Writer's Bootcamp 3

Greetings from Scranton, PA!!

Christopher arrived safely at our favorite Scranton hotel, The Radisson, Lackawanna Station. This is our 3rd year getting away together to write. This year's a little different in that we are coauthoring a new book series: The Berinfell Prophecies.

Tomorrow from noon to two, Christopher and I have an event at The Banshee. This fabulous gathering place has become to us what the "Bird and Baby" was to CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien. We soak in the atmosphere and talk story.

A lot of people have asked us how do we coauthor a book? Aren't there conflicts? What about your writer's voice? Don't they clash? Won't people notice which parts you write and which parts Christopher writes?

Ultimately, I guess our amazing readers will have to decide how we do. So far, I can honestly say that I am having the most fun writing that I have ever had. We seldom if ever have conflict, and we've given each other cart blanche to edit each other's work without WITHOUT using the track changes feature. We're hoping in that way to develop "our" voice rather than me then him, etc.

Something else that we're trying is a process we call Layering.

This is nothing new to writing as it really is just several draft stages rolled into a more methodical approach. Here's what it looks like:

Layer 1: Go after the story--action, plot, go, go, go! We take our outline and just let the story roll on out there. We don't stop for flowery language; we don't think too hard about theme; and we let our characters grow and act and do without too much interference from the bumbling authors.

Layer 2: Character Focus--who are these people? Why are they doing what they are? Why should anyone care about them. The second time through the manuscript, we delve into the personalities and attributes of our main characters. They may be fine just the way they are. Or, they may be cardboard, 2D wannabees in need of major reality check!

Layer 3: Description--the reader needs to be immersed, not drowned, in the world we're creating. They need enough description for their imaginations to get their footing and do their thing. We go through line by line, cutting, tweaking, adding. We consider the mood of each scene and include descriptive details to reflect the emotion we are building. You don't need every detail about the forest, but that one vine that dangles from the tree like a noose...might be important.

Layer 4: Cool Stuff--I know, I need a better name for this one. But really this is the layer where we get crazy. We start weaving in a little foreshadowing. We throw in those righteous bits of dialogue that give the reader a clue to chew on. We start naming the cool swords and ancient caves and such. These are things that can really bog a writer down if you try too hard to get it right on the first draft. Seriously, I can waste a whole day just thinking of a character name--and the vitality and momentum of the scene I was working on just gets crushed. Best for last.

We'll see how it works out. So far. So good. March 13th is our deadline, and that's when Layers 5 thru 12 will occur...when our editors read our stuff and say, uh, you're serious, right?

Something Else to Consider: Catching the Gold Coins

At any time during this layering process, you may have brilliantly cool things pop into your head: a tidbit about the language the Elves will speak, a sweet bit of dialogue, a poignant bit of description for a character you've not even invented yet--whatever it is, you CANNOT afford to ignore them. These are "Gold Coins from Heaven," baby. You need to scoop them up, or like manna, it will be gone.

Yes, this interrupts the layering process. I use Scrivener or SuperNoteCards when I write, so I just pop open a new file, throw in the Gold Coin, label it as specifically as I can, and then dive back into the manuscript.

Reminder about a Way COOL event in PA.

Hey, all! 12-2pm Saturday, February 7th, Christopher Hopper and I will appear at Scranton’s own Banshee Pub for an ALL AGES Dramatic Reading, Swordfighting, Booksigning, and Discussion. So if you know anyone in the great state of Pennsylvania who might be into Fantasy books, please spread the word and tell 'em to come out and meet us!



In days of yore, traveling Bards entertained audiences with tales of faraway lands and feats of derring do. Return to yesteryear as two award-winning authors and entertainers come to lunch with patrons of the Banshee Pub at 320 Penn Avenue. Fresh off a 10-city Tour of the West Coast, authors Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper will appear in full medieval costume to entertain Banshee customers of all ages with dramatic readings from their books, swordplay, and perhaps a song or two.


For Fans of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Eragon, and Inkheart
With five young adult Bestsellers and eight published novels between them, Batson and Hopper know how to spin a tale. Families are welcome. Young and old come and trek with Batson and Hopper down a spiral stair to a subterranean labyrinth where a gigantic beast dwells. Or visit the kingdom of Dionia where great heroes train and something treacherous lurks in the shadows. Batson (Thomas Nelson Publishing) will be signing copies of his Door Within Trilogy, Isle of Swords, and Isle of Fire, and Christopher Hopper (Tsaba House Publishing) will sign copies of his Rise of the Dibor and The Lion Vrie—with perhaps a sneak preview of his soon to be released Athera’s Dawn.


For more details, email me (see sidebar) or contact The Banshee Directly:

Banshee Pub
320 Penn Ave
Scranton, PA 18503
(570) 969-4248

The Banshee: It is not good for man to be alone.

Mission accomplished. Thank you for all who prayed that this past weekend in Scranton would be everything it needed to be…for it surely was. Prior to going, I hoped it would be: relaxing, inspiring, productive, fun, faith-building, silly, and memorable. It was all of the above, and I couldn't be more thrilled with the results.

There's something about hitting the road, the adventure, maybe--something that just absolutely stokes my creative fires. The whole way there I cranked up the prog. metal CDs: Dream Theater "Images and Words" first and then a new Nightwish offering called Dark Passion Play. There's me cruising through the mountains with crunchy guitars blasting. Ah, the memories are so fun.

Pulling into Scranton, I pumped my fists and basically hooted like an idiot. I could hardly get to our room fast enough. In the end, I wrote about 2,000 words (about a chapter and a half), but also outlined ideas for tons of others to come.


Christopher Hopper (shown below) who writes A LOT faster than I do, probably polished off somewhere around 40,000. JK. Still, he was writing like a crazy man. There were so many times when one of us got stuck and the other came through with something righteously cool. And just a word or two about Christopher Hopper: he is a hero of the faith (not to be put up on a pedestal--his balance isn't very good.) But seriously, whenever I'm around him, my faith strengthens. Jesus just billows out of the guy. I've known him for two years now, and it feels like we have a twenty year history. It's a God thing.

In the late part of the evenings, when we put out the light, the strangest thing happened. I'm in my bed on one side of the room. CH in his bed on the other side. And the two of us are cracking jokes and laughing our cumulative rears off. I mean, little kids on a sleep over kind of laughter. Guffawing! Belly laughs that make you feel like you've had an ab workout. We were literally crying from laughing so hard. I can't tell you everything we laughed about, but let's just say much of the hilarity came from a certain gnome who happens to be a barrister and could use a case of Beano. Nuff said.



Between writing sprints, Sir Christopher and I frequented our favorite home away from home, the magnificent Banshee Pub. As you can see from the pictures, the place is just awesome: dark wood, black wrought iron, brick, gilded ceilings--what an inspiring place to hang. Christopher made a photo-plaque for us to sign and dedicate to the Banshee. Little did we know that the kind folks there would hang it on the wall. And there it will be for years to come. COOLNESS.



While at the Banshee, we were blessed to again be joined by the pub owners, family, and friends. See pic below (me, Chuck, Melody, Kathleen, CH). I had the blessing of being able to talk for quite a while with Chuck. He is one amazing guy. He's the distinguished older gent in the pic. But the guy runs the Ironman! I could barely run out of the pub without being out of breath, but seriously, a triathalon???

The more Chuck and I spoke, the more I was overwhelmed with the notion of how precious people are. Everyone has a story to tell if we'll listen. Chuck told me he thought sometimes of being a writer. He told me he'd worked on some short memoir kind of writings. I hope he pursues it. It's never too late.

Chuck and his family are people who value a good conversation. And I think, rightly so. You know what "pub" stands for? It stands for public house. It's a place where people can go to be around other people. Remember Cheers? Sometimes you want to go, where everybody knows your name..."

God said, "It is not good for man to be alone." Now I know He fixed that by giving Adam his beloved Eve. But it seems to me, take away all the distractions, all the noise, and what really matters? I think it's relationships. First with God, but then with people. Let this sink into your mind for a moment: what would all your accomplishments, dreams, thoughts, hopes, work, play matter if you had no one to share them with?

Relationships matter. The people in your life matter. More and more, I'm convinced and convicted that I need to cultivate all the relationships God has blessed me with. And what does it take? Time. A listening ear. A willingness to share. Is there someone you need to "hang" with a little more? Is there someone who might need to talk? Is there an old friend you've neglected for too long?

I used to be a pretty independent person. I used to do all kinds of things all by myself. It was not uncommon for me to consume 6 hours golfing all alone. Now, I wouldn't even dream of doing that. Not that we all don't need some alone time. Not at all. But still, we can sometimes get into ruts of fading out of people's lives. We become like ringwraiths, shadows not in this world fully.

We need to know others and be known. I think that's why the adolescent exclusion and teasing is such a painful thing for so many. If you're not on the inside crowd, nothing feels right with the world. If you're reading this, and you're kind of an outcast, I want you to know that Jesus LOVES you. He spent much of His time on earth "hanging" with those the "in" crowd had pushed aside or branded as "lesser." You are a treasure to God. With Him, you are truly never alone.

And something more for those who long for relationships but seem on the outside looking in: what if God allowed you to experience this so that you could reach out to others who are going through the same thing? It is not good for man to be alone. Go change that for someone else. Don't let anyone be alone. Introduce the One who can be with you forever.


To close: go ring someone's doorbell, call someone, chat, IM, email, open a door--find someone and, to quote the Banshee's wonderful sage Chuck Rogers, say, "Let's go have us a conversation."

Writer's Bootcamp 2: In Praise of Collaboration

In just a few hours, I'll be zooming off in the Batmobile to Scranton, Pennsylvania for a second annual gathering affectionately known as Writer's Bootcamp. Gathering isn't really quite the right word as it's just friend & author Christopher Hopper and me getting together. Scranton is halfway between his NY home and mine in MD, so we meet there once a year to brainstorm fiction, fellowship, and be generally silly. But I can tell you it is a MOST rewarding time.


There is nothing better than having a friend you can totally trust, unless, of course, it's a friend you can totally trust who happens to share your exact passion for writing {oh, and for Monty Python, as well}. We figure, it worked for Tolkien, Lewis, and the rest of the Inklings, why not try it.

We'll sit in a hotel room, both laptops humming, and we'll be furiously pecking away at the keys. I'll be working on a new fantasy series, and CH will be working on Book 3 of his White Lion Chronicles. But during the entire time, we bounce ideas off of each other--"Bah, I need a name for this hero type character!" "Arrrghhh, I've written myself into a corner. How can I get this character out of this?" --OR-- "EEEP, read this and tell me what you think!"

It is remarkably profitable time on more levels than I can fully explain. And in between writing jaunts, we head over to the Green Dragon, er, the Bird and Baby, uhm, actually, we go to our favorite Public House, The Banshee!! And guess what we do there (besides food and beverage)?? We talk about stories.

Tolkien and Lewis knew what they were doing.

Go figure.

More this weekend.