Stumbling to My Feet, Finally

Posted on 6 April 2012 by Hayden

Oh, drama! This week was the designated week for me to get started on a new story, which was technically Helleville. Unfortunately I got bogged down by my hand-wringing over novel-length stuff and ended up scrapping an entire writing day to all kinds of writerly existential angst. I got online, dug up articles and blog posts regarding the short fiction market, and in the end, I got into an email exchange with my publisher regarding her thoughts on the matter.

And that helped a lot, in addition to a quick chat I had with a writer of lesbian romance fiction who’s currently self-publishing fairy tale novellas.

Anyway, I decided to cut back on my novel-length fiction – at least indefinitely. My plan is to keep my Masks series going with novel sequels, of course, but that’s also because Eric’s universe is packed with so many possibilities as far as sequels go. And since there’s really no major story arc that strings all of the books together, I write them episodically – like a sitcom, pretty much.

But as far as new contemporary fantasy and especially historical fantasy stories are concerned, they’ll all be published as either novellas or novelettes, which will all be bundled together as single author anthologies following specific themes. I like the idea of having a huge backlist of shorter fiction from which readers can pick and choose (I sound like iTunes, don’t I, but that’s the idea) what they’d like to read without the burden of being stuck with other stories they don’t care for – or books that are too long for them, considering my writing style, which might not sit well with some readers. But if they want collections either in e-book or print, they also have that option.

I may be writing series novellas, but that’ll depend on how well the stories do with readers, i.e., if there’s enough of an audience to justify sequels. By and large, though, the shorter stories will all be linked thematically. Original fairy tales, ghost stories, and boarding school fantasy stories are lined up so far. More themes will pop up as I go along, but the beauty of writing these shorter pieces is the fact that I can also alternate between them and not get bogged down so much from writing in the same genre for too long, the same way I get burned out on marathon writing that’s required by novels.

Today I finally started writing the first novella (the story’s too elaborate for a novelette but not enough for a novel), which I’ve yet to title. It isn’t Helleville, and I did this to shock my system into moving again after several days of lazing about and resisting the idea of creating something. On that writing day that I wasted, I was really hell-bent on working on Helleville, but I couldn’t get a single word written. I figured then that, having written two contemporary novels in a row, I was just burned out on the genre. Now that I think about it some more, it could very well have been a combination of genre and story length in addition to my indecision.

And I’m glad I held off and talked to my publisher and that other writer. Maybe I just needed that bit of reassurance from people in the know after having devoted four years straight to nothing but novels. Letting go is always a hard thing for me; separation anxiety tends to hit me hard, even though the logic of the situation is so glaringly obvious. At any rate, I’m ready for it now, and I look forward to exploring uncharted territory.

Back to the (Kinda Sorta) Daily Grind

Posted on 1 April 2012 by Hayden

Well, that’s been a pretty good break from the (publishing) rat race. :) I disappeared from the ‘net for a few days – or more like reduced my online time to an occasional tweet or simply reading blogs I subscribe to. This is a new month, and this week marks the beginning of the next writing project I have on my plate, which is Helleville.

I mentioned before that I decided against turning this into a series, and the main reason why is because sustaining a series really depends on how much of a loyal audience you win from the first book. I don’t know to what extent the numbers over at Goodreads are any indication of readers’ ongoing interest in the Masks series, but it’s pretty understandable (and logical as far as I’m concerned) if numbers taper as the series goes on.

Then again, maybe I’m just shooting myself in the foot by letting reader responses dictate the series. One argument against that runs along these lines: what if I get inspired with more stories in the same universe, with the same characters? Then I should go ahead and write them, yeah? Yeah.

The long and short of this is “I don’t know. Maybe I should just play it by ear and not fret over it so much.” That sounds reasonable enough. Fretting is in my blood, though, so as far as that’s concerned, it’s way, way easier said than done.

As for historical fantasy, I haven’t decided yet on how to publish future stories. I continue to vacillate between novels and novelettes (ideal length would be 15,000 words), the latter also leading to single author anthologies that are themed, but I find myself leaning more and more toward novels. I’m just more used to that length even though I started out publishing short stories. The good thing is that at least I don’t plan to get started on that French fairy tale till after I’m done with Helleville, and that’s largely because I find the holiday season very, very conducive to inspiration for historical fantasies. :D Yeah, I know, I’m bizarre that way. But at least that’ll give me enough time to mull things over some more.

At any rate, I’m back and refreshed and ready to tackle something new. I’m pretty excited about the new book even though I’ve yet to name the characters. That’s because when I take a break from writing, I really take a break from writing. Now it’s panic time.

Being In Between Projects = Writing Limbo = Lots and Lots of Hand-Wringing

Posted on 28 March 2012 by Hayden

Yessirreebob, I’m at that point again. Finished with writing and editing recent projects, and here I am, crouching in the corner, sucking my thumb, and rocking myself. One would think that having finally relieved myself of so many weeks of composing, revising, and editing meant that I’d be dancing around, whooping, gorging on chocolate, and reading every book that’s in my Kindle. But no.

This is the point that I both love and dread because, while I am free to do whatever I want now that Damocles’ sword has been put away (for the time being), I’m also at my most vulnerable insofar as deciding on what book to write next.

It’s the equivalent of that superstition regarding sneezing, i.e., when you sneeze, it’s believed that your soul leaves your body temporarily, hence the “Bless you!” response from others to prevent any demonic takeover of your temporarily soulless state. In my case, the soul’s elsewhere with no word yet as to when it wants to come back, and those demons are eyeing me like a slab of prime beef.

The Blue Bird

I’ve been wringing my hands over how to approach any future historical fantasy books. Should I slave away over a novel in a genre that continues to be overlooked by the market, or should I just cut my losses and keep those stories no more than short stories or novelettes to ease my grief in the promo department? I’ve been having the darnedest time deciding; every time I think that I’ve finally settled on a firm choice, the other side starts nagging me again about the upsides of writing a story in that form.

I certainly would hate to think that Renfred’s Masquerade and the Desmond and Garrick series would be the only novel-length historical fantasies I have to offer. But on the other hand, they don’t really enjoy the same kind of word-of-mouth notoriety that my Masks series enjoys. As with other writers who go through these crises of confidence, I can’t help but wonder why I should go through all that effort writing a novel that’ll fall under people’s radar, anyway.

For a few months now, I’ve been tinkering around with at least three possible stories that I can write for my next historical fantasy book, but it appears that the market’s reluctance to acknowledge this genre is feeding me all kinds of ideas that’re hampering my forward movement. “Do it out of love for that genre, not the market,” wise people would say. Of course I do exactly that, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that passion for something makes the end result any easier to deal with.

** Scenes from Tous Les Matins du Monde (a gorgeous and heartbreaking movie) **

By and large, the plotbunny I’ve pretty much settled on is an original fairy tale set in France. Looking at my notes on that story, it appears that I’ve got enough material for a novel, but again…

Incidentally, I’ve also decided not to make Helleville a series.

Now Available: The Winter Garden

Posted on 26 February 2012 by Hayden

Short story number four is now available! :D One of the moodier stories in the collection, but it’s also the most “love story”-esque as well.

Anyway, here’s the blurb:

Fifteen-year-old Nicholas’ fragile health forces him into a life of isolation and loneliness, his connection to the outside world nothing more than a glimpse between the bars of an iron gate in his family’s spacious and paradise-like garden. His life changes when a bold young stranger not only befriends him but also dares to trespass into Nicholas’ quiet world.

The two boys’ friendship deepens as Adrian’s visits increase, their connection strengthening in defiance of too-real dangers posed by the coming winter on Nicholas’ health. It’s a bond that withstands the sting of separation, bringing both boys back to each other again and again, weathering time and ensuring that the impossible is, in the end, very much attainable.

As always, if you purchase directly from the publisher, you’ll receive a 20% discount, and this special is available only for a limited time.

Hayden Thorne

LGBT Young Adult Fiction

Category Archives: historical fiction

Stumbling to My Feet, Finally

Back to the (Kinda Sorta) Daily Grind

Being In Between Projects = Writing Limbo = Lots and Lots of Hand-Wringing