Interview with Wayne Thomas Batson

Wayne Thomas Batson is the author of seven novels and will very soon be releasing his eighth, Sword in the Stars.  He is the author of the The Door Within Trilogy, The Isle of Swords and The Isle of Fire, and The Berinfell Prophecies.  I'm happy to welcome Mr. Batson to The Narrowing Road to answer some questions on his writing life.

Seth-You have now published seven novels, and will be publishing your eighth novel very soon.  How did you get into the chaotic world of publishing and writing?
Wayne Thomas Batson-It was 2004, and I'd been working on a novel for over 10 years at that point, but never gotten a contract. My agent wanted me to come to a publishing convention (now called ICRS), so I went. He arranged for me to meet about a dozen acquisition editors and one of them, Thomas Nelson, liked the concept I had for The Door Within. Months later, I had my first contract.

Seth-Your newest book, Sword in the Stars, is set to release shortly, what can you tell us about that?
Wayne Thomas Batson-I can't wait--that's one thing. lol Seriously, this story has been itching my brain for 8 years. It is a HUGE tale that will be told over 7 books in the series. Sword in the Stars kicks off the epic journey by introducing Alastair Coldhollow, a former assassin who, while battling an addiction to witchdrale and fighting off the attention of a beautiful village girl, is also soul searching and searching for the Halfainin, the fabled Pathwalker who can purge Alastair's haunting conscience. Add to that twin brother kings who take sibling rivalry to a whole new level, a hilarious tournament talent search, a monstrous army perhaps planning world takeover...and you've got yourself a story.

Seth-With teaching, writing and everything in between, how often do you actually get to sit down and read for fun? 
Wayne Thomas Batson-Between deadlines and in the summer is when I catch up on reading. I'm also reading The Lord of the Rings for about the 15-16th time. lol

Seth-There is some controversy over the topic of Seat-Of-The-Pants writing and Outlining in the world of writing.  What is your opinion on the topic?  
Wayne Thomas Batson-I'm not sure it's a controversy, really. It's more of a style of writing that works for you. I'm an outliner because I found that SotP writing took me WAY too long and forced far too many rewrites. But there are many successful writers who use either style. For younger writers, I always advocate outlining b/c it virtually eliminates writer's block.

Seth-What is your favorite part about the process of writing a book?  From the spark of inspiration in your mind to the novel in your hand. 
Wayne Thomas Batson-Definitely the invention stage. This is where the initial kernel concept of the story explodes into a wild and rangy beast, and it's all I can do to keep up with the events of the story as they pop into sequence.

Seth-In your opinion, what is the single most important thing an author, published or aspiring can do?
Wayne Thomas Batson-Keep writing. If you really love storytelling and you have ideas, you just have to be disciplined and get your butt in the chair.


Seth-Rumors have been buzzing around a fourth installment in the Door Within Trilogy for a few years now-is there anything you can confirm or anything you would like to comment on regarding this topic?  
Wayne Thomas Batson-Well, if there is going to be another DW book, it might be a while. My current publisher seems content with the series as is. I may look elsewhere or even consider publishing it as an eBook. We'll see. There is a deep part of me that wants to explore the Realm Beyond the Sun, to give readers a "glimpse" of just what kind of adventures await us there.

Seth-What’s your favorite food or drink?
Wayne Thomas Batson-I am shamefully addicted to nachos. Cheese, peppers, onions, cheese, chili--bring it!

Seth-Is there anything else you would like to say?
Wayne Thomas Batson-Thanks for the opportunity to say one thing more. I guess I just want my readers to know that, while there is an element of discipline and effort that goes into writing, all credit and glory goes to God. What do I have that He has not given me? If it weren't for Him, I might not have been the last born child in my family; I might not have been born to parents who read voraciously; I might not have been captivated by Star Wars and the Hobbit; and I might not have been encouraged every step of the way to try.

Thanks again for taking the time to answer some questions, Mr. Batson.  If you'd like to purchase any of his books they are available at Amazon.com as well as most christian and mainstream bookstores.  You can see what he's up to in the crazy world of writing at his blog, Enter the Door Within.

Interview with Bryan Davis

Bryan Davis is the bestselling author of over fifteen novels.  He has been writing for over six years.  He is the author of the Dragons in Our Midst series, the Oracles of Fire series, and the Echoes from the Edge series.  He is currently writing two series that are related to each other.  One an adult series the other a young adult series titled Dragons of Starlight and Tales of Starlight.
I'm happy to welcome Mr. Davis to The Narrowing Road to answer some questions on his writing life.

Seth-Masters and Slayers is the first part in an adult companion series for Dragons of Starlight.  Tell us a little about that.  What makes it a more adult suitable book than some of your other books?

Bryan Davis-Although Masters & Slayers is designed for adults, it can be read by teenagers, especially those who have enjoyed Starlighter, the first book in the Dragons of Starlight series. The adult designation is due to the fact that the story follows the adventures of adult characters instead of teenagers.

The good-versus-evil violence in this book is similar to that of the young adult series, except for a few more graphic events, such as the fiery execution of a boy and the severing of a murder victim’s fingers. There are no sexual scenes, but the breeding of humans by order of the slave-master dragons is mentioned. This practice takes place “off-screen” and is not described, though one character explains his dilemma when faced with an order to participate. There is no profanity or sexually provocative language.

Seth-What was (or is) your favorite book or series to write?

Bryan Davis-I have a hard time answering “favorite” questions, because sometimes my favorites change, especially when I get emails from readers who have been strongly impacted by a particular book. At that moment, the book the reader mentions can quickly rise in my favorites list. Because my favorites are influenced by reader feedback, the three books that often rise to the top are Circles of Seven, Eye of the Oracle, and The Bones of Makaidos. I get more emails about their impact that about the other books, though I have heard from readers about impact from all of my books.

Seth-What would you say has been the most important event in your career as a writer?

Bryan Davis-Probably meeting Dan Penwell at the Florida Christian Writers Conference in 2003. He was the acquisitions editor for AMG Publishers. He took a liking to my work and decided to take a chance on an unproven author. I am deeply indebted to him, and I honor him highly. He passed away earlier this year, and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to let him know how much he meant to me.

Seth-Before you started writing Raising Dragons were you a big reader of the fantasy genre?

Bryan Davis-I probably wouldn’t be considered a “big” reader of fantasy. Of course I read the standards, like The Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Rings, but I my range of reading beyond these wasn’t broad. I tried many novels, such as Eragon, but most didn’t interest me. I found many of them to be lacking depth and purpose.

Seth-People have said that you can learn from teaching.  Do you find that you learn while teaching at conferences or other events where you teach writing?

Bryan Davis-I do learn when I teach. Teaching brings to mind persistent reminders of what I need to remember so that I don’t become lax and assume that my writing will be fine without the usual rigor I apply. Remember “show, don’t tell.” Don’t forget to foreshadow. Keep in mind the magic of vivid scenery. Don’t force dialogue. Every time I speak such words, they reinforce these principles in my mind. That’s definitely helpful.

Seth-Being a full time author, how often do you actually get the chance to sit down and read for your enjoyment?

Bryan Davis-Very rarely. Many people send me manuscripts to read, hoping to get endorsements or helpful pointers. It’s a blessing to know that people value my opinion, and I want to help as much as I can, but the pile of requests pretty much eliminates any time I have to read for enjoyment. And since most of these requests come from inexperienced writers, the manuscripts are usually poor, so the reading isn’t enjoyable. I’m afraid that’s just the nature of my occupation, and I am willing to live with it.

Seth-Where does the inspiration for your stories come from?

Bryan Davis-I get most of my basic story ideas either from my children or from dreams. Raising Dragons came from a dream about a boy who could breathe fire, and Starlighter came from an idea my daughter Amanda gave me. My gift is to be able to enhance and grow these seeds, but most of the seeds are provided by others.

Seth-You run a very active forum, correct?  Does this forum have any effect on your writing?

Bryan Davis-My message forum is quite active. I sometimes ask the members for ideas, and I get great feedback. Their opinions have influenced my stories, so I am grateful for their participation. It’s really fun interacting with them.

Seth- How does an author who has as many books as yourself go about looking to publish their next book?  Do publishers at that point come to you?

Bryan Davis-Publishers have sought me out but not often. Since God has granted success, I am able to submit a simple idea without much development, and since I have proven my ability to complete well-crafted stories in a timely fashion, publishers trust that I can deliver. I don’t have to finish a novel before they are willing to contract the work. They don’t even require a full proposal. That’s very helpful.

Seth-You are a Seat-of-the-pants writer if I’m not mistaken.  Have you ever been or thought about being an outliner?  Why is it that you prefer being a Seat-of-the-pants writer?

Bryan Davis-I have always been a seat-of-the-pants writer, because I enjoy going on an adventure with my characters. Every day I look forward to sitting down and finding out what will happen next. An open-ended story feels more realistic and allows for unexpected twists. If I am surprised by an event, then surely my readers will also be surprised. Of course, I sometimes have to go back and set up the surprises with appropriate foreshadowing, but it is still an organic way to write. The story feels alive.

I have thought about outlining a story, but those thoughts are always negative. I can’t imagine why I would do that. It would be wasted effort, because I know the story would change as I write it.

Seth-If you could go back and change any of your books, whether it was the plot or whatever it may be, would you do it?

Bryan Davis- It’s possible. I hope that my writing is improving, so it’s likely that I could improve my older books if I were to go back and polish them. Yet, I know that I did the best that I could at the time, so I would rather focus my time and efforts on new books. Still, if a reason cropped up that made sense for me to rework an older book, I could be persuaded to do so.

Seth- How does your faith in the Lord affect your writing?

Bryan Davis-My faith is central to my writing. What I believe infuses every story with sacrifice, courage, heroism, and life-giving hope. I don’t always intentionally plan spiritual themes in my stores, but because of my Christian worldview, they appear naturally. It’s the way I think.

Seth-In your experience, what has been the hardest part about writing Christian Fantasy?

Bryan Davis-The hardest part is likely the struggle to get Christians to understand the value of fantasy and that it is one of the most effective ways to communicate truth. Some Christians dismiss fantasy without understanding what it’s all about. Others even demonize it, some because of ignorance and some because of intentional folly.


Seth- Every author has a unique story that brings them to publication.  How was it that you came to be a published writer?

Bryan Davis-Since these books are faith-based, the mainstream publishers didn’t show any interest. I often heard, “Too spiritual” or “Too Christian.” The Christian publishers at that time weren’t producing fantasy at all, and certainly not a series about dragons. I couldn’t find a significant Christian fantasy series for young people that had been published in the last thirty years. It didn’t matter that the Chronicles of Narnia had been one of the greatest sellers in history. In fact, when I mentioned that to one editor, hoping the Narnia success would open a door, he said, “You’re not C. S. Lewis.”

Between agents and publishers I collected about two hundred rejection notices, which I might use to wallpaper my office someday. I rewrote Raising Dragons about twenty-four times, changing it drastically in some of the rewrites. I think I made it even more radical as time went on, perhaps thinking that it might just end up as a story for myself and my family.

As I mentioned above, I finally met Dan Penwell of AMG Publishers. He had already contracted with me for a non-fiction book called The Image of a Father, and although AMG had never produced fiction, he took interest in my weird dragons story. AMG liked it so much, they started a fiction line with the series, and it has become their best selling line of books.

Seth-How, if at all, does being a homeschool dad affect your writing? (I myself being homeschooled)

Bryan Davis-It is because of homeschooling that I became a writer. Hoping to get my children excited about writing, I began writing a story for them, and I asked them to contribute. During the process, I developed a passion for writing that hasn’t faded. My kids continue to provide me with ideas and input, so homeschooling has definitely been an important contribution.

Seth-You started writing Christian Fantasy during somewhat of a revival period for the genre.  Why do you think it is that there are so few Christian Fantasy books on the market?

Bryan Davis-Actually, I started writing Christian fantasy when the genre didn’t exist in the Christian publishing industry. When Raising Dragons came out, it was among the first produced in traditional Christian publishing in decades. The same month, Dragonspell (Donita K. Paul) and Beyond the Summerland (L. B. Graham) also came out, so, if my research is correct, these three books opened the gates for the Christian fantasy market.

Seth-Going on the previous question, what advice would you give to an author trying to get published in this very difficult field of writing (Christian Fantasy)?

Bryan Davis-I know many aspiring fantasy novelists. It seems that’s what half the authors I know want to write, but the Christian publishing world hasn’t caught up yet with the demand, which isn’t completely they’re fault, but that’s another topic. I would tell those authors to break free from the Tolkien and Lewis mold. Don’t try to create another Middle-earth with elves and orcs. Don’t send kids to a new world through a wardrobe-like portal where a new kind of Christ-figure dwells. Make faith a real component that fits naturally with characters of real faith.

I’d like to see another contemporary/fantasy blend like mine. I think young people of today relate to a world they recognize, and they enjoy seeing weird happenings within it. Still, there are many ways to explore new other-world fantasy ideas as well. Think out-of-the-box and write your passions. Don’t chase after what the market appears to want.

Seth-Is there anything else you would like to add?

Bryan Davis-Aspiring writers, I commend you for wanting to communicate your ideas and passions. That motivation will carry you far. You will hit roadblocks, and the temptation to become discouraged might be overwhelming. Don’t give up. If God has put within you the passion to write, then you can’t give up. Continue learning the craft. Get better and better all the time. Don’t lose sight of the message that God has given you to convey. If God has really called you to pursue this dream, then you have no choice but to continue.

I want to think Mr. Davis again for sharing some very helpful thoughts on writing, fantasy, and the Christian faith.  You can get in contact with him or check out some of his books on his website.

Know Your History!

Something fantasy and science fiction writers struggle with more than writers of other genre's is their history.  The history of a race.  The history of a world-or a galaxy for sci-fi.  The history of a person.  There's just a lot of history that goes into these two genres.
But what about one of the biggest rules of writing?  Show, don't tell-though I myself think rule, like all in writing, is meant to be broken.  We can't quite show the history can we?  Without doing flashbacks or just making our characters read a history book from the library, no, not really.  And both of these are, in themselves telling--tip #45--though they don't sound like it at first.
There is also the dummy approach in which you pretty much have your protagonist or another character be a dummy and have another character inform them on the history of something.  This can be used for explaining pretty much everything you deem that the reader needs to know.  But you have to be careful, too much of this at one time can lead to telling by itself.
However, often you don't even need to tell your readers the history.  This is where knowing your history comes in.
Many times, when you write the history of something in your novel your doing it for yourself.  You want to know what happened before your story takes place.  As well you should.  But don't put it in your book.  I would urge you to write the history in a notebook or on another file.  It might be helpful to just flatout tell the history like a history book would.  But don't publish it in your book.  If you know your history then it will come out gradually in your story.
That notebook or that file with the history may even some day become published depending on how well your first novels went.  Consider the Silmarillion by Tolkien.  Granted, he wrote the Silmarillion after the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings because his fans demanded it.  But the history wasn't in the novels.  One of the great things about Tolkien's books was the history.  But if you think about it, it wasn't in his main novels such as LotR and the Hobbit.  It was a side note, for people wanting to get even more of the background knowledge of his world.  And if you've read the Silmarillion you know that it's as boring as anything.  But it wasn't meant to be a page turner, it was meant to explain the background of everything.  I haven't had the chance to read the Histories of Middle Earth, but those are, I believe, about seven volumes of the little details, even more historically written then the Silmarillion. 
Anyway, back on topic.  Know your history.  When you know your history and can look at it, it comes out naturally.  It doesn't seem forceful, like your shoving it down your readers throat.  It comes out gradually and your readers don't even notice they're learning about it.  You don't force it down them because you already know it, and part of the reason you write the history forcefully is because you want to know about it.

I've been interviewed!

I have been interviewed in Brayden Hirsch's Young Writer Spotlight series at Write Big!  It's a pretty awesome interview, I encourage you to go check it out.  If not for the interview for the blog itself, Brayden does a great job on his articles and tips.

In other news, I don't think I've said this before, but I should have.  Worthy Fantasy is now up in running!  A few guys and I started this up a while back and we have now published our second issue last Thursday.  It's a great site and if your a fantasy reader it's a great-I'm so unbiased when I say this of course ;)-E-Zine on the fantasy genre through the eyes of Christians.  When you get there go ahead and follow if it if you will, besides us being encouraged by the numbers it also gives us ideas for how many readers we have for topics and special events we may do in the future.  Thanks,

Seth,

Sin=Punishment

Whether it be fantasy, mystery, romance, or any other type of fiction, as well as non-fiction in most cases, when the good guy does something bad, they should be punished.  This is very important, as it displays the morals and the ethics (they are different) of the author, as well as the protagonist and supporting characters.  It's also the natural order of things the way God designed it.  When someone does something wrong they should, and will be punished.  [The last sentence is talking about real life, not books]  There are some authors that try to avoid punishing their characters for doing wrong, this is completely wrong, and in addition to not being a good book, it also is against the Bible.  Don't ask which books do this, I know of at least seven, and if I told you their titles it could spark unneeded debate.

For example, take this completely random situation (I just made it up, it is not from any book, also, don't judge it, it's just an example, I didn't spend hours editing it lol):

Sleen took a hammer to the window.  He heard a crack and then glass falling on the ground.
He crept down the isles of the dark store, completely alone.  He checked his watch, 1:30 AM, he only had five minutes to get it and get out.  He found what he was looking for while waving his flashlight around.  He brought out a hammer and smashed a lock on a cabinet, grabbed a small portable computer and ran for the door.
Sleen noticed a police car was parked on the other side of the street, the officer standing at the door of the building opposite to the store.  The officer ran over to the door, not wasting a moment.

Now, we know nothing about this guy[Sleen], but let's assume he's a good guy.  He works hard everyday to provide for his family of three, but he just has to have this computer.  From here we can take the story two different ways, only one is Biblical, has morals/ethics, and only one makes sense.

Option one
As the officer got closer Sleen started to feel himself panic, he wasn't a bad guy, he was just in a bad situation.  However the police officer didn't seem to be coming to arrest him, he simply waved and approached very friendly.  "Whatcha got there?" the office asked while shining his flashlight on Sleen and then shining it on the window of the store that had been broken.
"Oh, nothing..." Sleen said nervously.
"You got the new Shiny-Laptopo(fictional computer)?  I hear that this is the top-of-the-line computer."
"Really? That's good." Sleen said, still panicking within.
"Okay, well you have a good night now." The officer said as he turned to go back to the other building.

Option two
As the officer got closer Sleen started to feel himself panic, he wasn't a criminal, he didn't kill people, he just wanted a computer.  The officer crossed the street in a flurry and brought his gun out from his belt, "Freeze!  Put your hands in the air and set down the computer down softly,"  Sleen obeyed.  "You're under arrest," the officer quickly grabbed his hands and cuffed them, then shuffled him over to the police car.

I don't think I need to tell you, but the second one is right.  Does it make sense that a police officer would just let the person go after breaking into a store and stealing a laptop?  No, it's against the law and against the Bible.  This is something we've got to remember when writing, we can't let our good guys deeds go unpunished.  We just can't.  Now, you may ask "Are you saying that we should let our bad guys go unpunished?", and I would say yes.  And no.  Yes, they will not be punished yet, though sometimes you can throw in a defeat in battle or whatever fits to your book.  The reason I say no though is because eventually they'll get what's coming to them.  Take for example the devil.  He sinned, he was punished by not being an angel, or being able to reside in Heaven, but in addition he'll be punished in the end, he will suffer forever in his pit.

Word wars, pages, and a thought about writing

Most people following my blog know what a Word War is, but just to make sure, I'm going to explain it.  A Word War is when a group of people get together for one hour(standard) or more, or less, so pretty much any amount of time to have a competition to see who can get the most points in the set time.  Whoever wins, well, is the fastest writer.  So, why have I mentioned this?  I will be hosting some Word Wars every once in a while, hopefully frequently, for you guys and for myself.  Also if you have noticed, one of my pages(explained a little later in this post) is titled "Word War Archives", on those pages I will be posting the winners of past Word Wars winners and their totals. 

Secondly, I have recently discovered the way to put more pages on the blog.  If you see directly below my banner, it should have about four links to 'The Narrowing Road', 'Word War Archives', 'Writing Excerpts and Poems', and ' Book Reviews'.  They are pretty self explanatory and The Narrowing Road is just a link to the main blog.  To do this, go to http://draft.blogger.com/home then go to 'new post', and then, on the right, next to 'edit posts' should say, 'edit pages', after that, I think you can figure it out.  So yeah, that's a useful tool methinks.

And, lastly, a writing thought, I say thought because I myself am still just a beginning writer and I'm curious to know your thoughts as well.  So this is simply a thought about writing.  According to some statistics from a website(I forget which) Christian Fantasy is not a top genre on the market.  As in, the general public of buying readers are not purchasing Christian Fantasy(or secular fantasy for that matter), which is pretty sad I think.  Because that means that it will be harder to get my book accepted by publishers.  So that is disheartening.  But I believe that if the Lord has called you to write Christian Fantasy you will, by whatever means He has set in motion, get your book into the hands of the public, because the Lord is in control, nothing changes that.  So, those are my thoughts on the market right now, feel free to comment on what you think.