About Me

Hello, everyone. This is my second attempt at keeping a writing based blog on the web. The previous blog was giving me problems so I have re-located to a more familiar site! Anyway,  enough about my blog issues. This entry is about me, as a person and as a writer.

Name: Heather Kantz

Penname:Victoria Durm

Age: 28

How I decided to write: I have loved wordplay since I was a child, and when I was in fifth grade, I was told by my English teacher that I would become a writer some day, some way. At the time, I thought of it as just a big compliment, but now it feels like my writing has really come to life, and I am loving every minute of it.

Influences: My mom, and stepfather, Cal, who are both hard workers, and have struggled to get where there are. Getting published doesn’t happen over night, and it is a struggle. When I get irritated or discouraged, I will always look to them for inspiration. And Stephenie Meyer, because it took her 15 tries to get Twilight published, and now she’s huge. I’m not saying I want to BE Stephenie Meyer, I’m saying I want to have her determination.

What do I write: Currently, I am writing non-fiction articles on various topics. It is my first paid gig. I am doing this as I prepare my first manuscript for agent hunting. I have two other novels in the works as well, and one preparing for Text Novel.com.  My genre specialty is urban fantasy and regular fantasy, with an emphasis on demons, vampires, werewolves and other paranormal/ fantastical creatures.

Discovering A New Love: Short Stories

I am the first person that will tell you that I am elaborate. I love words, and I love writing lengthy stories. For the longest time, I was under the assumption that meant I had to stick to novels, and chapter fiction.

In fact, that might have been why I liked writing chaptered pieces. It was because I could tell as much of the story I wanted. A little bit of the story in a few thousand  words a chapter.

In recent weeks, I have managed to debunk my own assumptions. Yes, I had written two short stories previous to this. And even writing those, I feel like I had to sort of push too much, or limit what I wanted in the story in order for it to be considered a short story.

When I began work on “His Other Side”, I did it with a lot of reluctance. The main reason is that I was not sure I could tell such a challenging story within a short story.  I did what I normally do. I set up a sort of  ”Start, Middle, End” perameter, and forced myself to stick to it as best as I could.

That was well and good for the first draft. My beta readers, Aubrie and Trish, however, both felt that the story had been rushed. So when I re-wrote it, I took a good hard look at it.  I changed some things around, and used the comments button on MS Word for the first time ever.

The second draft came out much better. I am considering it finished, but I might go back and look at it again one last time before I attempt to submit it. There is one thing at the beginning that still bothers me. I just can’t see what yet.

My point is, that I found out that I could tell a good, fast paced story, and include my precious details without over doing it.

I have fallen in love with the short story now, because we have come to a sort of understanding, that medium and I. I’m not saying I have mastered it. No, not at all.  In fact, I really want to learn more about the mechanics of writing a short story, so I can perfect my craft.

Anyone have any good book recommendations for Short Story construction?  All suggestion welcome.

Editing Isn’t That Hard…Is It?

So the last couple of weeks, I have been in editor mode. First with “The IntraCity Double Dutch Challenge”, and then with “The Forbidden Ones”. This phase feels unusual for me.

Why, you may ask? Because I do not like editing. Or at least, I thought I didn’t. But once I got into the groove of what editing was, I embraced it. Editing doesn’t mean your story idea is bad. It just means that it is going to make it much better.

I have been trying to figure out what had me so keyed up about having to edit a story. I have come to some conclusions on it:

1. For the longest time, I considered editing to be too much a change.  I held the assumption that because I had to edit, the story premise wasn’t good enough.

2. Where dialog is concerned, I assumed editing meant that my characters (essentially my friends, and what drive my stories), could not be themselves.  Indeed, many of them fight me when it comes to switching anything.

3. This idea of tightening meant that I wasn’t writing “properly”. Or for the way short stories and novels are meant to be. Whenever I would read a book, the words flowed fluidly.

What I have since learned is as follows:

1. Editing does not mean the original idea is bad. It just means that you are pruning, and making it gel more effectively. The first draft is by no means the last say in the story. The first draft could be considered “brainstorming with structure”, if you will.  Just because you have to edit doesn’t mean that everything you originally had will be cut to bits.

2. Dialogue editing does not take away from the character. If you write the way I do where the characters themselves tell the story to you, then you simply ask them to reword it so that they’re happy too. My characters trust me to tell their story. Some of them, like my guys in Protected One, even leave me alone to write my own way, and offer side comments as I go. My characters tend to be wordy. I usually ask them if I can cut PART of their words, to make them more effective.  They’re okay with that now.

3. Tightening is a good thing. The reason the novels I read are so fluid is because of the tightening.  One thing I have tried to keep in mind with my own writing is that the authors I admire ALL had to tighten their stories to get them  as I see them now.

So to sum it up, I have decided that editing can be my second favorite part of the writing process. It’s like tending a garden of words. Sometimes things have to be cut or changed in order to make the whole garden beautiful.

Pushing Past Comfort Makes for Mixed Emotions

Being a writer can bring about some of the most odd mood swings ever. About…an hour ago? I was hyper, and happy. Then I was irritated. Now I feel kind of depressed, and pointless.

The root of this has to be the damned vampire short I’m working on. There is so much I have to think about because I want to make it right. Don’t get me wrong. I love this story so much. I love the character of Cole Sanders. He’s just.. he’s very heart to pin down on paper. I feel like he’s pulling me in a thousand directions.

And he’s causing me a million and one emotions. What the hell. I don’t remember any character ever doing this to me before. Not one of my own. Jasper Hale did it to me when I was working on “Lost and Found” (Admittedly a fanfic, but still…) . But not my own.

I have this voice inside me saying, “Don’t do this story. It’s not worth the aggravation”. The other side of me says, “it’s worth it! It’s different for you, it’s past your comfort zone.” I think that, too, is a part of my frustration. I want to make this story different from my vampire stories.

With past short stories, I had too much detail, so I cut it out. Those stories came out okay. So I tried to do the same with this one, and I’m being told there’s not enough! I don’t what to do. It’s like being on American Idol, and being told one thing on one song, and the exact opposite on a different one. Where the hell am I supposed to go?

And for another matter? Why the hell is Cole even here?! What makes him think *I* am the one that is supposed to tell his story? Where does he get this idea that I can? -sigh-

ConBust 2010

So this year was really fun!! We had a much better time at the Hotel than last year. In other words I wasn’t woken up because of snoring.

I got to spend almost an entire day with Trisha (@Novelfriend on Twitter) on Saturday. That was GREAT. I got to see Anette Curtis Klause again, and she told me where I could find Silver Kiss. I am so excited to read that book. It looks amazing.
Saturday also marked a very important first for me. I read aloud in public! Now, I have done small poetry readings, but this was incredibly different. This time, I was reading one of my own stories, “The IntraCity Double Dutch Challenge”. This was the original story I submitted to Bad-Ass Faeries 3 and didn’t get in. But that’s okay.
After a near nervous breakdown, I managed to read not once, but twice. I was really freaked out the first time. And I had a bit of a good reason. Beside me was Phoebe Wray, who is the Chairwoman of Broad Universe! Thankfully, I realized that AFTER the fact. By the way, she is a really nice woman.
The reading went well the second time around. I can’t wait to get into that story again, and fix it up a little bit more. Trish really wants to see me keep trying to submit it somewhere. I want that too, but I am really freaked out about re-submitting it. Trish will probably read this, and go, “Oh don’t be freaked out! You already did the hardest submission!” No, really, I Can see her saying that to me. LOL.
So in the next couple of weeks, I will take a fresh look at it again, and attempt to edit it some more. I think she can give me a few more tips on what can be worked on. I wish I could pay her more than I am for the manuscript job. I feel bad that I’m paying so little. My MS WAS a mess. I feel like I really should pay her extra.
Next time around, IF she wants to keep working with me, I will definitely pay her 200.00. Hopefully upfront. That’s what I’d be prepared to offer her. But we’ll have to see if she has the time, or energy to deal with me. LOL.
Goodness. Lost track of  the original topic!
My favorite panels at ConBust this year were the Scenes from A Hat. Basically, Anette Curtis Klause and Jane Yolen and us, the audience, picked characters and obscure settings to work with. The BEST one came up with the”Cereal Murders”. It was about dead authors killing the Cereal Aisle…symbolic of ending all the Serial novels. LOL. IT came out wonderful!
The other panel I went to that I really liked was one that dealt with Steampunk. It’s strange that I went to a Steampunk panel, because I first heard about steampunk AT ConBust last year, but meeting Holly Black, and things like that sort of trumped Steampunk. I continued to hear a LOT about through the year, and now I feel like I’ve come full circle.
There was one other panel, aside from the reading that I did, that I really liked. I enjoyed the panel that Trisha did on Tarot cards, and writing. It was great to get a story out of ht e Two of Swords. I met a girl named Calyx there. We had been to several panels together last year, so we finally met! It was great. She’s fourteen, but she acts so much older than she is. Reminds me a lot of two people, but mostly, she reminds me of <lj user=”Yamsteapot”>.
ConBust was wonderful for one other reason. Away from messaging, and Twitter, I managed to get 20k done. Maybe I should shut down my Internet access more often when I want to do serious novel writing. I got some great words down.

Author Appreciation Week 2010:Wrap Up

This past week of blogging has been a wonderful trip through my early childhood, and early teens. I didn’t realize I had so many inspirational authors back then, but when I  really thought about it every author I have ever read, even if it was only one book, or a whole series, has had some kind impact.

Two authors that I did not mention, Mercedes Lackey, and Andre Norton are two very strong women authors. Lackey was the one of the first authors I read that kind of showed my first glimpse of World Building.  It was after reading my first Valdemar series that I wanted to try and create my own unique world.  I didn’t call it World Building. I called it creating.

Norton and Lackey each had their chance to work with my main fantasy idol of the time, Marion Zimmer Bradley. Some of her influence is apparent in Lackey’s work, while Norton brings in her own take on some of Bradley’s style.

More recent influences of my current genre of fantasy have included, but are not limited to: Holly Black, Cassandra Clare, my dear friend, and mentor, Trisha J. Wooldridge, and her writing partner, Christy Tohara, and another close friend of mine, Editor and author, Danielle Ackley-McPhail. These three last ladies have taught me a LOT about the writing world, and I am indebted to them for their endless knowledge and support.

I look forward to continually bringing you news about and coming authors as well as the latest in my writing journey. Till next year!

To sum up the week, I would do this again next year. I am sure by then I will have all new authors to praise.

Author Appreciation Week 2010: Stephenie Meyer

Now, anyone who follows me on Twitter may have caught my occasional burst of “Twilight Fan rambles”. How appropriate is it for me to be writing this blog on one of my biggest inspirations on the day that the second movie installment is released on DVD?

I, unlike many others, was not immediately attracted to the story of  Edward and Bella. In fact, I don’t think I even had an interest in Twilight at all. I received the book as a gift from my best friend, who thought I might want to try something different.

The book sat on my shelf almost a year and half before I even picked it up. It took me another few months to actually get past Chapter One. I was pretty certain I was going to end up hating the book because of the pace.

I could not have been more wrong! Once I got into Chapter Two, and the Cullens were introduced, I was sucked in. (Pardon the pun!).  From there, I read the books one after another.  The book that took the longest for me was Breaking Dawn. Why? Because I just didn’t want it to end.

That first chapter aside, Meyer took me on a journey involving vampires that I was just enthralled with! From the sparkling side effects of sunlight to feeding on animals only, she introduced a truly unique take on vampires that made them more human  than I ever thought vampires could be.

However, Twilight Saga was not a one hit wonder for me.  Shortly before finishing Breaking Dawn, I purchased her next novel, The Host. Again, I found myself completely engaged in the story.

The thing that makes Meyer so inspiring to me is that she knows how to grab an audience, and tell a story. I have been striving to do that for years with my own writing. While she is certainly not the only author I’ve read to have this effect on me, she is one of the most unique, I believe.

Persistence is another thing that makes me love her. It took 15 rejections before her manuscript for Twilight was picked up by Little, Brown.  With that kind of determination, anything is possible. I want to remember that when I start submitting “Protected One”.  It’s what I kept in mind when my first short story rejection came in. I am not going to give up on becoming a published writer.

Overall, I think Meyer has taught me that it is okay to think outside the box. It’s okay to break down the barriers of traditional mythos, and as long as what you replace it with makes sense to everyone else. You have to have a reason for every choice you make when it comes to changing traditional lore.

This is something i am working on with Protected One, and my other various mythos-based fantasy. I am no longer afraid to be different, nor do I fear following my dreams. If I have learned from any author, Meyer has taught me the most.

Author Appreciation Week 2010:Marion Zimmer Bradley

One question that I get asked on occasion by new friends that are writers, or others that have read my earlier work is: “When did you get into Fantasy?”

The answer to that question takes me back to the early 90s. I was just starting out with reading all over again. I had a friend that was into Paganism, and things like that.

He introduced me to Marion Zimmer Bradley’s book, The Mists of Avalon.  At the time,  it was the longest book I had ever read. It took me months! Thankfully, I was reading it during the Summer,  so I didn’t have too many extra responsibilities.

This book was extremely well written. This was my first taste of first person narrative in older fiction. It was a little more detailed than books I had read prior to that point.

I would later go on to read other books by Bradley. At this present moment, I have read close to 20 books of Bradley’s alone. Some of those were co-written by other authors. One of them is going to be highlighted in tomorrow’s blog.

Bradley showed me how traditional mythology can be written in another perspective. One of my favorite books of hers has nothing to do with the Avalon series. The Firebrand is one of my favorite re-tellings of the Trojan war. It is told from Kassandra’s point of view. I remembered a lot of the details from reading the mythology in High School, and she weaves these details beautifully into her own fiction.

Mrs. Bradley opened a lot of doors to other authors for me. All of these subsequent authors were students of hers, and I am still a fan of theirs

Author Appreciation Week 2010:Ann M. Martin

This week, I am talking about the inspirational authors that have been feeding my imagination since cihldhood. Today, I want to talk about pre-teen/ Young Adult author, Ann M. Martin.

Ann M. Martin is the bestselling author of the Babysitter’s Club series of book. This book series  was really my first book series. I believe I had at least 200 of these books at one time.

For those who are unfamiliar with the series, I will give you a quick rundown of the structure of each book. First and foremost, each book is in first person perspective. That means the entire book is told in one person’s point of view.

The character who is telling the story is usually the one that the book’s main plot is about.  Book titles would generally indicate who would be telling the story. (ie: Dawn and the Impossible Three or Mary Anne Saves the Day).

There was also one or two side plots. Martin pulls this off with a lot of ease. I wouldn’t have known how hard that was back when I was reading them as a child and early teen, but as a growing writer, who is experimenting, I can appreciate her genius.

The books would end with all of the plots being tied up, and a group scene that wrapped up the story nicely. Each book in the series was it’s own story , so you could literally pick up any volume, and not be lost. This is also encouraged with the fact that Martin always included a quick exposition by the main character of how the characters met, and how the club was formed.

The Babysitter’s Club was followed up by several spin off series, all which had their own audiences and success. There were also several side books that followed the characters.

Martin’s BSC series was the first series I ever read. Up to that point in my life, I had only been reading single, stand alone books. I was not interested in any continuing story lines.

That changed the day that R.I.F. came into our classroom. One of the books was the fourth title in the Babysitter’s Club series. I sat down, and read it in almost a day. I didn’t know it then, but this single volume of a series was going to lead me to many books that would help me cope with my changing life. As a pre-teen, I was starting to go through changes I was having trouble coping with, on top of my disability’s difficulties.

Martin also wrote a wonderful book called “Bummer Summer”, about a girl who has to adjust to her father getting re-married. I was going through living with a step parent at the time, so I could relate. It was a wonderful thing.

What I liked best about that book, as well as the BSC, is that they all dealt with real life situations. Things like diabetes, grades, siblings, and divorce and remarrying. She handled them as if she herself were a teenager, and understood her readers very well. Even at my age, when I was just learning the simple mechanics of story, I knew that took talent.

It has been a long time since I have picked up a Babysitter’s Club book. I just found out recently that she has released a sort of prequel to the whole series. I am considering picking it up, for nostalgic purposes.

She is one author I owe my teen sanity to, and I am glad to have had her books around to comfort me at that time.

Author Appreciation Week 2010: EB White

I began reading at a very young age. I was probably around the age of four or five. I was reading the first chapter books just before first grade began. One of my favorite books, and probably my most favorite still today is Charlotte’s Web. The story itself is simple you get us get a pagan or spider and arrived together and they all come together for this one goal save Wilbur. At the time I read it, I wasn’t old enough to understand the rest of the story. All I knew was that I really wanted it to continue.

White’s story was not the only one I read back then however he is the one that got me started. I began to read other books by Mr. White. Stuart Little, and Trumpet of the Swan. He is the reason I kept reading. Through him I discovered a whole new world to exist inside my own. Animals could talk. And spiders could be friends with tapes. For a long time I read the same books over and over again.

I didn’t know back then, but Charlotte’s Web was going to give me the key to one of the best things about the imagination. People see things in different ways. No two people are ever going to think about the same thing the same way. So what if he thought that spiders and pigs get along. As long as it made him happy that’s all that would matter.

Later on my beloved book became a movie . Of course when the movie came out, I was still a child. So I didn’t have any concept of whether the movie was good actor to the book as they do today. All that mattered was that the story will of Wilbur, Charlotte, Templeton,and the Goose were being brought to life making the characters even more real estate than they were before. This movie also included music. Many of the songs from the movie I still remember to this day. Most importantly the movie help me understand concepts that I was too young to in the context of the book. Concepts like growing up and change. The story was handled beautifully by Hanna-Barbera.

Of course it was only inevitable that live action movie was made. As much as  I love the story, I was never quite eager to see this movie. (And this is including the fact that Dakota Fanning was apart of it.) I later heard that the movie itself got pretty rotten reviews. I still haven’t seen this movie even though I have seen the previews.

But now I’ve gotten off topic. To sum everything up, Mr. EB White gave me the first key to one of imagination. I have never looked back since. If I ever had a chance to meet him which I’m certain I won’t, I would just love to tell him thank you for making reading the exciting part of my life.

A Writer’s Best Friends: The Phenomenon of Soul Bonding and It’s Relation to Creativity

Children call them imaginary or pretend friends. The religious call them guardian or spirit guides. Those of the creative nature call them muses. Whatever you call them, they’re there to help you through whatever problem you’re having.

The phenomenon of soul bonding is a rapid growing interest of mine. I have talked to several authors who will remain nameless to protect their privacy.  This is not just something that happens to me, but almost everyone I mentioned it to had their own version of the same story.

They can hear, feel, and sometimes see their characters, or someone else’s characters, for that matter (more on that in a bit), clearly.  They have full conversations with them, as if they were tangible.

Tangible is the word they prefer you use, instead of real. Many of these soul bonds consider their human friend to be the fictional one, so trying to explain the word “fictional” to them is just a waste of time.  So my fellow soul bond people an I have adopted “tangible” when trying to differentiate between their world and ours.

As I stated above, there are basically two types of soul bonds. The first type is the most common for many of us. These the soul bonds that are born out of an attraction, or sense of connecting with a fictional character from a book, movie, TV show, or what have you. The soul bond will often turn up unannounced, and observe for awhile before they interact. Their representation may be different from that of their source version.

The outsourced soul bonds normally remain in your head. They help you write fan fiction, or make sure that you are okay. They very rarely will appear outside of your head.  (I am one of the exceptions, apparently. Embry Call and some of other outsourced bonds from Twilight and The Mortal Instruments do both).

The other type of soul bond is what I call “author origin”. That means these bonds are representative or ARE your characters. My particular soul bonds are of a mixed breed. I have vampires, werewolves, and faeries. As well as a couple of humans. Once your own characters come forth, the bond you have with them is very important.

So you may be asking yourself, “How do I know if I have a soul bond near me?”

The truth of the matter is, these soul bonds exist whether or not we can see, hear, or feel them. Sometimes they don’t want to make themselves known. I had a certain vampire family that had apparently been around for many months before revealing themselves.

You can quicken the process by training yourself to listen for them, or feel them. This is best done at night.  Before you’re tired enough to sleep, but not awake enough for a lot of thought. Just lay quietly, and think.

One way I have handled soul bonds is to ask myself, while writing, “what would so and so say?” More often than not, that particular character will tell me once the question has been asked.

So I have talked about  soul bonds for a reason. They are an answer to another phenomenon that I call Writer Zone Out. You all know that feeling, I’m sure. When you’re typing, and you’re one hundred percent into the story. Then you go and read it back, and don’t remember writing most of it?

It’s become my theory, since doing research on this topic, that the soul bonds involved in the story temporarily take over the mind. It’s never for ill-intent, and it doesn’t hurt. You generally don’t even KNOW it’s happening.  It accounts for so many incidents when I had no idea what to write, and then suddenly things just flowed.

It also explains why, when we’ve done so much on one story, we suddenly seem to “burn out” for a while. The Soul Bond has stopped talking to us or telling us what to do. Often times, you can ask them to help resume the project, and they will.

Soul bonds are generally non-intrusive. They can very often be more understanding than the tangible person. Since they live in the worlds we or others have created, they know the frustrations of trying to make that world believable to others. Because they themselves are trying to convince us.

Call them muses, call them spirit guides, or just spirit friends. These terms mean basically the same thing to the soul bond, and in some cases, they serve as all three.

Have any of you experienced this phenomenon of being able to talk to and interact with specific characters? Feel free to share you experiences here with me, and others of like mind.

For more information on this topic, check out this site:

http://soulbonding.tripod.com/soulbonding_intro.htm