(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
Whew! Guess who’s got a book about Worldbuilding, formatted for Print and Kindle? This guy.
Of course that doesn’t mean the book is ready, it’s ready-ish. I’d reached the point where I’d edited the hell out of the book and decided it was time to format it – formatting is a great way to find all your editing mistakes as you go through the book. Now I’ve got a Kindle version that looks good and a print version on the way so I can check it out.
Which of course means I’ll probably find plenty of mistakes – print copies are great for that. But at least now any changes will be made to the configured, checked, edited, and most importantly ready-to-go final copies.
(which I realize doesn’t make them exactly final, but you get he idea)
So what this means is that Way With Worlds Book 1 is in its final rounds. Barring any major accidents, it’ll definitely be out late July.
Of course the reason I’m not pushing it faster is:
- I have book 2 coming from the editor in less than a month, and I figure a go-over of that may help.
- I’ve got the Sailor Moon book coming back from that editor and really need to take a crack at that with my co-author, so we’ll probably blow a whole weekend editing.
Still, it’s closer all the time. I think you’ll find it’s worth the wait . . .
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
The update on my first book on Worldbuilding is . . . further along than expected.
After the long editing process, the formatting for print went well (probably as I had done a lot of the basics before sending it to the editor). I’m going to format the Kindle version next – not just to get it out of the way, but because doing so also acts as yet another read-through. I actually will do that this weekend.
Once that’s done, I’ll set up the cover and a sample doc and start running print copies. I still plan to release in July even if this goes well, just because I have so much else on my plate.
Besides, Book 2 comes back from the editor end of May or so . . . and I still have the Sailor Moon book.
Though the big worry there is, as noted elsewhere, the cover. Fan To Pro‘s cover was a total pain.
I’m pretty pleased with the book, but admit there’s times it comes off a bit artsy. I think that’s the intention, but it contrasts with my usual instructional style. It’s nice to see different voices in my writing – and I am hoping to broaden out even further. I think I need to develop more “voices.”
The content is definitely solid. There’s parts I’m seriously proud of, such as my exploration of worldbuidling sex, meditations on power, and my work on magic and technology. I think people can learn a lot from this – even if they disagree with me (and there are places I see folks will differ).
And book two, well, that’s when I dive into some serious details . . .
– Steve
And it’s done, out, published, ready – the first of my Sanctum-inspired books, “The Power Of Creative Paths!” Thanks to everyone for your support!
The book, the first of several, is my guide to improving your creative abilities. The idea is that you can identify how you create, and then expand your horizons to use other creative methods and work well with people who create differently. Through advice, exercises, and examples, it’s a way to get better and dreaming things up and reaching those valuable Big Ideas.
So go on, give it a shot!
– Steve
This is it folks, the countdown to my first book on creativity, The Power Of Creative Paths!
The book is going to drop on Saturday the 30th. I’m lining up some reviewers right now (and there’s a chance to get in on it) to help give people an idea of what’s in it from a reader’s viewpoint. Only six more days!
So what’s in this book?
Basically, after years of working with Seventh Sanctum, I’d realized that creativity fit certain paths – ways we get to our “Big Ideas.” Most people had one or two default paths, and not everyone knew how to get along with people different than them. So I put all my findings into one book, a handy guide to help you get off of Creative Paths you’re a bit too stuck on and onto others, as well as how to work with people different than yourself creativity-wise.
A lot of this comes from my curious observation that the generators at Seventh Sanctum fit specific patterns, or certain little tweaks, trends, or sets of data seemed to inspire people surprisingly. In time I began to see that these general observations fit specific trends, and formed a useful theory around it.
I’m pretty pumped as this will be the first book based around my work here – to be followed this summer by the Way With Worlds books . . . and maybe a few more things over time. I figure after some 16 years of doing this, it’s time to put my ideas and findings and advice into a new format!
So hang in there, it’s almost arrived . . .
- Steve
And hello again gang, I want to let you know I’m looking for reviewers for my first book on Creativity, “The Power Of Creative Paths.” It comes out late January/early February, but I want to line up people who want to review it (don’t worry, it’s an eBook and it’s a reasonable size) and review it honestly. If you’re interested contact me right away!
-Steve
What’s next up for me? Well working on all my OTHER books I am doing a book called “The Power Of Creative Paths” which I used to call “The Creativity Book.” It’s my first “Sanctum Branded” book – IE one about my creative theories. I gotta put a “book” section in here at some point.
It’s now at the editor AND we have a beta cover:
I’m actually sort of glad to get it out of my head – I’ve kicked these ideas around awhile, but I really wanted to write something on general creativity to help people out and leverage what I’ve seen. It’s a pretty good creative model, and I think you’ll like it.
Also if you want to be a reviewer . . .
– Steven Savage
OK great news, Way With Worlds is going to editor this week!
Yes, I put in all the pre-reader feedback, did a run through, and will ship it off shortly. I expect the editor to take about two months so it’ll be a welcome break.
I’ve also got the cover artist working on the draft of cover 1. Its looking interesting so far, though the holidays slowed things down a bit.
So hang tight, Sanctumeers, it’s coming . . . and there’s more to stay tuned for . . .
– Steve
So I’ve not talked about this much here, but now it deserves it’s own post – because my first Seventh Sanctum inspired book is coming up – and it’s not Way With Worlds (which is going to editor in a bit, more later).
It’s called “The Power Of Creative Paths,” and it’s a book on how people come up with Big Ideas – specifically, the five different ways that they do it.
Working on Generators, talking to people, I tried to formulate a way to understand how people created – and came up with a theory that there’s five basic creative types – Creative Paths as I call them. Like any path, people “travel” it to get somewhere and find something – a Big Idea. The thing is we’re often on different paths than others and don’t know it – or don’t realize they’re stuck on one path and would do well to try others or they aren’t working well with others. Sometimes both.
So the book focuses on knowing which Path you’re usually on, practicing getting onto others, and figuring out how to work best with people based on your current or preferred path. Of course it contains plenty of exercises and hands-on stuff to do, so you can really get to trying out the different Paths!
It’s at the editors, so it should get back to me soon!
It should be out sometime late January if all goes well, and I’ll actually start a Book section on the site – because Way With Worlds is coming up . . .
- Steve
As seen many times here at Lost in Translation, classic works of fantasy, including myths and fairy tales, are modern fodder for the Hollywood adaptation engine. Fantasy, whether classic or urban is everywhere – television, silver screen, books, video games. The major influence for many of these is JRR Tolkien. The influence may not be direct; many fantasy video games can trace their roots back to Dungeons & Dragons; but, D&D‘s creators looked at, among other writers, Tolkien for world creating and game design.
The above-mentioned influence came mainly from Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, but before the epic was a children’s story about a hobbit who reluctantly went on an adventure. The Hobbit, or There and Back Again followed Bilbo Baggins as he gets manipulated into joining thirteen dwarves in a quest to recover their homeland. Along the way, Bilbo discovers that he is more than what he appears to be, outwits trolls, and wins a game of riddles, and finds a magical ring. Middle Earth is presented as both being wondrous and dangerous.
After the success of his Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson was signed on to produce an adaptation of The Hobbit. Originally to be done as one movie, the script grew to the point where two, then three movies would have to be made. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was filmed in 3D at 48 frames per second, double the usual frame rate, though standard viewing was also released.
The new Hobbit does its best to stay close to the original story. Some characters from Lord of the Rings make cameos, particularly during the framing sequence.* CGI is evident, but not blatant. Care was taken to make sure each dwarf had an unique appearance. Magic is treated as wondrous and dangerous. The whimsy from The Hobbit, or There and Back Again is kept and is welcome at a time where most fantasies have gone dark and gritty. The story is treated as a personal one for Bilbo instead of the epic that the Lord of the Rings movies were.
However, some characters and scenes were added. A meeting between Gandalf, Saruman, and Galadriel that helps relate where The Hobbit stands relative to Lord of the Rings was never in the novel, with both Saruman and Galadriel being imports to the movie. Similarly, the framing device at the start of the film is set at the beginning of Fellowship of the Rings. The additions are understandable; tying the movie into the previous LotR trilogy enhances continuity, and having a movie without a woman in it is unthinkable to studios today.
Fans were already muttering about the novel being turned into a trilogy. Breaking the story into three parts, however, is one of the best ways to ensure that very little gets cut; the only other option is to turn the novel into a television mini-series. Television, though, doesn’t get the budget needed to do all the special effects or get the cast.
Ultimately, this is the best live-action adaptation possible with current technologies and will be enough for the casual fan and the fan drawn in by the Lord of the Rings movies, but will still leave hardcore fans of the original story cold.
Next time, continuing the Avengers Adaptation.
* It appears that Jackson is assuming that people have seen /Lord of the Rings/ but haven’t read The Hobbit.
