For fans of The Night Angel Trilogy and fantasy author Brent Weeks
Questions for Brent about Me
Can I write fanfiction/fanart/a graphic novel/a Wikipedia entry?
Wiki-If someone wanted to start an online wiki, I would be fully in favor of that. Heck, I know that George R. R. Martin has said he uses the wiki that people have set up of his world, just to keep his own facts straight. BUT, I know that I can't start or maintain such a thing. I'm stretched too thin as is.
Fanfiction-Um, I don't have an official policy on off-site links, so here's the new official policy: off-site links are cool as long as they're cool. In other words, you're fine. Just please link back to the forum for the convenience of people who visit from here to there.
Of course, if we get tons of irritating marketers posting links, we might make an official policy, but for the time being, we'll go with less restrictions. Sound good?
Fanart-Send them my way
Graphic Novel-I'd love to see graphic novels of the Night Angel Trilogy. I can easily see the first book as a graphic novel, though I think it becomes more difficult as the trilogy progresses to keep track of all the story lines in a graphic novel format.
I did have one company contact me and ask me to send them the trilogy... But they haven't even read the trilogy yet to see if they even like it. So odds are still very very dim. (And I won't be more specific than that. In fact, I don't even know if I should have said that much.)
Tell you what, you guys get all your friends to buy the books and make them best-sellers, and I guarantee I'll have graphic novel guys knocking down my door. :)
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Short version: Read tons. Then write. Finish things because you want to learn to write the ending. If anything you write is boring--make it interesting for YOU, then it will be interesting for readers. Only write if you HAVE TO. It's really a terrible way to get rich. It's almost insanely difficult to get published. The best figures I could find on the internet (where figures are always accurate and reliable, right?) was that your chances of getting published by a reputable book publishing company (once you have finished your novel) are either 3 in 10,000 or 1 in 25,000. The average published novelist in the US makes roughly $10,000/year. (8k Euros, 7k pounds) So you should write for the love, not the possible paycheck. If it's what you're made to do, don't let anything stop you. Tenacity is a requirement. Thick skin is a must... most people won't like your book, even if it's great.
Write what you'd like to read. Go big or go home.
My wife read most of my drafts. A few friends read more finished drafts. I tried a couple of writing groups, but due to my schedule and personality and speed of writing, it didn't work very well for me. (I was writing full time on a novel, so every month I'd show up with another 20k words... which wouldn't make sense unless the whole group had read the previous 100k words. Everyone else would come in with 5k words every third month, so I didn't feel it was fair to ask them to read my stuff every time, but if they didn't keep up, their advice couldn't be as helpful.)
How I kept myself motivated and more advice for aspiring writers will have to wait for another post.
Oh, one thing I definitely should recommend is a book by Donald Maass (now my agent, but I knew I wanted him to be my agent AFTER I read the book): Writing the Breakout Novel. It's full of awesome advice. I frequently re-read it and have quotes from it pasted to my wall.
It's a bit of an organic process for me. I start by coming up with cool scenes, snippets of dialogue, action sequences, ideas I think would be cool, pieces of how a character might be a bad ass, some notes on cultures, and so forth. I do this for a while, then ideas glom together for me. I pick some high points, how the story might end, how some of those cool sequences might logically progress. Then I play with it, a lot. Then I start writing. A lot of the character stuff comes together as I write--and the imaginary bounds of the world get pushed back. Then, even as I'm writing, I do more outlining, making sure I'm progressing toward the ultimate goals, trying to find more interesting ways to get there or make sure that things that I think the characters would do will actually lead us there.
For me, there's a lot of push and pull between strong structure and following what the characters would do. A guy like Stephen King is totally an organic writer. It works for him and his readers, but it's too chaotic for me. I need to see where I'm going and at least a few steps out into the darkness.
That said, the writing doesn't stop when you get to the end of the book. I've discovered character motivation inconsistencies that didn't make sense when I got to the end of a book. I couldn't figure out how to fix it... until I realized the two characters had been in love with each other for years. Once I figured that out, everything dropped into place. I thought it would take a long time to fix, and really, I barely had to change a dozen lines, and then it all fit beautifully. I usually don't believe the Michaelangelo line that "David was already in the marble, I just had to cut away the excess stone." But that one time, it was like I knew what I was doing without knowing what I was doing. Most of the time, it's just hard work.
I usually don't go into how I work like this, because every author works differently, and honestly, knowing how I work probably won't help you. You just have to experiment and find out what works for you. Sorry there's no formula, but pretending that there is one actually makes it harder for you to find out what fits your quirks.
How can I get a signed copy? UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Wiki-If someone wanted to start an online wiki, I would be fully in favor of that. Heck, I know that George R. R. Martin has said he uses the wiki that people have set up of his world, just to keep his own facts straight. BUT, I know that I can't start or maintain such a thing. I'm stretched too thin as is.
Fanfiction-Um, I don't have an official policy on off-site links, so here's the new official policy: off-site links are cool as long as they're cool. In other words, you're fine. Just please link back to the forum for the convenience of people who visit from here to there.
Of course, if we get tons of irritating marketers posting links, we might make an official policy, but for the time being, we'll go with less restrictions. Sound good?
Fanart-Send them my way
Graphic Novel-I'd love to see graphic novels of the Night Angel Trilogy. I can easily see the first book as a graphic novel, though I think it becomes more difficult as the trilogy progresses to keep track of all the story lines in a graphic novel format.
I did have one company contact me and ask me to send them the trilogy... But they haven't even read the trilogy yet to see if they even like it. So odds are still very very dim. (And I won't be more specific than that. In fact, I don't even know if I should have said that much.)
Tell you what, you guys get all your friends to buy the books and make them best-sellers, and I guarantee I'll have graphic novel guys knocking down my door. :)
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Short version: Read tons. Then write. Finish things because you want to learn to write the ending. If anything you write is boring--make it interesting for YOU, then it will be interesting for readers. Only write if you HAVE TO. It's really a terrible way to get rich. It's almost insanely difficult to get published. The best figures I could find on the internet (where figures are always accurate and reliable, right?) was that your chances of getting published by a reputable book publishing company (once you have finished your novel) are either 3 in 10,000 or 1 in 25,000. The average published novelist in the US makes roughly $10,000/year. (8k Euros, 7k pounds) So you should write for the love, not the possible paycheck. If it's what you're made to do, don't let anything stop you. Tenacity is a requirement. Thick skin is a must... most people won't like your book, even if it's great.
Write what you'd like to read. Go big or go home.
My wife read most of my drafts. A few friends read more finished drafts. I tried a couple of writing groups, but due to my schedule and personality and speed of writing, it didn't work very well for me. (I was writing full time on a novel, so every month I'd show up with another 20k words... which wouldn't make sense unless the whole group had read the previous 100k words. Everyone else would come in with 5k words every third month, so I didn't feel it was fair to ask them to read my stuff every time, but if they didn't keep up, their advice couldn't be as helpful.)
How I kept myself motivated and more advice for aspiring writers will have to wait for another post.
Oh, one thing I definitely should recommend is a book by Donald Maass (now my agent, but I knew I wanted him to be my agent AFTER I read the book): Writing the Breakout Novel. It's full of awesome advice. I frequently re-read it and have quotes from it pasted to my wall.
It's a bit of an organic process for me. I start by coming up with cool scenes, snippets of dialogue, action sequences, ideas I think would be cool, pieces of how a character might be a bad ass, some notes on cultures, and so forth. I do this for a while, then ideas glom together for me. I pick some high points, how the story might end, how some of those cool sequences might logically progress. Then I play with it, a lot. Then I start writing. A lot of the character stuff comes together as I write--and the imaginary bounds of the world get pushed back. Then, even as I'm writing, I do more outlining, making sure I'm progressing toward the ultimate goals, trying to find more interesting ways to get there or make sure that things that I think the characters would do will actually lead us there.
For me, there's a lot of push and pull between strong structure and following what the characters would do. A guy like Stephen King is totally an organic writer. It works for him and his readers, but it's too chaotic for me. I need to see where I'm going and at least a few steps out into the darkness.
That said, the writing doesn't stop when you get to the end of the book. I've discovered character motivation inconsistencies that didn't make sense when I got to the end of a book. I couldn't figure out how to fix it... until I realized the two characters had been in love with each other for years. Once I figured that out, everything dropped into place. I thought it would take a long time to fix, and really, I barely had to change a dozen lines, and then it all fit beautifully. I usually don't believe the Michaelangelo line that "David was already in the marble, I just had to cut away the excess stone." But that one time, it was like I knew what I was doing without knowing what I was doing. Most of the time, it's just hard work.
I usually don't go into how I work like this, because every author works differently, and honestly, knowing how I work probably won't help you. You just have to experiment and find out what works for you. Sorry there's no formula, but pretending that there is one actually makes it harder for you to find out what fits your quirks.
How can I get a signed copy? UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Brent Weeks on -
Keith, sorry, somehow I totally missed your question. Then I moved and I didn't have internet. Anyway... I have just recently read Legend (after I was nominated for the award actually). I really enjoyed it and plan on reading more Gemmel soon. I do prefer longer fantasy, but they simply wouldn't publish really long fantasy back then, so he was working within the framework of what was possible. And multipart sagas really sort of do the same thing over numerous volumes, I guess. But yes, he seems great!
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Permalink Reply by Hiromi on -
Ooh on the subject of fan art, I have millions of ideas, but very little time to do them (damned Leaving Cert!) so are there any particular characters you'd like to see on paper? There are also some drawings I've already done that i'd like to adapt to fit some characters, lemme know if you wanna have a look and ok them, and i'll put up a link to my deviantart site :)
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Permalink Reply by Brent Weeks on
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This regarding the unfinished question above: "HOW DO I GET A SIGNED COPY?"
Short answer 1) You have to see me in person at a signing. I just can't handle getting lots of fat books (my fault, of course) in the mail, keeping straight which goes to whom, signing, and hiking back to the library. Plus, people tell me giving out my real address on the internet might not be a good idea.
Short answer 2) From time to time, on this forum I will announce chances for you to get signed bookplates from me. A bookplate is just basically a sticker that I sign and number, and then mail to you. Because it's just a sticker, it's light enough that I can send it to a foreign country on my own dime/pence without going bankrupt.
That's pretty much the best I can do with the workload I have. I do plan to do another round of bookplate signings soon (it's May 8 right now). -brent
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Permalink Reply by KillingOurAngel on -
i would drive in a car for several days to meet you for five minutes, brent weeks, you are amazing, and you seem like a genuinly nice person as well
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Permalink Reply by Christopher Bartolo on -
Hi Mr. Weeks
last week i walked into a book store just looking for something, anything. I didnt know what I would find, then out of the corner of my eye in the fantasy section, I noticed your trilogy of books. I had never even heard of them and you before but i have to say i was intrigued, I immiediatly bought them but couldnt read them due to a busy schedule (yes even though it is summer).. well that is until yesterday, I started "The Way of Shadows" yesterday afternoon and got hooked I kept reading until I finished it sometime this morning, i didnt even notice the time had gone by lol, anyway, I'm planning to start "Shadows Edge" in a few days when I go on holiday as something for the journey and afterwards.
but now,
getting to my question,
I absolutely love reading and writing and because of that I started my own novel a while back, I haven't done much yet, only around 5 chapters its around 50 pages,
and I was wondering if you would mind giving a read of what i have so far?
It's a fantasy novel and i have plenty of idea's of where i want to go and what i want to do with the upcoming story, but after reading your first book and finding out your love for fantasy novels, I just knew that i had to at least ask you if you would like to read what I have.
If you are unable to, please don't worry, I understand that you must be a be a busy man.
Thank you
yours faithfully
Christopher Bartolo
age 16 (17 in a few weeks)
ps: I was also wondering if the temporary copyrighting thing of emailing your own work to yourself, well.. if it actually works? if it can be used as proof etc?
lol
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Permalink Reply by Brent Weeks on
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Chris,
Just saw your post. Yeah, I know it's like six weeks later, but some forum pages I don't get around to that regularly.
For reasons I go into elsewhere, I can't read your stuff for a number of reasons. Mainly time, but there are a few legal things as well that are hurdles. Thanks for asking, though, and I know it kinda sucks when you find someone whose work you like...and so on. Been there.
The copyrighting thing: Yeah, go ahead and send yourself copies of your book... so you have a backup, not for copyright reasons. Honestly, you're more likely to get hit by lightning out of a clear blue during a terrorist attack in your grandma's basement than you are to get your book stolen and sold by someone else for millions. Truth is, it's harder to get published than it is to write a book. Thieves usually steal stuff they can either use or turn into cash. Turning a ms by an unknown author into cash is a helluva lot of work. In my case, after I was finished with The Way of Shadows it took over two years to get published. Thieves aren't that patient. Nor are they usually the best talent scouts. Hell, my book got rejected by like seven or more editors--whose job it is to find good writers and who know what sells. And THEY screwed up. Some random dude who sees your manuscript sitting out is going to do better?
I totally understand the fear, and how it's easy to lose perspective. I mean, I spent five years of my life writing this trilogy without a contract. So you can imagine that it was worth a helluva lot--to me. But if a thief had grabbed it, it would have been worth nothing more than a couple of days pleasurable reading. It's just too hard and takes too much know how and skill and luck to get published. And by that point, so many people had seen copies of my book, that I would have won any lawsuit easily anyway. There'd be so many witnesses on my side.
So back up your work often. Send it to a couple different email accounts. Put it on numerous data sticks. Print out a hard copy. Or do all these and more. But understand that it's all to make you feel better. The most likely way you'll lose your novel is if your computer crashes. So backup daily, and not just on the computer you're typing on.
Oh, and best of luck. :)
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Permalink Reply by Christopher Bartolo on
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thank you for the advice, and dont worry about the late reply or the fact that your unable to read my stuff :)
and i finished your trilogy too, and they were absolutely amazing, thank you for writing such a great series!
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Permalink Reply by KillingOurAngel on
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hey brent, if i get my stuff published, would you read it?
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Permalink Reply by KillingOurAngel on
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working on some good fan art
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Permalink Reply by Dinaine on -
Hi there - I recently had [what I thought] was a great idea for a fanfiction. I do have a few questions so I can write it to the best of my ability. I promise to post the link here when I get chapter one up - I'd love to know what you think of my idea ;)
Firstly, could you please tell me the locations of all the existing and active ka'kari? This is important, as they are largely intwined into the plot.
Secondly, would you mind if I threw two characters in? This is set after Beyond the Shadows, so hopefully, this will be alright.
Thanks a bunch! Keep up the good work!
-Dinaine [Fanfiction username: SoulMeiser, DeviantART username: Okafire]
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