{"id":34739,"date":"2017-10-02T06:30:31","date_gmt":"2017-10-01T17:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/?p=34739"},"modified":"2017-10-07T08:05:52","modified_gmt":"2017-10-06T19:05:52","slug":"behind-the-scenes-of-the-clan-chronicles-take-2-the-process-a-guest-post-by-julie-czerneda-with-giveaways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/2017\/10\/02\/behind-the-scenes-of-the-clan-chronicles-take-2-the-process-a-guest-post-by-julie-czerneda-with-giveaways\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Scenes of the “Clan Chronicles”, Take 2: The Process — A Guest Post By Julie Czerneda, with Giveaways!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Photo Credit: Roger Czerneda Photography<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Today I am delighted to welcome Canadian author Julie E. Czerneda<\/a> with a guest post on her writing process, together with not just one but two fabulous giveaways — all part of her current tour celebrating the ninth and final novel in her very successful The Clan<\/strong> series.<\/p>\n

I met Julie in 2009 when she was Guest of Honour at the NZ Natcon and we have stayed in touch ever since, which makes it doubly a pleasure to welcome her back to the blog today. So without further ado, here is her guest post. More information about Julie, as well as details of those giveaways, will come at the end. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

~ HelenL<\/em><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Behind the Scenes of “The Clan” Chronicles, Take 2: The Process<\/span><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Cover art by Matthew Stawicki <\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

In a previous stop on my tour, with Rebecca Lovatt at the Arched Doorway<\/a> blog, I began answering readers\u2019 questions about the series. On this stop, thanks to Helen, I\u2019m able to answer more. I\u2019ve gathered a group about how<\/em>. My process. Tricks, so to speak, of writing a series.<\/span><\/p>\n

Corina asked: \u201cHow about the type of research you have to do to start a project?\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n

Julie:<\/strong> I LOVE RESEARCH!!<\/span><\/p>\n

Ahem. Pardon my enthusiasm. I feel there should be some sort of program for authors who love <\/em>their research to the nth degree. You see, there\u2019s really no end to its allure. Finding relevant, maybe relevant, not-at-all relevant but SO COOL bits of information is part of the job, yes, but it\u2019s also the single greatest time-sucking device ever created\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n

::pauses to breathe:: I\u2019m good now.<\/span><\/p>\n

I do try to be organized about it. Sort of. My research is split between the \u201cUrgent Now\u201d (U.N.) and the \u201cHappily to Come\u201d(H.t.C.)\u00a0 types. U.N. isn\u2019t fun, to be honest. U.N. usually happens mid-writing when I\u2019m typing madly away then BOOM.<\/span><\/p>\n

I need to know a thing.<\/span><\/p>\n

It could be which way taps turn. It could be what a coin looks like (oh gods, that one took me away for days). It could be anything at all, but whatever it is, I need to know it before I can write another word. I try not to cheat about this and leave a placeholder. \u201cThey ran into the [where you wash if you\u2019re a fish] and came out sparkly clean.\u201d<\/em> It seems helpful, until the actual information changes everything. Here? Fish don\u2019t wash themselves. They rub on sand, or have other creatures nibble their slime. So rewriting ensues: \u201cThey paused for a good rub and nibble at the neighbourhood spa, shaking sand from their fins for an hour afterwards.\u201d <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

And the new version is more interesting, being more informed, and if I\u2019d had it in hand first, I\u2019d have written right by here humming with joy. Lesson learned.<\/span><\/p>\n

Doesn\u2019t mean I don\u2019t growl every time I hit a U.N. that interrupts me for however long the info takes to find. (Honest, ask Roger. There could be colourful metaphors.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Now the \u201cHappily to Come\u201d (H.t.C.) research? That\u2019s ongoing. That\u2019s the shiny. <\/span><\/p>\n

For example, right now, I\u2019m researching for four upcoming projects. No, make that five. Fine, six. Giving me permission and encouragement to delve into everything from anvils to plate tectonics, from quantum physics to calligraphy, let alone ALL THE BIOLOGY\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Therein lies the issue. This is all important to do. My job. Just not more important than writing the stories, let alone deadlines and time with the living. Hence being organized. I take a notebook with me and write down things I learn. I buy reference books when I come across \u00a0particularly useful ones and do my utmost to shelve them before their covers can open and they slurp me inside\u2014Same idea, I save articles of interest, and pictures, etc. I constantly touch information.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then let go, trusting it\u2019ll be there when the next U.N. strikes me.<\/span><\/p>\n

I should add, in all seriousness, that I will immerse myself in what will be the core of the very next project before I start to write. For example, Search Image <\/em>is my current project and I spent two months researching the relevant biology until my bones purred. Also, street theatre. Because it\u2019s all important!<\/span><\/p>\n

Ginette asked: \u201cAs a writer what do you enjoy more, following a character\/story through several books or creating a whole new story\/world from scratch?\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a>Julie:<\/strong> This is a great question. I can tell, because I had to step back to think about it. From scratch? One of the confounding things is the volume of work involved. I\u2019ve said I enjoy research, but it\u2019s in service of telling the story I envision and intense and time-consuming. Still, I\u2019m thrilled whenever I learn something completely new. It inspires even more and better stories, and makes me happy. Worldbuilding is another aspect I enjoy\u2014again, to help tell that story. But to do it well is\u2014again\u2014intense and time-consuming and I find I fuss over what I don\u2019t know. (There could be colourful metaphors.)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>It is pure joy for me to revisit a character such as Esen (first met in Beholder’s Eye<\/em>), whose continuing adventures let me play with new ideas and slime. A vacation, of sorts. Yet I love discovering a new character as the story unfolds, seeing how they\u2019ll rise or fall with the challenges I present. Wisp (from the Night’s Edge<\/strong> Fantasy series) is like that. I don\u2019t know everything about him. That\u2019s\u2014startling\u2014and I smile thinking what may be ahead for my rather odd dragon.<\/span><\/p>\n

I think my answer is yes. There\u2019s joy in all of it, with grind, and joy again.
\n.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Douglas asked: \u201cI always marvel at the internal consistency of your books and series. How do you map a book to keep it consistent? How does this change when it’s a series? Also, as a bonus, how do you decide the breaking \/ end points between books in a series?\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n

Julie:\u00a0<\/strong>A bonus question! Yay! (I was one of those students.) I\u2019ll get to that after the first.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

Internal consistency. Thanks, Douglas. It\u2019s something I care deeply about\u2014I get literally twitchy if I think there\u2019s something I\u2019ve missed. (Ask Roger. Yup, colourful metaphors abound, with stomping, paper flinging, and the consumption of chocolate.) There\u2019s always something<\/em>, by the way, no matter how careful or thorough or how many eyeballs check things. So long as it doesn\u2019t break the credibility for readers, or blow up the plot, that\u2019s, well, not okay, but you live with it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sigh.<\/span><\/p>\n

To prevent as much of that as possible from happening, I keep journals like the one here (below<\/em>). With tabs. Lists. With a standalone story or book, I don\u2019t need much. I can just check behind me, in the file itself. (I write, by the way, in one file and save over previous versions. There shall be only one! Which helps keep things straight too.)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Here\u2019s my journal for the Clan Chronicles<\/strong>, started with the Stratification<\/strong> series. There are maybe 10 pages unfilled inside. It\u2019s been handy.<\/p><\/div>\n

For the series, I had to train myself to be diligent with information and to record it at once, because the urge was to keep writing and fill in later. It didn\u2019t take too many \u201chow many live here again?\u201d moments for me to appreciate the value of writing down anything about time, numbers, and names. If you wonder why this isn\u2019t digital? In large part, it\u2019s because I need a break from looking at the screen and because I think differently when I have to write on paper. Plus I scribble maps and drawings, as well as tape stuff inside, which is easier like this. A little bitty part of me? Still likes the sound of scrunchy paper.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Typical pages inside the journal. This table was an early one to help me keep track of the Om\u2019ray in Reap the Wild Wind and what they did. There\u2019s more now.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The bonus question! How do I decide where to break the plot within a series? When each book is long enough!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Sorry, couldn\u2019t resist. There is a logic to it. I think in start\/middle\/end. I write that way too and you can see it in my books (until I became all manner of fancy in <\/span>This Gulf of Time and Stars<\/em> and had book 1\/ book 2 inside one book. Ohh!). Within the Clan Chronicles<\/strong>, I made use of the same pattern.\u00a0 Stratification<\/strong> starts the story of the Clan. The Trade Pact<\/strong> expands upon it, and sets up the climax. Reunification<\/strong> is all resolution\/ending. In turn, each of those is a trilogy, each book a start\/middle\/end.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll say start and middle are the easy part. To me, though, no book in the hand is complete without a satisfying ending, even if the entire plot rolls into a sequel and you just KNOW the bud\u2019s coming. You need to read to the last page and be able to put it down with a sense of closure. (I\u2019d say smiles, but many here have read Gate.<\/em>) Thus I make sure to have endings.<\/span><\/p>\n

While I don\u2019t always outline, for Stratification<\/strong> and Reunification<\/strong> series it was essential. I may have known the endings, and in the former case, it was already out in print as the Trade Pact<\/strong>, but how to take readers there? That was the trick. Hopefully one I did well, but only readers can be the judge.<\/span><\/p>\n

Heather asked: \u201cDo your characters ever resist your original vision? I.e. You picture one ending but as you wrote they take you the other direction.\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n

No. However nice I may appear in public, I\u2019m a bloody-minded omniscient goddess when I write. My characters are\u2014not quite puppets, because that\u2019s not fair to the thought behind them, but they\u2019re certainly more tools in my hands than independent entities. I\u2019ve put care into who and what they are. How they react better not be a surprise to me, or I haven\u2019t put in enough work first.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where the surprises come from, for me, is in the unfolding of plot. Moment by moment discoveries as I write. What was over the hill? Who steps in the room next? They come out of my head, clearly, but don\u2019t feel that way when I\u2019m in the zone. I\u2019m as curious as if I\u2019m reading someone else\u2019s book, which is hilarious fun. <\/span><\/p>\n

Does plot \u201cresist\u201d my intention? <\/span><\/p>\n

No. I\u2019m a\u2026etc. I will let myself follow a tempting digression as long as it feels right. The moment it doesn\u2019t, I delete and usually leave the writing to do something else for the rest of the day. Garden. Chase Roger.<\/span><\/p>\n

I suspect my approach is because I write (a) quickly and (b) to a purpose. Every keystroke counts in my day. Not that I don\u2019t daydream, but I leave those for when I\u2019m not writing. (Taking notes in the bath being another topic altogether.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Thanks to all for your questions, and to Helen for hosting!<\/p>\n

~ Julie Czerneda<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

About Julie E Czerneda:<\/h2>\n

For twenty years, Canadian author\/ former biologist Julie E. Czerneda has shared her curiosity about living things through her science fiction, published by DAW Books, NY. Julie\u2019s also written fantasy, the first installments of her Night\u2019s Edge<\/strong> series (DAW) A Turn of Light <\/em>and A Play of Shadow,<\/em> winning consecutive Aurora Awards (Canada\u2019s Hugo) for Best English Novel. Julie\u2019s edited\/co-edited sixteen anthologies of SF\/F, two Aurora winners, the latest being SFWA\u2019s 2017 Nebula Award Showcase. <\/em>Next out will be an anthology of original stories set in her Clan Chronicles<\/strong> series: Tales from Plexis, <\/em>out in 2018.<\/em> Her new SF novel, finale to that series, To Guard Against the Dark, <\/em>lands in stores October 2017. When not jumping between wonderful blogs, Julie\u2019s at work on something very special: her highly anticipated new Esen novel, Search Image<\/em> (Fall 2018). Visit www.czerneda.com<\/a> for more.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The ninth & final Clan Chronicles novel<\/p><\/div>\n

About The “Clan Chronicles” Series:<\/span><\/h2>\n

The Clan Chronicles is set in a far future where a mutual Trade Pact encourages peaceful commerce among a multitude of alien and Human worlds. The alien Clan, humanoid in appearance, have been living in secrecy and wealth on Human worlds, relying on their innate ability to move through the M\u2019hir and bypass normal space. The Clan bred to increase that power, only to learn its terrible price: females who can\u2019t help but kill prospective mates. Sira di Sarc is the first female of her kind facing that reality. With the help of a Human starship captain, Jason Morgan, himself a talented telepath, Sira must find a morally acceptable solution before it\u2019s too late. But with the Clan exposed, her time is running out. The Stratification trilogy follows Sira\u2019s ancestor, Aryl Sarc, and shows how their power first came to be as well as how the Clan came to live in the Trade Pact. The Trade Pact trilogy is the story of Sira and Morgan, and the trouble facing the Clan. Reunification concludes the series, answering these question at last. Who are the Clan? <\/span><\/p>\n

And what will be the fate of all?<\/span><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

And Now For #AgainstTheDark Giveaway Goodness!<\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/a>Giveaway #1 — A Duo of To Guard Against the Dark <\/em>(hardcover) plus a mass market of This Gulf of Time and Stars <\/em>(mass market paperback)<\/span><\/h3>\n

How to enter:<\/strong> Just enter your comment below any time between now and midnight Sunday 8 October (NZ time.) \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Notification:<\/strong> The winning entry will be notified by email on Monday 9 October. If I have not received a response by midnight Wednesday 11 October, I will redraw and notify by email as soon as possible afterward.<\/p>\n

Note: All times are NZ time.<\/p>\n

Terms: <\/strong>Giveaway #1 is fully international. The books will be supplied by DAW.<\/p>\n

NOTE: Giveaway #1 has now closed and the result will be posted on the blog on Monday 9, October (in a separate post at the top of the blog masthead.) The winner will also be notified directly by email on the same day.<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a>Giveawy #2 — A Tour-Wide Giveawayof All Nine “Clan Chronicles”<\/strong> Novels!<\/span><\/h3>\n

How to enter: <\/strong>Click on the following link and follow the entry instructions there:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/sweeps.penguinrandomhouse.com\/preview\/vg5pud<\/a><\/h3>\n

Terms: <\/strong>Giveaway #2 is for US readers only. The books will be supplied by DAW.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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