helps make your own short story attempt a success!

Goal: Your promotional short story needs to represent your novel and brand. So it should:

• Be in the same genre and subgenre. (My example: Urban fantasy with paranormal romance crossover)
• Contain many of the same motifs (My example: shifters, spunky heroines, first person POV, romance with low steam level but moderate sexual tension, focus on intrigue/politics/world-building, action and suspense, outsiders finding their place in the world)
• Elicit the same mood (My example: page-turning, light, romantic, character-driven, action-packed)
• Appeal to your average reader (My example: forty year old housewife who yearns for adventure and romance)
• Be set in the same world (My example: modern USA…with werewolves)

Characters:

• There should be one main character and no more than four side characters. Two side characters is optimal — one who’s pulling the character toward what she should do and one who’s pulling the character toward what she shouldn’t do.
• Good main characters are your novel’s protagonist (if the story is a prequel) or a side character. Side characters are especially handy for those of you writing straight romance since many readers won’t want to see your novel’s romantic lead in an earlier relationship.
• Use the same motivation checklist you’d use when writing a novel: Who is she? What does she want? Why? What’s at stake? Is there a ticking clock to ratchet up the tension? What obstacles stand in her way?

Setting:

• Should match your novel as closely as possible
• Look for a single location, especially a “closed room” where the characters can’t leave
• Good settings are unique and atmospheric, matching the mood of the novel

Structure (for a 3,000 word short story):

• Beginning — This should clearly state the protagonist’s problem
• First plot event — Something happens, not just the protagonist being lonely or sad
• Second plot event — Ditto
• Dilemma, danger, or sacrifice
• Conclusion — Does she get what she wants…or what she needs?

If you get stuck and need to be walked through the process in a workshop manner, I definitely recommend Rayne Hall’s book, from which I drew this information. It’s 99 cents, or free with Kindle Unlimited. And don’t forget to check out your free copy of Beyond Secret Worlds to see how we took this idea and ran with it. I’m looking forward to seeing your own experiments here soon.

I’m excited to announce the release of my 2^nd novel, Pedal, which examines the life of 49-year-old elementary school music teacher, Joanne Brick, who is fired and struggles to reclaim her life back through bicycle racing.

This uplifting story tells how Joanne—who lives with her bossy older sister, and ailing mother—deals with unemployment, loneliness and loss of self-worth. Pedal is a contemporary family drama based around the theme of daring to change and how ordinary people deal with those changes. (Beyond the Book Store just did a wonderful review of Pedal.)

Great news for all who own a Kindle, Assent Publishing has reduced the e-book price for the next couple of days to only 99 cents! For more info and to purchase, here’s the link: http://tinyurl.com/Pedal-Kindle

Thanks, and I’d be very grateful if you would share.