The Results Are In! Your Favorite Genre Fiction Is…

Fantasy, baby!

According to our informal little survey, where we asked you to vote for your favorite genre fiction, Fantasy led the way with 23 percent of votes. All week long, Fantasy and Science Fiction were neck and neck until Fantasy pulled ahead in the final days of the week-long poll. The complete results are as follows:

Fantasy: 23%

Science Fiction: 18%

Crime/Thriller: 14%

Literary Fiction: 13%

Mystery: 10%

Action/Adventure: 8%

Romance: 6%

Detective: 5%

Horror: 2%

Western: 0%

Wow, nobody voted Western. Not even Clint Eastwood fans! And truth be told, I was surprised to see Fantasy top the list. I thought that Crime Fiction or Romance would be Number One. Very interesting. And thank you to everyone who took time to vote! :)

Meet Author Gareth L. Powell

Did first-time novelist Gareth Powell have a literary agent when he got a publishing deal with Solaris? What does he think about writer’s block? Does he consider Oprah a loon for once saying there’s no such thing as luck without preparation and a moment of opportunity? The answers to these burning questions — and many more — can be found in this week’s Debut Author Q&A.

Name: Gareth L. Powell

Name of book: The Recollection

Book genre: Science Fiction

Date Published: September 2011

Publisher: Solaris Books

What is your day job? I work two days a week as a public relations officer for a disabled children’s charity, and three days per week as a freelance copywriter. I am also a full-time father.

What is your book about? In a nutshell, the book is the story of four characters and the way their relationships play out over several centuries, and the way they pull together in the face of an ancient and unexpected threat.

What would you say is the most challenging part of writing a book? Writing the first line.

What motivates you to write? I don’t know. It’s just something I have to do. I don’t really have a choice. I’ve wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. I’ve always had that urge, and I can’t imagine a life in which I didn’t feel the compulsion to put words on paper.

Did you experience writer’s block? I think writer’s block is just a euphemism for indecision. If you can write about anything, sometimes it can be tough to narrow your choices down to one particular storyline. I have dry periods where I’ve not known what to write about, but I’ve found that constantly tinkering away with notes and ideas keeps the process fresh and alive in my head, so that even when I’m doing something else, part of my brain stays in writing mode.

How long did it take you to write this book? It took a year, although most of the main body of the book was written in a three month period.

Do you have an agent? I did something that most people will tell you is impossible: I sold my novel to Solaris without an agent, and before I’d finished writing it. They commissioned the book on the strength of the synopsis and first 40 pages. That may have had something to do with the reputation I’d already built up on the SF scene through the short stories I’d published in magazines and anthologies. But, if asked, I would definitely recommend that new writers try to get agency representation. I was lucky, but the market is so competitive that an agent can make all the difference. When an editor receives a manuscript from an agent, they know that the agent has read it and considers it of publishable quality.

What was your favorite aspect of the writing process for this book? When you get into a novel and the characters come alive in your mind, the words start flowing in a rush and the story takes on a life of its own. It’s a giddy feeling, like riding a high and beautiful wave, and it can carry you forward. I mentioned that I wrote most of this book in three months. As soon as I got the go-ahead from Solaris, I poured this book out onto the page, and loved every minute of it.

What advice would you give to writers regarding promotion? The best advice I can give is to be friendly and act professionally. Use social media to get to know people. Engage in conversations. Help people out. Offer encouragement. Support fellow writers and they will support you. Go along to conventions and shake hands with editors and agents. Be polite. Have confidence, but temper it with humility. Get as much of your work in print as possible, and make sure it’s the best you can possibly make it.

Any other novels on the horizon? I’m currently working on three books, but I don’t really like to reveal details of what I’m working on until it’s finished.

Oprah has famously said that there is no such thing as luck, without preparation and a moment of opportunity. Would you agree or disagree with regard to your own success as a writer? I think that’s a valid statement. Luck certainly plays a part. But you can increase your chances by writing a damn good book, and building a credible reputation. Don’t be arrogant. Be the kind of writer that editors want to work with. And write to the very best of your ability. Never settle for less than your very best work.

World-Building in YA Science Fiction

Within a 24-hour period, I not only met writer J.A. Souders, but she saved my butt. When a guest blogger went MIA, leaving me with a big, gaping hole for today’s blog post, she came to my rescue with this informative piece that features strong scene-setting advice for virtually all fiction writers, sci-fi or otherwise.

World building is just as important in YA Sci-Fi as it is in adult – arguably more so, since teenagers often are more accepting, and critical, of off-the-wall concepts. So that means no shortcuts. There are rules to world building. Here are three.

Show, don’t tell. This might go without saying, but you need to immerse your readers in your world. That may mean drawing blueprints for the “facility” your characters are running around in or a map of the area they live in. It means immersing yourself in that world. My latest book takes place in an underwater city. I closed my eyes and pictured the first scene. It needed to be perfect. So I set it in a garden with gorgeous flowers that scented the air. Which led me to… How were they getting air? Oxygen recyclers! Since it was a garden, it made sense that there would be glass windows all around and you could see the wild life – sharks, mantas, fish. And the water was dark, because they were deep in the ocean. I did that with each and every location my main character (MC) would be in. The labs. Her quarters. The Detainment Center. I even drew a map, so I knew where everything was. It doesn’t take much. Just a few details placed here and there throughout the first few chapters, and readers will have what they need to know.

Set and follow the rules of your world. If the story takes place underwater, a character can’t just walk outside and get a breath of fresh air – unless he or she has gills or something, of course. It’s important to establish early on what the rules are and why they’re that way. You can break the rules, but prepared to explain why they were broken and why it’s important. One of the biggest rules in my facility is no “pre-Coupled” touching. That means that if a couple hadn’t been “Coupled” – i.e., married – they couldn’t touch one another skin-to-skin. (That includes kissing.) So when another character kisses my MC, there has to be a reason why he isn’t punished, since another character had been killed for doing just that.

Tiny details. Besides the big setting descriptions – that you generally can’t avoid – I try to focus on the little things. Not laser pistols and swashbuckling aliens, but wrist watches and medications. I focus on the sounds they hear, the clothes the characters wear, even the food they eat. For instance, there is 50s music playing throughout the facility, and everyone is dressed in vintage clothing. Plus, my MC has never had meat. So that tells my readers, we’re either in the past, or an alternate reality, or my characters really like wearing vintage clothing, and she’s a vegetarian. If you’re having trouble coming up with these kinds of details, take a look at your surroundings. What would change in 50 years? 100? 200? What do the computers look like? Is there a TV? Are there books?

The key to world building is knowing that world. Because if you don’t, neither will your readers.

J.A. Souders was born in the heartland with an overactive imagination and an overabundance of curiosity that was always getting her into trouble. She first began writing at the age of 13 when she moved to Florida and not only befriended the monsters under the bed, but created worlds for them in which to play together. She still lives in the land of sunshine and palm trees with her husband and their two children, is an active member of the RWA, CFRW, YARWA and the SCBWI and is represented by Natalie Fischer of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.