Writers in the Storm

by Piper Bayard

One of the most common elements of fiction writing is some type of faction vs. faction conflict, whether we are writing about a change of regime in a local PTA, a kingdom, a modern republic, or interstellar empires. The writers who nail this type of conflict are the ones who understand the questions that impact regime changes of all kinds and the tools that achieve those changes. Today, we will look at the big questions that must be addressed with a coup, whether fictional or real. In our next article, Part II, we will dive into specific tools that both countries and fiction writers can bring into play when dealing with state vs. state/faction vs. faction conflict.

Who Wants to Throw a Coup and Why?

Governments exist to protect the interests of a dominant social group. This is true whether we are talking about an HOA board or the government of a large and vital nation. Foreign countries support governments of other nations that have aligning interests. Foreign countries also often subvert the governments of other countries when those governments have interests that do not align with their own. People and nations want coups when they are seeking some kind of radical change in support of their own interests.

Coups are nothing new. For example, there are cuneiform records of Assyria’s Sargon II invading the kingdom of Manna in the late 8^th century BC and placing a puppet king on the throne. In response, the king of Assyria’s main enemy, Urartu, sent instigators to Manna to create civil unrest and support for a king that would be more favorable to Urartu. Many modern-day equivalents can be found in the Cold War.

Bottom Line: Coups happen all around us, all the time, from our local organizations to the leaders and governments of countries.

An Important Point About Throwing Coups

Successful coups are not just about deposing a leader. Whether they be against PTA presidents, HOA boards, state dictators, or administrations, coups are only worthwhile if there is someone or something better to take over. That’s because if a government is deposed without a rapid, organized replacement, a power vacuum is left behind, and chaos will fill it.

If our characters are like Littlefinger from Game of Thrones, and they see chaos as a ladder, power vacuums are just the ticket for our stories. Most of the time, however, that is not the case. That means that our protagonists can’t just be against the leader of the status quo, they must be for someone or a government that has something better to offer. Otherwise, the tyrant is overthrown, and our characters are left in a “what next” state that will inevitably devolve into chaos.

One great fictional example of an overthrow without a viable replacement is in the series 3% out of Brazil. Spoiler alert: I’m going to be pointing to the end of the series.

In 3%, we see a society where 3% of the people live well while the other 97% live in abject poverty and misery. At the end, a small group destroys the 3%. Then, rather than replace the rulers with a viable government, the resistance leaders call a big meeting and say that all of the citizens will decide everything together. . . . Right. . . . Because no one needs to go home and cook dinner tonight instead of learning what a sewer system is and what’s necessary to keep it working. That arrangement is neither a functional replacement government, nor is it a satisfying ending to a story.

Bottom Line:  A successful coup, whether getting rid of a tyrannical HOA board or a Fidel Castro, is not just about what our insurrectionists resist, it is about what our revolutionaries support.

What size is the organization or country?

Is this a small organization or country, or is it a large one? That is critical to what tools are used to achieve the coup and how long it will take to do so.

Small, Local Groups

I’m going to keep picking on the PTA because it is representative of pretty much any small group with a small administration, whether it be a dance club, a pottery studio, or . . . a PTA. The process of a coup in an organization is a microcosm of what happens with country coups.

Like small countries, coups within groups tend to be rather rapid because everyone knows everyone, everyone is familiar with the resources, and opposition is usually between cliques of would-be leaders. For example, PTA President Tiffany and her cronies, who want to spend all of the money on a carnival, might face opposition from prominent parent Madison and her cronies, who want to spend the money on STEM tutors for the kids.

The biggest differences between a PTA ouster and the overthrow of a small country dictator is that generally no assassinations or foreign countries are involved with the PTA, and propaganda campaigns tend to take the form of gossip and social media rather than coordinated print and mainstream media.

Bottom Line: Local group ousters can be as hostile as the overthrow of dictators, employing many of the same tools and driving divisions just as deep, but they are almost never as violent. Then again, it could make an interesting read if they were. Just saying.

Small Country Coups

Small, stable countries with low corruption, such as Iceland, are not especially vulnerable to coups. On the other hand, small, unstable countries with a high corruption index are quite vulnerable to coups. That’s because corrupt leaders are open to influencers, both internal and external. Also, where there is more instability and corruption, there is less loyalty, and, therefore, populations are less likely to resist coups.

That said, popularity of a dictator is just one factor, and there are some exceptions. For example, North Korea is not as susceptible to a coup even though Kim Jong Un is brutal to the North Korean people. In his case, he has also been extremely successful at indoctrination, and that is critical to his maintaining control.

Small countries tend to have more rapid coups because those with power and resources all know each other, and they are often, though not always, related by blood and/or marriage. They know who owns which politicians, who owns which political parties, who is tight with the banks, who is tight with the corporations, etc. The moving parts are known quantities. Think of coups in vulnerable small countries as extended, frequently violent family feuds.

To keep a small country coup realistic and successful, the deposers must kill the deposed leader. Deposed leaders in small countries are generally executed during a coup in order to put any conflict over who should be in charge to rest immediately.

If the deposers are smart, the deposed leader is dead before they notify any foreign allied countries of the coup. That’s because, while many allied governments are secretly thrilled when the dirty work gets done without their fingerprints on it, they will feel obligated to publicly refuse support for a new regime committing an after-coup execution.

For what it’s worth, many citizens of smaller countries actually expect deposed leaders to be executed. For example, when Piper’s law professor was at a bougie cocktail party in Costa Rica when Nixon stepped down, and one prominent guest asked the professor when Nixon would be executed. The guest was quite surprised to be told that is not the American way of doing things, and that ex-presidents, including Nixon, simply retire to estates in sunny locations and get book deals.

If we have a publisher that rejects stories where the good guys actually kill anyone, which seems to be the popular trend, it is also viable for the deposed leader to escape to voluntary exile. We’ll take a look at a delightful story about a Soviet-backed Central American dictator who jumped ship to voluntary exile during the Cold War in Part II.

Bottom Line: For a coup in a small country, that country must be unstable with corrupt leaders. What we don’t want in our books or in real life is for the deposers in small countries to take the deposed dictator prisoner, as then they are stuck with the sticky wicket of either keeping the former dictator alive while their supporters are scheming to set them free and back on the “throne,” or killing the deposed to the public displeasure of the world and being labeled a murderous, illegitimate regime.

Large Country Coups

A coup in a larger country can take months to decades of groundwork, depending on the foreign interests involved. That’s because there are more players and more pieces to coordinate. This groundwork will include everything from purchasing politicians and prosecutors, to long-term propaganda campaigns, to instigating prolonged chaos that climaxes with a heavily influenced election. We’ll take a closer look at these groundwork tools in Part II.

Regimes with communist traditions, such as Russia and China, play the long game and are patient enough for decades of investment in coups. Western countries, on the other hand, tend to fluctuate more in their politics and not be as sustained in their efforts at influencing foreign countries.

Deposed leaders of larger countries might be executed or exiled, depending on the nation and whatever foreign nations are backing the deposer. However, these days, the deposed are likely to be defeated in a heavily influenced election and then relentlessly discredited through long-term propaganda and criminal and civil lawsuits. They may even eventually be jailed. Gradually, they slip from the public view, and they are only remembered by the new regime’s version of them and their deeds, while much of the population remains unaware that a coup has taken place at all.

Bottom Line: Successful coups in larger countries require more groundwork and coordination, and the deposed leaders are not necessarily executed.

What factional conflicts do you have in your stories? What questions do you have about coups?

About Piper

Piper Bayard and Jay Holmes of Bayard & Holmes are the authors of espionage tomes and international spy thrillers. Please visit Piper and Jay at their site, BayardandHolmes.com. For notices of their upcoming releases, subscribe to the Bayard & Holmes Covert Briefing. You can also contact Bayard & Holmes at their Contact page, on Twitter at @piperbayard, on Facebook at Piper Bayard, or at their email, BayardandHolmes@protonmail.com.

*All pics are purchased from Canstock with clear copyright.

ALL BAYARD & HOLMES PAPERBACKS ON SALE!

Though crafted with advice and specific tips for writers, SPYCRAFT: Essentials is for anyone who wants to learn more about the inner workings of the Shadow World.

“For any author, this is the new bible for crafting stories of espionage.”

~ James Rollins, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Demon Crown

by Stefan Emunds

Note: To avoid confusing readers, the author of these articles avoided the alternation of she and her and he and him. Instead, he uses the nonexclusive she and her to mean writer and reader.

This is the sixth and last article of the article series The Yin and Yang Relationship Between Psychology and Storytelling. The first article is about reader investment and reader engagement. The second article explains how to create story experiences that feel real to life. The third article shows how to tap into your readers' subconsciousness and engage them in your story. The fourth article dives into characters’ goals, motivations, wants, needs, and objects of desires. The fifth article covers psychological engineering, aka characterization.

This article has a closer look at the writer’s block, which can haunt writers in different shapes and forms.

A Shapeshifting Block

The writer’s block can appear in different shapes and forms. Often, it feels like a wall that blocks the author’s creative pursuit. That’s where it got its name from. But it is also the void of a blank page that grins at the author. Or a cul-de-sac — when an author wrote herself into a tight corner. Or a scarecrow.

This article covers the following shapes of writer’s block:

• Lack of inspiration
• The resistance of the writing crafts
• Lack of energy
• Inner demons
• Distractions

A) How to Deal with a Lack of Inspiration

Does the Muse sometimes ignore your pleas for inspiration? First thing: Don’t panic. Sometimes, the Muse plays hard to get.

The thing is, we can’t hunt down inspirations. It’s a fishing business. So, cast your creative fishing rod into the deep sea of your mind, sit back, relax, have a tea, and wait.

Cultivating the Muse

Inspirations like to appear at odd times, e.g., during a walk or under the shower. That’s because our mind relaxes at such times, our thoughts calm down, and the Muse has a chance to voice herself.

Did you know that the ancient Greek worshipped nine Muses? The most famous Muse is Calliope, the oldest and wisest. She presides over eloquence and epic poetry. She is the Muse of the eighth writing craft: Prose.

On Mount Helicon in Boeotia, the Greek worshiped three Muses: Melete (meditation), Mneme (memory) and Aoede (lyrics).

We need to relax and wait for inspirations, but there are a few helpful fishing techniques. Inspirations come more frequently, if we write every day, read and research, go for a walk, and meditate.

Finding Ways to Meditate

The common purpose of meditation is to fish for spiritual revelations, but we can use it for writing too.

Here is the formula for creative meditation:

Creative meditation = relaxation + focus + receptivity.

Simultaneous focus on a writing task and receptivity to the Muse is a skill. Why don’t you try this out? Sit comfortably, relax, breathe deeply, and close your eyes. Focus on your writing task at hand and ask the Muse to inspire you.

The more poignant the focus, the better. A question is a poignant focus, like What hook should I put at the end of this chapter?

The longer you work with Melete and practice creative meditation, the easier and more frequent ideas will come to you. A great time to fish for inspirations is the morning — between waking up and breakfast.

Other Ways to Get to a Meditative State of Mind

Walking can put the mind into a semi-meditative state, but depending on the environment, it may be difficult to focus on a particular question. In this case, it’s easier to just let thoughts and images stream in. Bring a smartphone to make notes, inspirations can be as fleeting as dreams.

Try this too: Write for thirty minutes and walk up and down your office. Your mind will continue to come up with ideas, images, and thoughts related to your writing session.

Reading and research can open the mind to inspirations too. That’s where the Muse Mneme (memory) comes in.

Last but not least, writing every day appeals to the Muse. Steven Pressfield said, “This is the other secret that real artists know and wannabe writers don’t. When we sit down each day and do our work, power concentrates around us. The Muse takes note of our dedication. She approves. We have earned favor in her sight. When we sit down and work, we become like a magnetized rod that attracts iron filings. Ideas come. Insights accrete.”

Do you want to try out a meditation that gets you into the writing flow? Check out this YouTube video.

B) How to Deal With the Resistance of the Writing Crafts

We just dealt with the creative block, now we deal with the craft block.

Crafting is not creativity, crafting is formation. Musicians are craftsmen, composer are creators. Only composers bring something new into this world.

You’re both a creator (an author) and a craftsman (a writer).

Crafting is tedious, for example, outlining a story, designing a climax, profiling a character, and inventing a magic system. If you struggle with a particular writing craft, why don’t you practice that craft? Read how-to books, take courses, and plough through novels that excel at the writing craft you wish to hone.

Part of crafting is to make decisions, e.g., what genre and narrative frame to choose. We don’t like to make decisions. Decisions make us accountable. But unmade decisions can turn into writing blocks. Take your time to make decisions, but make them.

Advanced writer tip: When you struggle to craft a scene, change irrelevant items, such as the setting, the time, the location, or the weather. Or add a character and see if she adds conflict or other dynamics.

C) Why Authors Need to be Physically and Mentally Fit

The mind is a muscle. Writing is a muscle.

• We build muscles through habitual actions. For instance, we build up biceps by lifting weights.
• Habits are fly wheels. Once established, they get a life on their own. That’s why many writers swear by writing a set number of hours a day at the same time.
• The eyes and the visual cortex are the writer's Achilles’ heel. We use them for many things, to write, read, watch TV, and do other activities that require the visual sense. What about unburdening your eyes? For instance, you can use a text-to-speech app to read a text to you, rather than reading it yourself.  

The Importance of a Healthy Mind-Body Connection

Mens sana in corpore sano. — A Roman saying

This saying means healthy mind in a healthy body. It does not imply a causality. Mind and body have their own energies, and we need to keep them fit on their own terms.

We all know how to keep our bodies fit, but what about our minds? Meditation takes the mind to the gym, in particular, focus meditation.

Writing is a marathon, not a sprint. We need to treat our minds like professional marathon runners treat their bodies.

And we need to give our minds time to relax and regenerate. Five to ten-minute mindful meditations scattered throughout the day work wonders.

D) The Writers’ Inner Demons

Emotions can block writers. Fear is the most common blocker, the fear of failure, the fear of critique, and, the worst of all: the fear of mediocrity.

Tips for Reading Reviews

To overcome the fear of critique, we better grow a thick skin and/or avoid reading reviews.

What about finding friendly reviewers? They will point out your manuscript’s weaknesses without putting you down. You can get such hedged feedbackfrom other writers, beta readers, and editors.

Tips for Your Inner Critic

Do you have that critical voice in your head, which is in the business of belittling you? Many writers suffer from that inner demon. And according to famous writers, success doesn’t silence that jerk.

Confidence defeats the critical voice. We gain confidence through accomplishments. Why don’t you become a hunter and gatherer of accomplishments? Every accomplishment, however small — like completing a scene — grows confidence and pacifies that critical voice.

E) Distractions

The enemies of the Muses are the Sirens. Sirens are humanlike beings with charming voices, who lure travelers into their deaths.

The sirens of writers are distractions, which they encounter on the long journeys of their minds. A writer’s death is procrastination.

Mind distraction is the opposite of focus, which we gain through the practice of creating meditation. Practicing creative meditation keeps the Sirens away. 

The Eight Crafts of Writing

This article is written with the eight writing crafts in mind. The eight writing crafts are:

• Big Idea (aka theme)
• Genre
• Narrative
• Story Outline (aka plotting)
• Characterization
• World Building
• Scene Structure
• Prose (aka line-by-line writing)

I hope you enjoyed this article about the shapeshifting writer’s block. Please share the ways and shapes that describe how writer’s block appeared to you?

About Stephan

Stefan Emunds is the author of The Eight Crafts of Writing. He writes inspirational non-fiction and visionary fiction stories and runs an online inspiration and enlightenment workshop. Stefan was born in Germany and enjoyed two years backpacking in Australia, New Zealand, and South-East Asia in his early twenties. Prior to becoming a writer, he worked as a business development manager in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. At the moment, he lives with his son in the Philippines.

by Laura Vanarendonk Baugh

Two publishing roads diverge in an industry wood and…you can take either one. Or both. Or a third road that circles around and intersects repeatedly.

So often people worry about which way to publish, whether traditionally (submit to a publishing house which first pays you for your work and then pays to publish it for a greater share of the profits), or independently (publish at your own effort and expense, and reap the whole profit). Here’s the thing: You don’t need to stress so hard about this Life And Career Decision, because it’s not a Life And Career Decision. You do not make a single choice and then get locked into it. You can change your mind. Or do many things at once.

I thought today I’d walk through some of the many ways these separate paths intersect for me, to illustrate how you too can move between them.

side note:

Writers usually won't switch publishing methods for a single title. Despite common misconception, once you’ve self-published a book, you’re probably not able to sell that same book to a traditional publisher. Exceptions exist, but they are outliers with exceptional situations. But you might sell your next book to a traditional publisher.

Example One: Short Stories

Very generally, I sell short stories traditionally and publish novels independently. The short stories help new readers to discover me, and then they—or publishers—can follow my name back to other work. Readers who like my work will also buy anthologies I’m in, benefiting those publishers and helping other writers to be discovered.

Everybody wins.

Currently, I am simultaneously walking both the traditional and independent paths.

Example Two: Publishing Various Book Editions

I self-published a book which did quite well. I knew I needed an audio edition, but I had not allotted the time to organize that project and get it done. A publisher contacted me to ask about purchasing audio rights, which I decided to sell.

Now I publish the paperback and ebook editions, and the publisher publishes the audio edition. I have earned out my advance and am now earning royalties on audio sales.

The downside is, I could have earned more in total if I had self-published the audiobook as well. The upside is, I didn’t have to put time, money, and other resources into publishing the audiobook, and I got an advance—and sometimes, or for some people, money up front is more valuable than royalties in the future.

Example Three: Diversifying Your Selling Platforms

I sell some work traditionally. I self-publish some work to retailer platforms. Some work I self-publish only directly to readers.

At this time, I am experimenting with selling exclusive content directly to readers. I do this on my website and on Patreon. The disadvantage is increased difficulty for discoverability; the advantage is profit with no middleman taking a cut.

Is this a viable option long term? I don’t know! And I’m certainly not going 100% that route. But walking many publishing paths, I have the freedom to experiment and find out how it might be useful.

Example Four:

My self-published work has led to inquiries and invitations from traditional publishers. Getting more work out into the market lets them see the quality of my work better than a query, and they contacted me, not the other way around. Some of these went nowhere, some are still in progress, and some have already resulted in payments, token rates to pro rates. Self-publishing does not inherently reduce your chances of selling traditionally.

Side Note:

Beware of “we saw your work and we’re interested” scams and vanity press sweeps, both of which are unfortunately common. Legitimate publishers offer money before publication, full stop. And no legitimate publishers make offers to authors who don’t yet have a verifiable track record, but scammers and vanity presses love to prey on aspiring authors too eager to be cautious. Be cautious.

The Benefits of Blending Your Publishing Platforms

Because I have experience in multiple publishing areas, I have some additional advantages as a career writer.

The first is knowing what I am capable of, business-wise. Once, a traditional publishing house showed interest in my work, but when I checked out the house and their other projects, I saw that I could do better with covers and marketing. I will not sign away profit unless they’re going to do more for my book’s success than I can (that is the publisher’s whole job, to publish and sell).

Another time, my research and questions indicated that a small publisher’s sales goals were about 300 copies. I know that on my own I can sell more than 300 copies, so again, I knew to decline this offer.

Side note:

To be clear, a small press might be a great option for a writer with less publishing skill or interest, or with more modest sales goals, and both of those situations are fine. This post is all about finding the right options for you.

Self-publishing experience gives me better business savvy when working with traditional publishers. I now have experience with rights, periods of exclusivity, etc., plus editors like me because I turn in clean manuscripts ready for easy layout! Traditional publishing experience gives me street cred (“oh, she’s REALLY published” /eye roll/) in places where that matters. Traditionally published work may be eligible for more awards or other recognition.

I have an informal offer from a publisher for a story I have not yet written, based on other work I have written. If I write that (not yet committed!), I will be in a better place for negotiations, because the acquiring editor who asked knows I am successfully self-publishing and I won’t be desperate for just any old contract.

The more you do, the more you know, and the more options you have.

Disadvantages and Warnings

The only path that merits a warning sign is vanity publishing. In vanity publishing, the writer pays a company to publish a book, sometimes after a nominal “submission” process. The company profits off the writer, not off book sales, so the product is often subpar and is rarely, despite gilded promises, marketed outside of “will appear in our exclusive listings available to thousands online!!!”

This path rarely intersects with another path. This path has an expensive toll gate at the trailhead and runs only uphill. At the end, there’s no scenic vista, no connections to other paths, and frequently another toll gate to get out.

Outside of vanity publishing, you have a lot of options and flexibility. However, be aware that success is more beneficial than failure. Sounds obvious, right? but it merits repeating.

Professionalism

Professional work and professional effort are required on all professional paths. A writer who has successfully self-published and sold well will have an advantage when approaching a traditional publisher, but one who sold poorly will have no advantage or may even have a disadvantage. It may be better not to self-publish than to do it sloppily if you intend to approach traditional publishing houses in the future.

Quality Work

The attractive danger lies in self-publishing work that cannot sell. Self-publishing is not for dumping material that couldn’t make it elsewhere. Obviously there are exceptions, such as highly niche projects—I help to publish local histories that would never be sustainable on the general market but make sense for a small local audience. Don’t nitpick at exceptions; you know what I mean here! Be cautious and assess your reasons for self-publishing which should be related to business preferences, not rejection letters, so that your best work is out there representing you.

Find Your Path

Know yourself! If you are a driven go-getter who loves handling details and crunching numbers, and you also know your weaknesses and how to get skilled professional help to cover them, then go hit self-publishing hard. If you cringe at the idea of organizing many moving parts (and paying for the privilege), then good news, a traditional publisher will do that for you! The payment for their professional work comes out of the profits.

Final Thoughts

Both traditional and self-publishing are valid choices, and you can change your mind as you gain experience and perspective. I spoke with a writer who had previously self-published and realized she loved the final product but absolutely hated the process of contracting and organizing and paying, so we talked about how she can best bring her next project to a traditional house for consideration. Make the business decision that will give you the best business success, even if that is knowing you personally want someone else to handle a lot of the business!

The question is not whether you want to be a self-published author or a traditionally published author. The question is which is the more practical and beneficial route for this particular project, with an eye on your long-term goals as well.

Happy writing!

Discussion: Does the thought of business tasks for your writing excite you or fill you with dread? Have you considered which venue of publishing might be better for reaching your target audience?

About Laura

Laura VanArendonk Baugh writes fantasy of many flavors as well as non-fiction. She has summited extinct, dormant, and active volcanoes, but none has yet accepted her sacrifice. She lives in Indiana where she enjoys Dobermans, travel, fair-trade chocolate, and making her imaginary friends fight one another for her own amusement. Find her award-winning work at http://LauraVAB.com.