Alternate RealitiesChat TranscriptSession Start: Thu Jun 14 18:00:33 2001Ken_Rand: Ben, do you write trek? loveben: i love to do sci fi fan fiction loveben: no i do roswell loveben: little fan fics are easy for me because i love doing them would love to be at Ken_Rand: signings are fun. loveben: yes I think they would be you must be so proud of your accomplishments Ken_Rand: I am. Ken_Rand: but I'm proud of my humility too loveben: that is a great combination Fanwrite: Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen and Welcome to Alternate Realities Webzine Chat: Tonite we are proud to present author Ken Rand. Ken will be speaking to us about his writings, and his new book "The Eternity Stone" Fanwrite: Welcome Ken! Ken_Rand: Thanks Joan. Fanwrite: Will you start off by telling us a bit about yourself and your new book? Ken_Rand: Okay, I'm a 'semi-fulltime' writer, supporting my habit with a part time job shelving books at a local library Ken_Rand: I wrote The Paradox Stone in 1996, and sold it late last year. I'm writing my 5th novel right now. Ken_Rand: The Paradox Stone is a modern fantasy set in a future Wyoming. I used to live in Wyoming, and this is a sort of homage to the land. Ken_Rand: I also write short stories and interview authors. Joe Haldeman is next. Fanwrite: Who is The Eternity Stone available through? And what about this new book? any sneak peeks? Ken_Rand: ES is being put out soon. The new book is in the works... Ken_Rand: and I won't be revealing anything about it for a while yet. Ken_Rand: Sneak peeks--of The Paradox Stone--on my website. The first chapter is posted. Ken_Rand: I occasionally read from the novel. I'll read a chapter in Tulsa next month, at Conestoga. Ken_Rand: Wait, let me talk a little about this new book. It takes place in Hell. Ken_Rand: And it's about a guy who gets killed there by being frozen to death. Ken_Rand: It's about the detective who finds the body. Fanwrite: Ken, as we all know, writing take much work and perserverance....what would you offer up as advice for those trying to break into the biz? Ken_Rand: 1) write, 2) finish what you write, 3) send it in. Fanwrite: Sounds a bit like my book...The Harbingers...but not really...just the hell thing Ken_Rand: 4) write again. Ken_Rand: Most writers never write The Next Story. That's the real secret--doing it Again. Fanwrite: when you are writing, are you a traditionalist and use the outlines and such, or are you like many of the fantasy/sci fi authors and kinda fly by the seat of your pants? Ken_Rand: I outline. I've tried to wing it, but that doesn't work for me. Ken_Rand: I know winging it works for some, but not me. Fanwrite: You have done some neat things with shared worlds and getting into the Writers of the Future, how did you go about this? Ken_Rand: I discovered Star Trek Strange New Worlds fan anthology through the papers... Ken_Rand: The 'trades,' you might say. And I entered. I wrote six stories to finally sell one, but it was worth it. Ken_Rand: As for Writers of the Future, there are so many local winners, it's like part of the literary landscape. I had to enter. After 21 tries, I finally won. I'm persistent. Fanwrite: Wow, I never realized the competition was so strict for WOF loveben: do you believe in writing in contests to start or to start by writing the novel? Ken_Rand: The competition in Utah is great. There have about two dozen winners from here. There's a kind of pressure. Ken_Rand: Ben, I started writing short stories. That way, I got feedback once a week or so. I could build on that feedback to grow creatively. Ken_Rand: Eventually, I decided I was smart enough to tackle a novel. Ken_Rand: I enter contests as they come up available for me to enter. I refuse to pay entry fees. loveben: the concept of a novel frightens me all at once Ken_Rand: Yes, that why we do it in stages. Fanwrite: Ken, I know you and I have spoke at conferences, but what do you think of the experience for new authors? Ken_Rand: The first stage, for me, is the outline. Then I go chapter by chapter. One chapter at a time. Ken_Rand: I highly recommend conferences for new writers. Too few understand how important they are. loveben: conferences such as where to find them? Ken_Rand: Check Locus, Ben. They list them regularly. Ken_Rand: Do you know what Locus is? loveben: no sorry loveben: could you explain please Ken_Rand: Locus is the newspaper of SF and fantasy. A monthly magazine. They also have a website you can access. Ken_Rand: Check their convention listings. Fanwrite: GREAT PAPER for authors...trade news and such Ken_Rand: Also check out SFWA online. That's the Science Fiction Writers Association. I think they list conventions too. Fanwrite: How about the different writers organizations Ken? The SFWA and HWA et all? Fanwrite: the sfwa website is: http://www.sfwa.org and the HWA is http://www.horror.org Ken_Rand: I'm ambivilent about belonging for beginners. I use the directory (of member) a lot when I write nonfiction--interviewing authors. Ken_Rand: It's great for schmoozing, meeting power people, and fans, and peers. Ken_Rand: The awards are cliquish, for the upper echelon--not my crowd, I guess. Ken_Rand: But you should check them out--new writers should--because you may find their benefits useful. Fanwrite: What are some of the biggest obstacles you have had to overcome as an author? Ken_Rand: Biggest obstacles have been mastering craft...for me. Ken_Rand: I have persistence, I've been lucky--I think you can make luck by being persistent, and Getting Involved. Ken_Rand: But craft -- well, okay, you can learn how to write, but.... Ken_Rand: Can you learn how to tell a story? Some people seem to be inherently better storytellers than others. Ken_Rand: Despite mastery of craft. I'm reading Gordon Dickson right now. Ken_Rand: Craft, no, storytelling, yes. Ken_Rand: Consider Asimov. Poor writer. Great storyteller. Ken_Rand: So I'm seeing something that resembled to me a peaking out, Ken_Rand: or a plateau. Can I get better? I'm trying, but I fear there's something innate in human nature--in the creative process, the way the mind works-- Ken_Rand: that prevents "getting better" at it loveben: do you love to read as well as write is reading part of the criteria for a good writer? Ken_Rand: Solution: find the level where you're at, accept, craft those stories you're most qualified to tell, and move on. Fanwrite: With all the new resources available to authors, what are your feelings on small press and online publications? Ken_Rand: Yes, ben--reading is a must. I read five or six books at a time. I keep them in various areas--in the car (audio) in the breakroom at the library, bedside, bathroom. I'm always reading. Writers must read. Read everything. It's our job--to study our customers, learn what turns them on. We do this by reading. Ken_Rand: To your q, Joan... Ken_Rand: I'm very interested in e-book and webzines. See my webpage and you'll see how many stories I've sold to e-zines. And my novel is being sold as an e-book (plus paperback). Ken_Rand: I won't turn down the $, and it's as good as it is for paper zines. Ken_Rand: There are big markets online, and small ones. Ditto paper. Ken_Rand: Joan, I address this to a greater extend in an article I wrote about selling my novel. Ken_Rand: That article will appear in Speculations in August. Fanwrite: Tell us about the writing of The Paradox Stone? How did this story come about? And how did you go about selling it? (BTW folks, I have had a chance to hear some of this...a wonderful story!) Ken_Rand: The Paradox Stone came from a friend's idea--a guy gets murdered in hell by being frozen to death? Who did it? Ken_Rand: We were going to collaborate, but he turned left and I went right. Ken_Rand: This was 10 years ago. Ken_Rand: Just last year, I finished novel #4 and was ready for the next. It was time to do "A Cold Day in Hell." Ken_Rand: But I had problems with setting. What does hell look like? Everybody has a different idea, right? Ken_Rand: I was about to give up, when I discovered I had a daughter living in Las Vegas (yeah, I know--a loooong story), who was a security guard, a private detective, down there. Ken_Rand: I went down to meet Missy, and realized Hell is a casino in Las Vegas, the guy gets stuck in a refrigerator, freezes to death, and this girl PI--who looks remarkably like my daughter Missy, finds the body. It's her story. Wait a minute--that's for the current novel, not The Paradox Stone. Nevermind. Sheesh. Fanwrite: Speaking of story ideas....is there an special techniques you employ for coming up with story ideas? Especially short stories...and how does short story writing differ from Novel writing for you? Ken_Rand: I have a method for turning an idea into a story. I believe a story is the representation of an idea, just like the manuscript is the representation of the story. The map is not the territory, you see? Ken_Rand: Anyway, I use this method for crafting everything I write. I've written a nonfiction how-to on it that I hope to sell soon. Ken_Rand: Basically, you "incubate" an idea, twist it a few times (to get it out of the cliche mode) and launch it with faith that you'll turn it into a story. Ken_Rand: Joan, I didn't answer your question about difference between novel and short story. Ken_Rand: For me, my approach is generally the same. I take things one step at a time. One chapter at a time, one paragraph at a time. I try to write 1000 words a day, Carlton_Mellick_III: Ken, I was taught that in a short story you create a character, in a novel you create a world, do you feel this is generally true with your writing? Ken_Rand: Everyday, no matter what the project that day, or what else is going on that day. Rosemary (My first novel is coming out shortly) Got any tricks on publicity? Ken_Rand: PR. Read my article on schmoozing. It's archived in Speculations, I think (if not e-mail me and I'll send it along) Ken_Rand: Go to cons. E-mail everybody you know and tell them the good news. Ken_Rand: Schedule readings. Ken_Rand: Write press releases. Ken_Rand: Avoid spending money on PR. It can drain you quickly. Ken_Rand: Find out who does reviews too, and Ken_Rand: Maybe an over-simplification, Carlton, but if it helps you produce story, okay. Ken_Rand: I tend to believe that both character and setting (as well as a problem/conflict) are essential for success of story. In any form Ken_Rand: Doing setting in a short story is really tough, crafty. Good lessons, thought, I think, to transfer to novel. Ken_Rand: I'm an economical writer, despite length. Rosemary But you can work out more details in a novel-length Ken_Rand: Yes Ken_Rand: but some details are more essential that others. Ken_Rand: Detail alone doesn't make a novel "more" than a short story. Rosemary Please elaborate??? Ken_Rand: You have to pick which details you want to include--or rather, which you MUST include, for any particular story--again, despite length. Ken_Rand: For example, I could spend thousands or millions of words describing the setting, Ken_Rand: but to what end? Readers will "get it" whatever it is, when you describe the scene "enough." Deciding what's enough is the trick we call craft. Rosemary That's what bores me about Michener, but some readers love it! Fanwrite: Ken...have you ever had to deal with readers caustic side? If so, how did you handle it? Ken_Rand: We read Michener differently--with different expectations -- that we do Ellison. Carlton_Mellick_III: Do you feel learning the craft before working on publishing is a good idea? Personally I am not too keen on the craft, kind of formulaic to me. But I hear time and time again that craft is what makes a good author. Ken_Rand: We read poetry different--with different expectations that we do novels. Ken_Rand: I know a few people -- call them fans, or readers -- who I deliberately avoid. Ken_Rand: Those who have trashed or panned (via reviews) some of my writings (only a few) are ignorable. I don't want to read any review of The Eternity Stone. I mean, it's done. What can a critique now do? Ken_Rand: But I understand reviews do sell books, so I want them done. I just don't want to read them, Ken_Rand: Fans generally treat me well. Ken_Rand: I -do- get respect. Rosemary Just send the PR's to reviewers? Cold? Ken_Rand: Yes, craft is essential to creativity. Ken_Rand: Craft is part two of storytelling. Ken_Rand: One is idea, two is craft, three is editing, and finally there is marketing. Ken_Rand: you can't market what you haven't crafted. Ken_Rand: Story is idea, crafted. And craft is what you do to create a product. You edit--polish, package, and prepare for market--what you've crafted. Then you go to market with the result. Ken_Rand: None of us can ignore craft. Ken_Rand: I won't send out PR pell-mell. I'll be very picky about who I try to market to. Ken_Rand: Should I wait? Fanwrite: How did you approach hell Ken? Ken_Rand: Hell, in my first thinking, was whatever the person wanted it to be. See the nightmare? Every POV would change the scene. It would be difficult to write. Making it a casino named Hell worked. I mean -- Las Vegas-- Hell, right? Ken_Rand: And reviewers understand that first books are--first books, flawed and all. Ken_Rand: So reviews are good, even when they're bad. Rosemary I got a web site if you want to see it: rmglenn.com Rosemary Alternate Realities is in there. Ken_Rand: I'm considering Xlibris for a collection of interviews. Ken_Rand: Hey, folks, I gotta go put grandkid #3 in bed. Anything else we need to touch on? Fanwrite: Ken, thank you for coming...any last minute pointers or comments? Ken_Rand: Write, then write again. Then -- buy my books. :) Fanwrite: Anyone wishing a copy of the transcript please e-mail your request to me and Fanwrite: Do not forget to check out Ken's author profile page on Alternate Realities Webzine Fanwrite: and in it contains the links to his works and homepage Fanwrite: Ken, thank you for coming, we will have to schedule you in for another one later this summer Ken_Rand: Joan, thanks for having me over. Good con. :) Ken_Rand: Yes, let's. Fanwrite: I will get you a copy of the log after I put them together Ken_Rand: Thanks. Fanwrite: Some of our other upcoming guests this summer include Fanwrite: James Clemens/Rollins, Joe Nassie, James P Hogan, Simon Clark and some surprises Fanwrite: so keep an eye on your mailbox!
Copyright © 2001 by Ken Rand
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