Because Ab told me I’m lazy….

Lol, just messing!

Am still writing The Package, and its in full swing now, although I’m not sure it’s going to be a very long one!  Anyway, whilst I’m doing that, you lot can read a guest post I did over at The Founding Fields about self-publishing, my inspirations, that sort of thing!  If not, here’s the link for the article itself: http://thefoundingfields.com/2011/09/john-c-scott-author-guest-blog-post/

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Hey guys!

I would imagine most of you (besides the Commissar and Bane) haven’t heard of me, but I’m a writer. Or at least, that’s what I want to be when I grow up; the fact that I’m twenty-six already has nothing to do with that, of course… nor the fact that my day job is as an industrial chef, making literally tonnes of sauces and other components for Sainsbury’s’ ready meals (for all you Brits reading this).

Anyways, I thought I’d share my thought processes on writing, or at least what I’ve learnt. I’m not just talking about specific structures and whatnot, but fiction writing in general (whether it’s short stories, novellas, full novels, or an entire series).

I started writing when I was thirteen during an Air Training Corps camp. I was absolutely obsessed with Star Trek at the time, and I had just seen Insurrection in the cinema for my thirteenth birthday! I wanted to see a whole new crew, and a new ship, with new enemies. But there was no chance of that happening at the time, so I wrote one. Admittedly, it was so badly written that my current stuff looks like Dan Abnett’s work in comparison! Gotta start somewhere though, right?

Most of my work between then and now has been fan fiction, including a dozen reboots of a failed Star Trek series, a Star Wars story set a few years after the Knights of the Old Republic II game, and an Imperial Guard Catachan series that featured me and my friends as the characters. Oh, there were also several attempts at writing a Stargate spin-off novel series recently as well, lol!

But, April 2006, I was in London to watch my dad run the London Marathon (he did it in just over 5 hours –I was dead proud), and during the evening I went on the Underground train system. Whilst on one of the platforms, myself and the rest of the passengers were asked to leave because of a suspicious package found at one end. And it got me thinking: what would it be like if something sci-fi-y happened? What kind of people would be caught up in it all? What kind of person would lead them to safety?

And thus, Adam Logan Caine was born!

I grew up around the military, and more specifically, the Royal Marine Commandos at RMB Chivenor in North Devon. Thus, Caine became a Royal Marine.

Writing-wise, I didn’t plan anything for The Legend of Adam Caine (literally), beyond some brainstorming notes on a TESCO refill pad. What? I was young, and hadn’t had much experience with writing… so sue me. Actually don’t, because I don’t have any money!

Planning, it turns out, is actually important, as I’ve discovered with the sequel “Ghosts of Earth”, and my other current project, “Recon One-Five”, set in the same universe. More on that in a bit. Planning can be anything: notes on a writing pad, on a computer, anything. Essentially, the story needs to be planned out, so you know where you are going, and remember where you’ve been. For example, this entry has not been planned out at all, and it sucks because of that (see what I did there?). It boils down to knowing what is happening in your story, and what is going to happen, so you can keep track of it. If you’re like me, and the day job is exhausting, and you don’t touch your story for a while, you tend to lose track of where you are. With “Ghosts of Earth”, I typed out a small description of every individual chapter. This gave me the option of not doing the chapters in order, and still know what needed to be done!

Naturally, planning doesn’t just cover the story, but the characters populating your world, as well as any new technology, places, environments, etc. Hence why sci-fi/fantasy authors are absolutely nuts… just ask my wife.

Just as a side note, if you’re married or with someone, your writing can be helped by a loving and supportive partner, someone who will understand why you don’t want to go to bed just yet. Or why you have to get up in the middle of the night to bang out a few pages.

Just a thought: why is a raven like a writing desk? Seriously, I don’t know, and it’s been bugging me!

Inspiration is a tricky one, because all sorts of things can influence your story: from a conversation you overheard on the street, to something you saw on television.

As for me, well, here are mine for The Legend of Adam Caine:

Batman Begins -My favourite movie ever! Batman’s psyche is explored in depth, with the idea of Bruce Wayne being obsessed with the need to bring justice to criminals in Gotham City to the point of losing himself in the monster known as The Batman. The mind-set and technology involved in him becoming the Batman, including the armour itself is a big inspiration to Adam’s thinking, as well as the unusual fighting technique that he employs.

Battlestar Galactica (2003) -The first real gritty sci-fi drama on television that introduced the idea of ambiguous heroes and even more ambiguous bad guys. Most importantly, though, it had insanely cool battles in space with “realistic” effects and camera work that gave it a news-report-feel. Oh, and Edward James Olmos as Commander/Admiral Adama was such an amazing choice!

Dan Abnett -My favourite author of all time! His writing -specifically the original three Gaunt’s Ghosts novels- was what pushed me to start writing myself! His brief but loaded descriptions and insane attention to detail combine with an astounding ability to create believable characters and situations. His action scenes are so intense that you actually feel like you’re in there with the units fighting through the streets. I love Dan Abnett!

First & Only -The first in the Gaunt’s Ghosts series of novels for Black Library! First & Only was the very first Warhammer40,000 novel I had ever read, and thus started my 14-year obsession with futuristic frontline soldiers, not to mention with the Tanith First & Only themselves. Still waiting for Salvation’s Reach Dan…

The Founding Omnibus -Contains my favourite novel of all time-Necropolis! Necropolis was like nothing I’d ever read, it was an amazing siege tale that showed every trooper on the frontline fighting for the city of Vervunhive, from the offworld troops to the locals, and the rivalry between the Tanith and the Volpone Bluebloods that’s been brewing since the beginning of the previous novel, Ghostmaker. The siege was incredibly detailed (with a nice little map for those of us who had a hard time keeping track of Dan’s placement of the action.) Necropolis also saw Gaunt finally get to show what he was worth to the upper echelons of the Guard. All told, it is an AWESOME novel and you all should read it!

Indiana Jones -One of the first films i remember watching, Indiana Jones has always been up there as one of my favourite films. I love the films because they’re not part of some huge destiny (like LukeSkywalker or Captain Kirk) of the main character; he’s just trying to get by in a supernatural world filled with ghosts, relics, snakes and Nazis. The Indy films are plain good old-fashioned fun, with no real ulterior motive. Also, Harrison Ford is absolutely awesome in the fedora and leather jacket with a wry sense of humour, and the double-life of professor of archaeology and “Obtainer of RareArtefacts”. More, his relationship with his father is hilarious!

Richard Sharpe (played by Sean Bean in the television movies) -the title character from Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe series of novels set during the Napoleonic Wars of the early nineteenth century. Sharpewas an officer raised from the ranks, something utterly unheard of in those times. Throughout the series, Sharpe is hounded by the upper class officers, despite his continuing success. As a hero, Sharpe was inspiring to someone like me, literally beating the odds to survive and thrive! Plus, Sean Bean is cool! I want that uniform of his!

Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard (played by Joe Flanigan) -Military leader on Stargate Atlantis, Sheppard is a sarcy, wisecracking special operations pilot. It is primarily his weapons and uniforms that are the inspiration behind Adam’s 21st century uniforms that keep popping up here and there! Not to mention, his uncanny ability to fly any craft he touches!

Ronon Dex (played by Jason Momoa) -Definitely the physical model for Adam Caine, not to mention the grumpy and moody temperament! His choice of clothing in Stargate Atlantis is also similar to Adam’s later on in the stories. His fighting style is similar to that of Batman’s, in that he doesn’t use any fancy flourishes or moves to kick the crap out of the enemy!

Star Trek -the movies especially, opened my eyes to science fiction in general. The final of the original six was a masterpiece, made just after the end of the cold war, it showed the conflict between the Federation and their long-time foe, the Klingons, who reach out to the Federation for help during an ecological crisis. I love the film because of the rising escalation of tensions, from Kirk’s imprisonment, to his rescue, and the subsequent events leading to the peace treaty between the two conflicting powers.

Star Wars –It introduced to me a world of both destiny-bound heroes and the regular schmucks trying to get by in a harsh universe (Luke and Han respectively). It also introduced the most amazing space battle I had ever seen at the end of the original trilogy! The entire saga is about the fall and rise of one person: Anakin Skywalker AKA Darth Vader; how he becomes a famed hero, then his turn to the dark side, and finally his redemption in the arms of his son. I just wish Lucas had got the new trilogy right, rather than try and make a spectacle! The idea of the future Core War is also inspired heavily by the Star wars novel series, New Jedi Order, where an alien menace invades the galaxy from outside.

Vindicare Assassin (Warhammer 40,000) -Most definitely the inspiration for Adam Caine’s Ghost suit, though his are green eyes! The bodyglove is based on Jes Goodwin’s Vindicare sketch from his sketchbook released by Games Workshop!

Royal Marines Commando -An elite amphibious fighting force used as a rapid reaction force, they’re one of the best frontline units in the world. The choice to make Adam Caine a Marine was an easy one since I grew up next door to RMB Chivenor, and knew dozens of kids with Marine parents. I got to know a lot of them, and they are the epitome of professionalism and strength. They are trained harder andlonger during basic training than any other ground unit in existence, and are tasked with some truly hard objectives. Hence, why Adam Caine is first and foremost a Royal Marine!

Special Boat Service (SBS) -Secretive organisation that most don’t know a lot about (including me). They specialise in water-based operations, mostly covert ops, and draw many of their recruits fromthe Royal Marine Commando Brigade they are a part of, stationed at RM Poole. Like the SAS, they use stealth and ludicrously harsh training to achieve their usually impossible missions.

Band of Brothers -10 hours of pure awesomeness that I got on DVD! This wasn’t so much an inspiration as it was a continuation of one from “Saving Private Ryan”, a graphic look at World War II combat, a war that happened within some of our lifetimes and showed the grim reality of all sorts of aspects of combat. Nothing like it had been on television before, except for a few cop shows like The Wire. It was all based on true stories as well, which made it all the more harrowing.

Toolsof the trade can be anything you deem necessary to write the story,though my own collection is pretty standard:

Laptop-In the modern age, this is probably the most important thing to have, as long as you have a decent word processor document! It is faster than pen and paper, and easier to get it published, as most publishers and agents like things all neat and tidy and 12pt Times New Roman! E-mails and attachments are the norm! Joy! Although, I obviously have two, keeping my internet and writing separate to prevent outside influences (AKA, a Trojan virus!). Oh, and don’t forget to back everything up!

Entertainment-Have a huge supply of DVDs, Blu-Rays, and XBOX games! These can act as inspiration or as something to make you laugh, cry, or get angry, and help your writing! Also, you can use them as a quick coffee break!

Coca-Cola-Either drink or inject directly into your veins! The sugar and caffeine rush helps me write faster, and the ideas come thick and fast, lol! Just don’t do it too often, or you’ll end up looking like a goldfish with wide eyes and gawping mouth!

Diary-Keep one of these handy for those all-important appointments, as well as making sure you remember what day or year it is when you come out of your mass writing session! Also, if you become successful, you’ll need to remember stuff like signings! I would recommend a page-by-page diary, just because they have lots of space!

Pen and Paper -For those of you who don’t like using a computer,or simply for writing notes, keeping track of characters, events, places, and such! Also, when you become famous (I ain’t) you can use it to write autographs!

Dictionary and Thesaurus -Important, but at the same time useless, asyou can end up making yourself look like a prat, using words you don’t understand yourself, or constantly checking the thesaurus for similar words, making it all the more ununderstandable. You could do what I do, and make stuff up!

How to Write Novels Books -If you’re smart, probably safer reading one of these than listening to me babble on!

Brain-Another important thing to have, though not necessarily required to be successful (have you seen CSI: Miami?)

Reference Books -Important if you’re writing out of your comfort zone,or even if there are certain details about nebulae or spatial phenomena that you weren’t sure of!

Well,there you have it, the thought processes of a madman…

Ihope this has inspired people (or person) to go out and write for themselves. Either that, or I’m going to have an angry mob at mydoor demanding to know who the hell I am! No wait, that’s Chard on a Saturday night!

Well,there’s a tiny kitten called Sethington Stanley nibbling my toesfor attention so I better leave you to it. Tell me what you think,or what you’re writing, or whatever! I’m on Facebook as John C. Scott, and Twitter and Heresy Online as Shaven_Wookiee!

See you round the Linkways!

Long live The Founding Fields!

Wookiee out!