Pets by Diane Burton

Do you have a pet? Have you ever had one? Growing up, I always wanted a dog. With seven kids, the last thing my mom wanted was something else to look after. Dad bought a pure-bred boxer puppy. Dumb as a post. And a runner. Whatever dog food she ate came right back up. Just what Mom wanted to do—clean up puke. One day, the dog ran off. At least, that’s what Mom said. I hope she found a good home.

As an adult, I still wanted a dog. We’ve had three. One was a cuddler, the next a runner. You can’t imagine the number of times I chased after him around the neighborhood. The last was the most well-behaved. A sweet dog who originally belonged to our son. Right now, we’re between dogs. And I miss the sound of nails on wood floor as our pet raced to the door to greet me.

In two of my science fiction series, I worked in dog-like pets. Did they resemble dogs here on Earth? Sure. Why not? One belonged to an elderly character (The Chameleon) that helped track a kidnapped victim. In my first sci-fi romance (Switched), the caninus belonged to the hero’s uncle. If I were a cat-lover, I imagine I would include a feline in my stories.

There are two reasons I thought of pets. My son and his family just adopted a Great Dane puppy. He is so cute . . . and growing like crazy every week. The other reason is the latest Pets in Space anthology (number 4). I love this series. In this new release, the pets in each story (by 13 authors) have special qualities. One is a little dog-like character who reminded me of my sister’s dog. Another is a snake, and there’s even a burrowing animal that saved a crashed starship crew from starving.

I haven’t finished the book yet. So many terrific stories—each about the length of a novella. Cassandra Chandler was on my blog last Wednesday and shared a bit about each of the stories. She will be here next Tuesday to share more about this book. Then on November 2^nd, our friend and former contributor Veronica Scott will tell us even more. 

I have no monkey in that circus. I just liked the series and wanted you to know about it.

Have fun reading, no matter what you enjoy.

Do you include pets in your stories?

Traditions in World Building by Diane Burton

We take for granted holiday traditions in our lives. Thanksgiving, for most of us, means turkey with myriad accompaniments followed by tryptophan coma and football. The accompaniments are dictated by regional preferences and family expectations. At our house, I always made a sage dressing the way my mom did. Despite Hubs’ dislike for sweet potatoes, I made Mom’s version of candied sweet potatoes by drizzling maple syrup over canned yams, dot with butter, and bake. Never mind Aunt Cora and I were the only ones to eat it. LOL Now that my daughter has taken over hosting family Thanksgiving dinner, she combines our food traditions with her husband’s. He cooks the turkey with his family’s stuffing recipe, and she makes Grandma Burton’s cranberry salad. But one thing never changes—both daughter and her husband and Hubs and I celebrate our wedding anniversaries. We followed in my mother and grandmother’s tradition of being married on Thanksgiving Day.

In my science fiction romances, I lightly explore traditions on planets far, far away. On Traish, one of the Central Planets in my Outer Rim series, the inhabitants revere the First Mother. Matriarch’s Day, celebrates First Mother and all mothers. When Traishans, like other explorers from the Central Planets, left their homes for the Outer Rim, they brought religious and secular traditions with them. But with so many differing customs, the Rim became a melting pot (sound familiar?) and an amalgamation of traditions. Even inventing new ones.

World building can be a fun exercise prior to writing a story. Or, as the story develops, the need for certain aspects of culture arises. I don’t plan my stories too far ahead. I’m sort of a combination plotter and pantser, heavy on the latter. When I start a new story, I have the beginning already in my mind. I know the ending (usually) and a couple of key plot points. If I had to plot out the whole story, I’d lose interest, because I’d already “told” the story. Besides, I love seeing how my characters will direct the story.

Because I like writing a series, I need to keep track of all the details, which I do in a separate file entitled “details.” Real original, huh? As I write, it will occur to me to question why the characters do or say certain things. Was that a remnant from the culture of their home planet or one cultivated in the new environment? Then I add that to the details file—so I remember for the next story.

Why go to all this trouble with customs and traditions? Because they make the story richer. Because readers can identify with strangeness if it’s similar enough to their own lives.

What stories have you read that take place in another world and made you think how similar it was to your own life?

Diane Burton writes science fiction romance, romantic suspense, and cozy mysteries. Whether they take place in this world or in space, she combines adventure, romance, and humor in all her stories.

Fathers

Parents, especially fathers, can have a profound impact on our characters. Revealing how our characters were raised helps readers understand their goals and motivations. Sometimes, a character can act just like their parent or the exact opposite. Since my Outer Rim series is about strong women on the frontier of space, my main concern is the impact of the mothers and fathers on the female characters.

In The Pilot, Celara’s father was a drunk and a cheat. At an early age, she was left to fend for herself and her younger brother. Responsibility and honesty—opposites of her father’s behavior—became important to her. She won’t take the easy way out. When she’s accused of smuggling, it’s worse than just a false accusation, it’s like a knife to her heart. Her brother, on the other hand, took the easy route and followed in their father’s footsteps.

 Jileena, in The Chameleon, was “Daddy’s Little Girl.” She tried to please him, but always felt like she fell short. Proving that she could run his company spurs her on. When he offers her the chance to prove herself, she’s so afraid of failing she takes dangerous risks.

In The Protector, Rissa’s preacher father abandoned her at a wild, unnamed outpost, pregnant and unmarried. Her mother had left years before. Rissa vowed to always be there for her child. Losing her baby to traffickers sends her into a deep depression. Only her inner strength pulls her through and gives her the courage to protect other children from slavers.

It’s not just the women who have to fight their fathers. Jileena’s brother, Konner, refused to be their father’s clone. When he was presumed dead, he found the perfect opportunity to be his own person and live the life he wanted.

Dillan, in The Protector, struggled against his father who had planned Dillan’s life—to follow in his footsteps. Dillan’s rebellion made him take unnecessary risks until the day his best friend, Konner, died. Feeling responsible, he was determined to change, to be a responsible adult, what his father wanted him to be. But legally exploiting landowners makes him sick. He must break away to save his soul.

On the other hand, some fathers are worth emulating. In my PI mystery series, Alex wants to be just like her dad. When he retires and leaves her his investigation agency, she’s determined to prove she’s as good an investigator as he was—if not better.

Today is Launch Day for the second Alex O’Hara mystery, The Case of the Fabulous Fiance. To learn more, visit my blog. http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/2015/12/launch-day-case-of-fabulous-fiance.html

Holidays

Recently, we’ve celebrated three holidays—Columbus Day, Halloween, and Veterans Day—and Thanksgiving is upcoming, unless you’re in Canada and have already celebrated that holiday. That got me thinking about holidays the characters in our books celebrate. And that’s a part of world-building.

If you have a fantasy world and/or a futuristic one, have you given holidays a thought? Do the people worship a deity? Is a day of the week set aside for worship? What about honoring explorers or the original settlers of the planet or territory? Annual celebrations?

Did the explorers bring their religion and celebrations with them from their former homes? Do they worship a single deity or multiple ones? Your story, your world.

In Switched Resolution (the 3^rd book in my Switched series), an annual celebration honors the Intrepid Ones—those stalwart souls who left their dying home planet and settled on Serenia, so named because it was their hope for their new planet.

In The Chameleon (2^nd book in my Outer Rim series), the people on the hero’s planet honor a female deity they call The Matriarch. One day a week is set aside to honor her.

As you write your stories, keep celebrations in mind. 

Diane Burton writes romantic adventure . . . stories that take place on Earth and beyond. She blogs here on the 13th of each month and on Mondays on her own site: http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/

For more info on her books, visit her Amazon Author Page.

World Building - Daily Life

I’m continuing my mini-series on world building. Like my books, I didn’t plan a series. It just sort of happened.

Let’s concentrate on daily life. Think about your own. What do you do each day? Your routines. Now think about the world in your story. What routines does your main character go through first thing in the morning?

Not to be indelicate, but where do they go to the toilet? An outhouse, a garderobe, a fancy en suite bathroom?

Next think about clothes. Everyday wear along with special event clothing. The character’s job would impact his/her attire. In my science fiction romance The Chameleon, Jileena wears frilly, floaty dresses that make her seem inconsequential, a real bubble-head—the image her father wants her to project as his spy. Away from his influence, her clothing reflects her serious side, precisely the image she wants the hero to see. As she changes, so do her clothes. In my WIP, The Protector, my heroine owns a tavern in an old-west style colony on the Outer Rim. She wears what’s common out on the frontier, unisex rugged shirt and trousers, sturdy shoes.

What does your character call meals? Breakfast, lunch, dinner? Second breakfast? Tea? What about food? If your story takes place on Earth, the foods would probably have names the reader is familiar with. In her St. Helen’s series (Amaryllis, Orchid, Zinnia), Jayne Castle’s inhabitants’ ancestors originally came from Earth. She combines the names of Earth-based foods to approximate the taste of native foods, like pear-berry pie.

But what if your story takes place in a completely alien environment? Using made-up names alone can confuse readers unless you give them clues. For example, mashed plantens or scrambled spherix eggs. You could have your character slicing enfils and selba then arranging the crisp vegetables on a plate as I did in The Chameleon.

Occupation. Does your character leave home for work or work from home? How does he get to work? Public transportation or private vehicle? Or is he so wealthy he doesn’t need to work? If so, what does he do all day? Play sports, cards, hang out with friends?

I’ve read that writers build their world in basically two ways: top down or bottom up. I tend to do the latter. Since I’m a pantser (as opposed to someone who plots first), I build my world as I need it—usually by asking myself why. As my characters develop and the story progresses, my world starts to evolve. Writers who plot first have all their ducks in a row before beginning to write. That is, they imagine the big picture first then narrow down the focus to the character. Whichever type of writer you are sort of determines how you will build your world.

As always, you know much more than the reader needs to. You can (probably should) have tons of notes on how everything in your world works—especially if your story turns into a series. I have a separate file on all the details of my world. If I didn’t, I’d forget those pesky little details. When I learn how to use Scrivener, I’m sure keeping details handy will be much easier.

Here are a couple of sites with a lot more information on world building. The first one is courtesy of author Greta van der Rol. http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-to-build-a-fictional-world-kate-messner This is a great, little (6.25 minutes) video.

The next one is courtesy of my critique partner Jolana Malkston who found it when I couldn’t. http://www.sfwa.org/2009/08/fantasy-worldbuilding-questions/

Have fun in your world. If you do, I’ll bet your readers will enjoy it, too.

Diane Burton writes science fiction romance. She's currently working on the third book in her Outer Rim series, The Protector.