A writers Life - In the begining...

I am a publisher writer which is astounding, and I am deeply grateful.  This is the link to my Amazon page: amazon.com/author/conorhcarton.

I have done an interview with the very nice people at AllAuthor, it can be found here. https://allauthor.com/interview/conorhcarton/ I was asked interesting questions which prompted (I hope) interesting answers.

 The process I follow when I buy a book involves me locating the genre that I am interested in, scanning the titles till one catches my eye, reading the blurb on the back cover and then reading the first pages. This reading is the crucial stage, if I am caught by the beginning of the book then I will probably buy it.

When I am writing a story, the beginning is crucial for an additional reason, I want to capture the reader and I want to set myself up to continue the story. Beginning a story is very hard work and I fail at it much more than at any other part of the process.

For me a story never starts at the beginning, it usually starts with a fragment, an image that has popped up into my conscious mind. For Bottle Born Blues this was an image of someone running down a street being attacked by gargoyles from the buildings lining the street. They were attacking him because he had just lost his job and the insurance policy that kept the gargoyles at bay. After a while of the image not going away, I wondered where he was running to and where he was running from. That was the start of the story and when I used that as the beginning of the story it was terrible. It lay utterly inert on the page and I could not find any way out of it.

Part of the problem was that I needed to establish the context for the story, if the story was set in New Orleans, I could assume that readers already have some ideas about the context. For my story the only person who had information was myself. I had to be able to give the reader the information they would need to understand the story without hitting them with a lump of information. This was a hard knot to unravel, I tried various openings to balance getting the story started, involving the reader and giving the necessary information. I am writing a genre story, so readers are open to the problem and willing to follow a story for a bit to get set up. I do not want to misuse a reader’s willingness to give me the room to get properly set up. My opening should engage and inform.

I like visiting galleries and museums, when I go for the first time, I am happy to join a guided group, it helps me orientate myself for future visits. The idea behind a guided tour is that you do not know something, and this is a quick and convenient way to learn enough to enjoy what is on display. Finally, I had an opening that worked for the story, a tour of a location that would be about the history of the context that would work in the story because the audience in the story also did not know the information. It also gave me a chance to set up the unspoken history that is driving the story.

That opening gave me where my man was running from and where he was running to, once they were settled the rest of the story was able to unfold. I hope that the invitation I have extended to the reader is accepted and they want to know more about this world and find themselves engaged by the story.

Raven Nevermore 3, Midnighr Dreary. Nuno Xei (Writer), Xerx Javier (Art), Axel Rator (Colours), Ed Brisson (Letters), Samuel Cassal (Cover Artist). XEI (2019)

In this issue the story explodes as a lot of information is provided. Corvan Moore sets about paying the price demanded for the lives of his children. The various groups and individuals who know much more than Corvan are all in motion and trouble starts to come to a boil. Bits of information, hints and allegations abound as new cast members make an entrance and the existing cast move their plans forward. What pins it together is how determined Corvan seems to be to avoid understanding what is going on, he is rushing into action without reflecting on why other can drive him so fast. There is clearly a larger story emerging, there are events happening that will only make sense when the greater context is revealed. Nuno Xei is a confident enough writer to be able to assemble a partial jigsaw in an issue and not frustrate the reader, rather it creates a nice anticipation for how it will play out.
Xerx Javier’s art continues to add detail to the world of Raven Nevermore as new member join the cast and the action develops and extends. The costumes are a pleasure to see, they nicely mix up historical and fantastical to great effect and give the world depth and detail. The shifts from one story to another are very nicely managed, and the art brings out all of the strength of the writing.
With glowing colours, Axel Rator, gives a flashy exuberant life to the story that is needed to make the story soar. The colours pick out the details of the art and support the emotional context with precision.
Ed Brisson’s lettering continues to be vital and unobtrusive, it is smooth and easy to read, never slowing down the flow of the story. The cover by Samuel Cassal is rapidly developing into a powerful declaration for the story.
This issue is full of the sounds of story gears shifting, I am looking forward to where we are going.

Nathan the Cavema, Ben Bishop (Writer, Art) Ben Bishop & Split Decision Comics (2018)

A deeply engaging and affecting romance. Nathan, and artist and Adrianna, who works in the Portland Museum encounter each other for the second time in a late-night coffee shop. Both have slipped out of the homes to get away pressing situations. At the museum there is an upcoming exhibition of prehistoric cave paintings. The story of the cave artist is run alongside the blossoming romance of Nathan and Adrianna. It unfolds very nicely; the narratives counterpoint each other very nicely.
Ben Bishop has a very engaging confidence in his story, the cast are engaging and never sentimental. They move across the difficulties they encounter with effort and hesitant determination that draws the reader in. The story does not push in any new direction, the conclusion is not unexpected. It still has great force due to the investment Ben Bishop has invited the reader to make in the cast. The story is simple in outline and deeply expressive in execution.
The art is friendly and a pleasure to read. Bold, thick lines and the minimum of details to establish a context are all that is needed. The time shifts are clear and never jarring, the emotional beats are captured in each with confident care. The panel design is smartly structured to manage the pace of the story and the transitions from one timeline to another are seamless. The cast are individual, the faces and body language are clear and direct.
The back and white art is never stark, the edges are soft and flowing the grey tones of memory are just what the story needs to give it a balance within the lives of the cast. The lettering is plain and effective, it is a little small to read without more attention that it should have, it does not really slow down the story.
A charming romance, Nathan the Caveman is a deeply enjoyable comic.

A writing Life- What is Marketing?

I am a publisher writer which is astounding and I am deeply grateful.  This is the link to my Amazon page: amazon.com/author/conorhcarton

As a writer I am some in search of readers, I have to find ways to let as big a group of people know that my stories exist in the hope that a sub set of the group will be interested enough to want to find out more. Then I hope that a further subset of those people will be interested enough to buy the story. Finally, I hope that a final selection of those readers will be engaged enough to retain an interest and buy more of my stories. Over time I would hope to grow the subsets of interested and engaged readers so that I will actually make some money from my writing.
All the work above is covered, more or less, by the umbrella term of marketing. Any check on what marketing means will reveal a huge number of answers, the one that struck me as the most relevant to my situation is from Russel Nohelty (The Complete Creative), who said it was about finding people who liked what you liked and jamming with them. Since everyone involved was talking about something they liked and enjoyed it was not work. It is a substantial and sustained effort, not work.
I have been thinking a lot about marketing as I try to find the way to do it that works for me. I have been looking at what I think are instances successful marketing in the hope I could use their ideas and processes. The two most successful pieces of marketing I have ever seen are not really suitable, they are really, really good. They both manage to establish a clear idea and present it in a truly memorable way to the viewer and have the sort of reach that any marketeer would deeply envy.
Hitchin is a small market town in Hertfordshire, UK there is a beautiful old church, St Mary's which houses the memorial for Thomas Skynner,Esq.  Placed high up on a wall it proudly declares that Mr Skynner had the virtues of Primitive Christianity, and most importantly “was a Husband to Widows and a Father to Orphans”. This memorial was raised by his friends. Hundreds of years later the only readily available about Mr Skynner is that provided by his memorial. Successfully marketing himself for centuries, he is still capturing hearts and minds.
Youghal is a small port town in Co Cork, Ireland and hidden in the town is an astonishing cathedral that is full of wonderful nuggets of history. Out in the rather overgrown graveyard, which houses a Black Death plague pit, is the headstone for Cedric. On the white stone is a bas relief carving of a fisherman in a boat and the immortal word, “Cedric. A Fisherman. God reeled him in”. The whole narrative of Cedric’s life organised and expressed with an economy any writer would deeply envy.
Thomas Skynner and Cedric have established enduring brands that present themselves exactly as they wished to be seen. It is triumphant marketing. I do not want to have die to establish my brand and engage my audience, I do look at these examples and find them inspiring, know what you want to say and say it directly. Make sure that the message can endure, survive repeated scrutiny, capture the engagement of the readers one by one as they encounter it.
Long way to go, I think my stories deserve my substantial, sustained efforts, I think readers deserve engaging and enjoyable stories.