Thursday 27 April 2017

How To Build A Whole New World For Fantasy And Sci-fi Novels?

World building even though it sounds interesting and fun it is hectic and makes us stressful. It is just something that keeps us writers worry continuously while writing. One wrong use of any sentence and the whole of effort of world building collapses. The world building in a fantasy novel can either be rewarding or a project that should be left in the files of your computer or inside your drawer collecting dusts and it never should published again.
So, how to build a world?

I present you these rules to write a world for your sci-fi and fantasy novels. Let me know whether any of these works for you or doesn't. 
Also let me know what you think about today's post.

1. Get Inspiration But Do Not Copy Them: If you want to write something about wizard world you can read ll the magical books and look at the style of writing in books such as Harry Potter. But we do not need any more books having a boy who survived from the attack from the most wanted murderer and a wizard and ended up having a lightening scar on his forehead. 
Sure everything is done before and all the books in the entire planet have at least 1 similar style and concept. What should be done is creating your very own magical world. Something that only come from within you or from your subconscious mind.

2. Give a vivid description of all your characters: Your character should seem real to your readers. What I mean is your readers should really understand and literally know them well through their minds eye. This required especially in fantasy and sci-fi novels. It might not be necessary in novels of other genres. 
Why this is required? Especially in sci-fi and fantasy there seem to be a lot of characters and it is easy to lose track of their life and what they do or who they are while we are engrossed with the story.

3. Create a Different Language: Having different language in the book can increase interest in your readers mind. It just gives a whole new style and edge to your book. I am not telling you to write the whole book  in a very different language created only by you. What you can do is throw some unique languages here and there along with the language your book is written in. 
But before you do that make sure you have build up or at least created the background of your world. Make sure that your readers know your character before they know what unique language they speak.

4. Consider the setting of the place: In 30 percent of the book describe clearly about the settings. Lets say your setting is in a snow land, you do not want your people to wear tropical shorts, right? That would make no sense. Also make sure you describe or throw bits of information about plants and animals.
 The trick to put them in the story is when you describe a character living or staying on the place. The other way is when couple characters are in the plot.

5. Consider The Economy: Give a little bit of back story or describe shortly about the economy. Who runs your fantasy and/or sci-fi world? Is the government providing enough? Are they good or are they bad? Write about the condition of the living condition of the people, and also make sure write about the currency or how they trade. Along with the economy as a whole, the subcategories like education and infrastructure are important as well.
The best way to write it is after the opening of the chapter or somewhere in the first couple of chapters. It is better to set a scene or a little story about a characters day to day life and put some of these important factors in your book.

6. Open with a bang: You do not want your readers to flip the pages continuously not getting anything at all. Also you do not want your readers to read all those cliche day to day activities. You want them to be excited, curious and ask the question "What happens next?"
Brainstorm your idea before you write sci-fi and fantasy novels. Once you have an idea write them down in a note pad or your iphones note. Or you can put it aside in MS word. Now, all you have to do is come with a hint of fantasy or sci-fi in the beginning of the novel. What you can do is put your characters in a jittery state after they experience the unexpected. Put them through stress, sadness, happiness r any kind of emotion associated with the event. That way the readers will relate to them from the beginning.

7. A dramatic end is the way to end: A boring happy ending is not what we expect from fantasy or scifi. It should be mysterious, dramatic, or with a fight scene or it can be a scene where the protagonist wins the fight nearly escaping the death. Even if its a happy ending make it something exceptionally emotional that makes the reader keep coming back to read your ending.

There are the 7 rules I believe makes a sci-fi book interesting and fascinating to read.

Do you have any suggestions? Let me know.

Checkout my latest psychopathy crime thriller and suspense book called THE SMART PSYCHOPATH

Available on Amazon Kindle


Thursday 13 April 2017

My New Book, "THE SMART PSYCHOPATH" Would Release Soon!

Hey there! Today I would like to tell you that I am extremely excited that I have finished editing my book. Though my first draft was finished a month ago, it was the editing that needed a lot of work. The other thing I have to work on now is the cover. Wish me luck! Here is my first chapter of The Smart Psychopath. Let me know what you think and at the end of the post please checkout my previous book The Unlucky Intern available on Amazon and Kindle.


Chapter 1


The PSYCHOPATH


The wine spilled all over my shirt and jeans. I grabbed some tissues from the counter and wiped my shirt and jeans and also wiped the table clean. Thank god not a single drop spattered on my favourite black hoodie that kept me warm and snug always. 

I was not feeling my best today, I was greatly disturbed by my surroundings. The bartender at the counter was staring at me while I was cleaning my shirt. She resembled like my ex-wife, Jenna who was short and used to have mid-length auburn hair, blue eyes, small lips and sharp feature. The bartender had a butterfly tattoo on her left wrist just like my ex-wife whom I have killed with my own hands.

Was it my fault that she was horribly murdered? Maybe and maybe not!

Jenna hated the fact that Lily, our 2 year old daughter wasn’t getting enough material things, abundant food and love unlike other kids in Huntington city of West Virginia. Our 2 year old daughter, Lily was the only thing that was making me happy in the darker times. She was the only thing that kept me from hurting my wife. I loved my Lily more than anyone, more than her stupid, annoying mother who accidentally killed her own child while fulfilling her own needs. 

She had always put her own needs before anyone else’s, even before her child. I was getting exhausted of her endless, rubbish material demands.  I was tired of Jenna and her continuous bickering. Her pestering about money and our situation continued till 28th December 2009, until I couldn’t take it anymore. That day she went to shopping with her friends but she left the baby in the bathtub while the water was running. She was giving a bath to Lily on our bathtub. I didn’t know what made shopping so exciting that she would forget her own kid. Jenna was self-obsessed and a horrible mother. So, when I returned from work I saw my Lily was already dead, she drowned in the water while her mother was out. I couldn’t believe so and I held Lily for hours. 

I didn’t report the incident to the police and thought of taking the matter in my hand. It was high time I took the situation in my hand. It was 11.30 pm and my wife wasn’t back yet, so I wrapped my Lily in a big yellow plastic bag that I got from the storage and placed her in the trunk. I waited for my wife to arrive. At twelve past five I heard the clicking sound of the lock and I know Jenna was back from her little trip to mall. I waited in the washroom with a knife in my right hand, I know she would be there soon. As soon as she opened the door I put my left hand over her mouth tightly and stabbed her straight in her heart. She cried and whimpered and tried to push me with both her hands. Too bad, I was strong enough to pull her towards me. I continued to stab her stomach and chest until she was dead. I felt peace wash over me. I was relieved for the first time in years. 

Jenna was always pestering me about how much of a big loser I was. Reminding me always that my childhood friends were much better off living in a posh condo, having a luxury car and most of all having money to afford anything their wife demanded. She never supported me when our family was going through tough time during financial crisis in 2009. Recession had made us lose all the money that I have invested in stock. It forced us to move from reasonably well one room condo to a very small house in a small neighborhood where crime rate was splurging.

But for some reason I felt lonely and felt I was the biggest loser on earth with no wife and no baby. I kissed her before wrapping her in to another yellow plastic bag I got from my storage. I took both the bag and placed them on my truck which I sold the next day. I disposed the bodies in a huge garbage bin near a seafood market in 4th Avenue. I cried on my way back to my home because I was scared that I would be caught. That day I couldn’t sleep. I knew police would come looking for me soon and I need to flee and maybe change my own identity. 

The next morning I sold my truck to a guy in the neighbourhood and went back to my house to gather all the necessary things I would need to get out of the city. 
I grabbed my bag pack and small suitcase and took a cab and went to Berkeley Springs of Morgan County in West Virginia. 
I stayed in a small motel in Morgan County which costed pretty less. For the next couple of days I looked for a place where I could actually live and start a fresh new life. With help of a very good friend of mine who coincidentally happened to live in Morgan County, who was a very twisted, convoluted person I have ever met in my life I got a new passport, new social security number, driving licence and finally changed my name.

By the way, my real name was Adam Bell before I changed my identity and this was my story.

Anyways I felt like she, I mean the bartender, would be heading in my direction. She looked so like my Jenna but only less beautiful. She was now placing the glasses on a tray and was garnishing it with cherry. Then she set out the plates on the table. I could hear her heels clicking noisily on the tiles of the bar. I hated that sound as it reminded me of Jenna. Jenna wore high heels. I never saw her in flats not even when she was pregnant with Lily.

 I wished that the bartender would stop walking around and sit down for a second because that would help me to calm down quick. I am sweating profusely and I felt like I need to puke. She came towards me and stared at me.
What the hell did she want? 

I was scared I would be doing something horrible if she stayed here for even like couple of seconds. I was horrified that I would do something unspeakable, something I would regret. I lowered my gaze when she approached towards me and when I looked up she had a flirty smile on.

“Do you want something, sir?”, she said with a wink. She was flirting.

I wanted you to stay away from me before you and I, both regret. 

“No nothing, I just want my bills, thank you.”, I said avoiding eye contacts all along. I wanted to smile back and flirt but for some reason I couldn’t. She needed to get away from me. She looked so like Jenna. 

“Are you sure, sir? You do look like you are feeling sick. Do you want me to get you something, water?” , she smiled but her eyes looked concerned. She leaned towards me, her lips were parted, and her eyes glimmered. She wanted to say something but some customer called her for bringing him bills.

“No, my bills.” , I replied her.

“Alright, I will be right back.”, she turned dramatically swaying her hips and winking just before she turned.

Thank god.

I waited patiently and saw her getting busy with the other customers. She wore a blue top and auburn hair was loosely tied in a side bun, just like the way Jenna would style her hair. Something inside me burned but I was trying my best to repress that feeling. I very well knew the consequences of it. I very well knew what would happen if I do what I am thinking of doing. I was scared that she might walk up to me anytime now and would wake the monster inside me. 

She served the man opposite me with a smile on her face, a smile that looked so much beautiful like Jenna’s. He sat with his back towards me. He was most probably drinking wine. My attention suddenly diverted to a customer who was sitting on the far right corner of the pub. He was drinking the same wine I ordered. I recognized him as one of the carpenter in this city. 

“Here is your bill, did you find everything great?” said a waiter, he came from right behind me. I was too much focused on the Jenna-like waitress.

Where was she now? She was just right here. Wasn’t she?

I payed the bill and got out of the door as fast as I could. I needed to get some fresh air and I needed to get the monster out of me. I needed silence and peace. 
I could see the pub from a safe distance, it was far enough now. I could see the place getting dimmer. I guessed I was the last person in the pub. The place was getting chillier and deserted. I was about to turn the corner of the street but just then I saw the bartender without her badge of the restaurant carrying a large cross body bag. Her heels were clicking noisily on the concrete pavement. 

I just spotted her heels now. I could clearly see the colour and the shape even though it was dark outside. It was a red shoe with bows on the side of the ankles.
 I bought a similar shoe for Jenna on her 17th birthday, the very last birthday before she was killed. She hated the colour of the shoe even though it looked perfect on her. The majority of the women would love to wear that fiery color. She was on a different level. She thought the material was cheap and that it looked absolutely ugly. She wouldn’t wear it because she would feel embarrassed in front of her friends who she thought had great sense of style and personality. One day she told me that she would not accept any gifts I would give her because she would feel insulted if her friends get to see the presents I offer her. That made my blood boil but I had to repress it because I was also frightened that my anger would let her leave me and that I would be lonely. I felt like thrashing her, slapping and telling her to leave but couldn’t do so because Lily needed a mother and I needed someone to love me.

Today, the bartender was going to the direction I was heading. There was a black long haired guy behind her. He was walking slowly and was too busy checking his cell phone. He turned to his right to Mirium Street and was out of my sight. The bartender was rummaging through her bag to find something, maybe cell phone. When she turned her head to look straight, I walked hurriedly and hoped that she would not suspect that I was observing her.

 I stopped at a corner and pretended to lace up my sneakers so that she was ahead of me. Great thing was she didn’t even notice me lace up my sneakers or that I was following her. I guess she was too busy in her own thoughts or too tired to be aware of her surroundings. 

I waited for couple of seconds and without thinking I started to follow her. Damn I should stop. 

Her heels were making me ever so angry than before. It was making me remember all the horrible things Jenna used to say without any sympathy. She was ruthless.

 I tried to stop myself from following this little, beautiful bartender. She was heading south and entered a deserted neighbourhood. It was 2 Am in the morning and I was sure no one was awake at this hour of night. According to my knowledge of Berkeley Springs, its people and neighbourhoods, this particular one here had people who had day jobs not night jobs. But this little beautiful women here was a bartender at night and was a night owl.

She was no longer wearing a bun and she ran her fingers through her auburn hair making me shiver a little. She stopped and was about to turn back but I hid behind a white Sudan that was parked on the side of the street. Her eyes searched the place frantically and rested long on the white Sudan. Her eyes were then tight shut and she let a long sigh and turned again to move to the direction she was heading. 

She was scared and that’s what I wanted and loved. I had always scared my victims before attacking them. 

I kept following her from a very safe distance and then she came to a stop near a small brick house. The house looked beautiful from outside even if it was small and was accommodated for maximum three people. She reached the door and turned the door knob. She closed the front door as quickly as she could behind her and locked it. 

I very well knew she understood that someone was following her. I quickly went to the back of the house hunching myself and ducking my head, making sure no one saw me. The back door was kept ajar. Silly girl! She thought the neighbourhood was safe. I was going to prove her wrong that it was not safe anymore. 



Well, This was almost eighty percent of the first chapter. Hope you like it and let me know what you think.


Check out the Unlucky Intern here


Let me know what you think of my first chapter and would love to hear your review on The Unlucky Intern

How To Build A Whole New World For Fantasy And Sci-fi Novels?

World building even though it sounds interesting and fun it is hectic and makes us stressful. It is just something that keeps us writers ...