Here’s the first piece of fan art I’ve received! Please enjoy! 🙂
Holo Books
Humanity Machine – 1st Draft Complete!
artwork by the very talented Adam Burn – used with permission
The first draft of Humanity Machine is officially complete! Woohoo! Weighing in at a hefty 140,000 words, it’s a bit longer than The Dragons of Jupiter and is now my largest novel to date, though editing may change that.
I’ve already completed my first editing pass, and I have to say I’m pretty excited about this one. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still plenty of polishing that needs to be done, but the fundamentals are definitely there. I’m going to make one more editing pass, then hand it off to H.P. for her first read through. After that, I’ll do my third editing pass, then give it on to my test readers.
And from there it’s edit, edit, and edit again. Plus start talking to Adam Burn about some awesome cover art. Time to clean this manuscript up!
So what is Humanity Machine, you may be wondering. Well …
Humanity Machine is a story of Manufactured People. Soldiers created on demand using an advanced form of 3D printing. More precisely, this is the story of one such soldier: Vance. This is her journey as she grows from just one more cog in the machine to an individual that can shape the destiny of her people.
Humanity Machine is a story of Intense Space Battles. Highly advanced, self-modifying warships slugging it out in the depths of space. Vance serves as one warship’s drone controller, commanding her squadrons of interceptors and bombers against a powerful and tenacious foe.
Humanity Machine is a story of Divided Humanity. Not by politics or ethnicities or faiths, but by technology. It’s a story about how technology molds a society, and how that technology can make its people seem very alien to an outsider. Imagine a society with no families, no children, and no gender roles. Imagine a two-tiered society of the created and the creators. What would that society be like? What would its people be like?
Yeah, I’m excited about this one.
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Writing Techniques – Character Sheets
Today, I would like to discuss one of my favorite writing tools: the character sheet.
Characters form the heart and soul of a story. They can breathe life and energy into an otherwise dry tale. So, naturally, their creation is a very important skill for a writer to learn. I suspect there are as many methods for generating new characters as there are writers. Who’s to say one method is better than the other?
Not me, that’s for sure. But I have developed a method that works for me. Here’s what I do.
When an idea for a story begins to take form, I determine what roles I will need. How many characters are required to tell the story? Where are their places within the story? What functions need to be filled?
I divide the roles into two categories: Technical and Personal. For example, if I’m writing a story about an elite military squad, a Technical list might look like this:
- Squad Leader
- Sniper
- Demolition Specialist
- Tech Expert
And a Personal list might resemble this:
- Main Character
- Love Interest
- Dependable Cohort
- New Guy/Gal
I can then combine the two lists, mixing and matching, looking for holes as I go. The result might look something like this:
- Squad Leader – Main Character
- Sniper – Love Interest
- Demolition Specialist – Dependable Cohort
- Tech Expert – New Guy/Gal
This list will go through many revisions as the story evolves from a crude sketch to a more robust outline. For me, it’s easy to mix and match the Personal and Technical roles. Some characters may have multiples of one type or even both. This can be especially true for major characters. Roles can, of course, change as a story progresses, but that is something I save for the plot outline itself.
These roles form the basic building blocks for the characters. Once I’m happy with the roles I’ve listed, I begin to add details and depth to each character. In order to do this, I use a character sheet.
My character sheets vary a little from novel to novel, but they’re mostly the same. Basically, it’s one big list of characteristics that I fill in order to gain a better feel for the character. Character sheets also serve as excellent references when I’ve forgotten the cool details I had planned.
This is one of the reasons I outline so heavily. I forget stuff.
So, what do these character sheets look like? Well, they look like this, actually:
- Character Description
- Age
- Gender
- Weight
- Height
- Health
- IQ
- Appearance
- Occupation
- Goals
- Morals
- Poignant Memories
- Past Traumas
- Hobbies
- Likes
- Dislikes
- Confidence
- Fears
- Sense of Humor
- Family
- Flaws
- Skills
- Charisma
- Speech Pattern
And yes, I fill in each line for almost every character I write about. Does all of that make it into the novel? Is all of that even relevant? Do I need to do this? No, of course not. But filling in all of that stuff helps me develop each character into an individual, unique voice. It’s a tool I use, nothing more. If it helps me write the character, then the tool has done its job.
It may not be the best way to craft characters, and it certainly won’t work for everyone, but it’s a method that has served me well for many years.
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The Dragons of Jupiter – Book Trailer
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n24DP_Cu72s]
Humanity Machine – 1st Draft Half Done!
artwork by the very talented Adam Burn – used with permission
I’ve reached that golden point when writing the first draft of a novel. Yes, the point where I have less to write than I have already written. I’ve crested the hill, and now all I have to do is stroll down the slope on the other side. Nothing to it, right?
Right …
So what is Humanity Machine? What’s it about? What’s it have to offer? In short, why should the reader care?
Those are very good questions. Please let me try to answer.
Humanity Machine is a story of Manufactured People. Soldiers created on demand using an advanced form of 3D printing. More precisely, this is the story of one such soldier: Vance. This is her journey as she grows from just one more cog in the machine to an individual that can shape the destiny of her people.
Humanity Machine is a story of Intense Space Battles. Highly advanced, self-modifying warships slugging it out in the depths of space. Vance serves as one warship’s drone controller, commanding her squadrons of interceptors and bombers against a powerful and tenacious foe.
Humanity Machine is a story of Divided Humanity. Not by politics or ethnicities or faiths, but by technology. It’s a story about how technology molds a society, and how that technology can make its people seem very alien to an outsider. Imagine a society with no families, no children, and no gender roles. Imagine a two-tiered society of the created and the creators. What would that society be like? What would its people be like?
So there it is. Humanity Machine. I’m pretty excited about this one.
And, of course, if I’m going to go through all this effort, I’ve got to give the novel some beautiful artwork. A big thank you to Adam Burn for allowing me to use his artwork for this post. Please check out his DeviantArt page here for more fantastic artwork. If all goes as planned, Adam will be doing the cover art for Humanity Machine, when I reach that point.
Naturally, a lot of hard work lies before me. Humanity Machine already weighs in at a hefty 70,000 words. I expect it to be somewhere between 130,000 and 150,000 words when everything is said and done, and those words aren’t going to write themselves. It’s been a tough experience. This is novel thirteen for me, and it is easily my most ambitious. The outlining alone took me a year to complete.
But it’s all going to be worth it. I can feel it. I hope you share that sentiment when it’s done.
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The Dragons of Jupiter – Kirkus Reviews It!
Kirkus, the gold standard of book reviews, has reviewed The Dragons of Jupiter! And you know what? They liked it! Here is their review in full:
“An entertaining sci-fi action novel with light overtones of dystopian and political thrillers.
In Holo’s debut, set in a future version of our solar system, two brothers find themselves divided by interplanetary war. Kaneda and Ryu Kusanagi are from Europa, a moon of Jupiter, and both are veterans of a past war against a tyrannical artificial intelligence that sought to conquer humanity. In that conflict’s aftermath, they’ve chosen different sides in a new struggle. Kaneda, who hates AIs, fights alongside soldiers called Crusaders as they seek to destroy Matriarch, a “quantum mind” AI who was once human. Ryu, however, is a commando warrior with the Dragons, who fight the Crusaders with stealth and cunning in an effort to protect Matriarch, who guides Europa’s society. Kaneda, however, sees her as a computerized dictator and his old way of life as a lie. The Crusaders pit their powered-armor suits against the Dragons’ enhanced reflexes and invisibility technology. The brothers’ personal conflict is played out on a grand stage with the fates of Europa and three other worlds—Earth, Luna and Jupiter—in the balance. The story sticks to a familiar adventure style, and the battle between the brothers is an old chestnut of melodrama, but it’s told with gusto and conviction. The vivid secondary characters mostly avoid falling into stock types, and some plot twists and moral ambiguity add a bit of sophistication. The strong action scenes are fast-paced throughout (although often harsh and gory), the dialogue flows well, and the fictional world is detailed, plausible and well-designed, from its planets to its spaceships. The author isn’t afraid to show the more grotesque sides of society, which may seem off-putting to some readers, as when characters debate the merits and flaws of using technology to reanimate dead soldiers. There are some typos and minor grammatical errors but nothing that readers will find particularly distracting. The story builds to a satisfying conclusion, and naturally, the author leaves room for sequels.
Well-written, sincere and undemanding military sci-fi adventure.”
– Kirkus Reviews
The review is posted here on the Kirkus website. I must say, I’m very happy with what they wrote. 🙂
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The Dragons of Jupiter – Sequel
Wow. I’ve started getting questions about a sequel to The Dragons of Jupiter. Now that by itself is pretty cool, and I really do appreciate those who’ve asked about it. Instead of throwing out answers at random, I thought it’d be handy to put all of the answers in one convenient place. So, here they are. Answers to questions you may or may not have. Please enjoy! 🙂
Will there be a sequel to The Dragons of Jupiter?
Yes. Absolutely, yes.
*UPDATE 11.14.21 (from HP): Maybe? Back when Jacob wrote this blog, Dragons was our first book and we were still very much tiny little indie authors who had no idea if this publishing thing was even going to work out.
Fast-forward to today, when Jacob has several books under contract with one of the giants of sci-fi publishing, Baen Books (and a few already released). As much as he’d love to continue the Dragons series, when you’re writing under contract, contract work has to take priority, and the Dragons world is so complex technologically that The Dragons of Mars isn’t the kind of novel he can write in spurts between contracted projects.
All this to say, for now, The Dragons of Jupiter is shaping up to be a standalone. We definitely still want to continue the series, but it ultimately comes down to lacking not only the time, but a sufficient stretch of time in which to do it.
What’s it called?
The working title is The Dragons of Mars.
What will it be about?
The ongoing struggle between machine life and human life will continue to drive the story. Many characters from the first book (those that survived, anyway) will appear in the sequel, as it will pick up roughly where the first left off. Deimos, the moon of Mars, will play a major role in the story.
What will happen in it?
I’m not telling. 🙂 But it’s fair to say I have a few surprising twists planned for this book.
When are you going to finish it?
Whoa there! 🙂 I don’t know. I haven’t even started the detailed outlining yet.
I’m currently working on another military sci-fi book called Humanity Machine. Expect lots of epic space battles in this one as well as an unusual take on what a future human society might be. Right now, I am devoting almost all of my writing time to making this novel as awesome as possible. Once the first draft of Humanity Machine is complete, I’ll decide on my next project. The sequel to The Dragons of Jupiter is on the short list of projects I want to tackle next.
Also, check my Humanity Machine short story to get a taste for what the novel has to offer.
FINISH IT FASTER!
I’m sorry. 🙁
Time Reavers – Novel Origin
Here’s the setting. I’m in Stuttgart, Germany, and I’m waiting for the train to arrive at the main station. I look around and think to myself: You know, it would be really cool if I could freeze time and still move around. That would be a handy super power to have.
And boom. I had the idea for Time Reavers.
Seriously, that’s how it happened. It’s as dumb as it sounds.
Soon after that, I sat down in my hotel room and wrote a short story. This story eventually became the first and second chapters of Time Reavers. In it, the main character Nicole gets sucked into a pocket of frozen time (inside a Saint Petersberg subway station, no less), meets a rather quirky swordsman, and helps him fight a reaver.
Friendly looking fellows, aren’t they?
Around this time, I was in a major writing transition. Unsatisfied with my previous ten novels (and, naturally, my inability to get them published), I decided to completely rework my writing style. This process went about as smooth and painless as you’d expect (i.e. not at all). I chose Time Reavers to be the first experiment with this new writing style.
Oh, and just to make this even more difficult, I decided to write a contemporary fantasy novel instead of my usual military sci-fi stuff. No sweat, right?
Right …
But Time Reavers turned out to be the perfect novel for this transition. With most of the story taking place in the real world, I easily avoided many of my earlier pitfalls. I didn’t have to explain the world. Readers already understood it. Planes were planes. Cars were cars. For the first time in four novels, I didn’t have to describe what mnemonic alloy was.
Oh yeah, it felt good.
It became easy to cut the novel down to its core, streamline the prose, and deliver the scenes at a brisk pace. This allowed me to focus on the few fantastical elements, such as the whole freezing time thing, people with super powers, and the reavers.
Ah, yes. The reavers. Oh, did I have fun with these villains. Their basic design started by mixing a bunch of phobias I have. I figured if I find them creepy, other people might as well. By the way, I posed for that artwork. Don’t believe me? CHECK THIS OUT!
Yeah, that’s embarrassing. But at least it’s not as bad as The Dragons of Jupiter reference photos. No seriously. You see the Crusader with the thermal lance? The one on the right? This guy over here?
Yeah, that’s me holding a trash can. I kid you not. For the other two Crusaders, I was holding a paintball gun.
And I’m not showing those pictures. Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope.
Anyway, even when Time Reavers was finished, it wasn’t really finished. Recently, the novel went through a major edit. I added a few extra action scenes (can never have too many of those), enhanced the role of a side character, cut some of the dead weight near the end, and … oh yeah, dropped everyone’s age by five years.
Yep. I turned Time Reavers into a Young Adult novel. After H.P. read the initial version, she recommended the change to YA. And while, at first, I wasn’t too crazy about it …
H.P. Holo: You should turn this into a young adult book.
Jacob Holo: Seriously? Isn’t it too violent for teens?
H.P. Holo: Pffffthttttttfffffffrrrp! Haven’t you read The Hunger Games?
Jacob Holo: The what games?
H.P. Holo: Oh, we have to fix this.
I eventually warmed to the idea. And now here we are, just about ready to publish our second novel. It’s going to be fun!
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Merry Christmas from Holo Writing!
Writing Techniques – The Prototype Story
Artwork by Robert Chew, a.k.a CrazyAsian1. Used with permission.
Today, I would like to share one of my absolute favorite writing techniques for getting a novel off the ground: the Prototype Story. Before I sit down to write a novel, I almost always write a Prototype Story, and sometimes write several.
So what is a Prototype Story? For starters, it’s a short story with a specific goal in mind. It’s a test of sorts, an exercise to see if certain elements from the to-be-written novel actually work on paper. The Prototype Story could focus on a specific character I’m having trouble with, a part of the world that’s challenging to realize, a location that’s just not clear yet, or really anything about the novel. Anything at all.
The trick is to take the element giving me problems and put it under a magnifying glass. The Prototype Story is the magnifying glass. These stories help me identify problems and fix them in a contained environment. So when I transition to the novel, I already know that aspect will work. Or, at least, has the capacity to work.
Let’s take a look at an example. Humanity Machine is the novel I’m currently working on, and it is by far the most ambitious novel I have ever written. It has some really crazy stuff in it that’s testing my skills as a writer. I’ve gone through seven outlines before settling on a final draft outline.
In short, this novel is a beast. So, instead of diving straight into the novel itself, I tested parts of it in a short story. Enter “Humanity Machine – Athens Assault,” a short story set in the fiction of Humanity Machine. By writing this story, I was able to test out some of the more bizarre elements of the world. This really helped me get a feel for them. For someone who primarily writes science fiction, this is a great way to test out the dynamics of a new “rule set” if you will.
And while “Humanity Machine – Athens Assault” is a fun action short (at least I think so), it didn’t have to be any good at all. My only goal was to get comfortable with the world I would portray in the novel. Humanity Machine has so many unusual tech elements that I wanted to see how they meshed together. If the story completed sucked, but I got a feel for this strange high tech world, then mission accomplished!
There are plenty of other applications. For example, I may focus on a secondary character that’s giving me problems. In order to get a feel for the character, I’ll often pick an event from their past and write a short story about that event from their perspective. The story doesn’t have to be good, but I guarantee it will help me realize the character’s voice when it comes to writing the novel.
In summary, the Prototype Story is my go-to tool when I’m having problems with a novel. There’s almost no literary problem it can’t solve.
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The Dragons of Jupiter – Novel Origin
It’s 2006. I’m on assignment in Germany. The weekend has arrived, and I’m bored. It’s a cold, wet, miserable winter day. The hotel has no internet, and I can’t understand a word on the television. Well, except for “Ich möchte ein Bier, bitte.” I had that phrase down solid.
I decide to write.
That’s how The Dragons of Jupiter began. In a German hotel. It’s kind of weird when I think about it. I had already penned ten novels by that point, none published, some better than others, but my overall style was lacking. I had too much Tell, not enough Show. Sickening amounts of exposition bogged down my prose. The writing had two basic modes: explosions and exposition.
That had to change, and that change began with a short story: two teams of super soldiers fighting it out on the moon. I had a lot of fun writing the story. I rummaged through my mental garbage bin, stealing ideas from previous novels, throwing them in wherever and whenever.
I loaded the story up with cool tech, showing the weapons and gear in action rather than ponderously explaining everything. I focused on creating an example of asymmetrical combat: two sides with very different fighting styles and equipment, but still roughly equivalent in power.
Many of the elements in The Dragons of Jupiter made their first appearances here. The Dragons, invisible space ninjas that they are, were in full display, sniping and backstabbing like champs. The Crusaders, with their bulky armor and devastating weapons, also made a showing, gunning down anything in their path. In fact, most of the tech went unchanged in the transition from short story to novel. Locations and political entities like Europa, the Federacy, the Lunar State, and even New London made the switch pretty much as is.
The characters, though. Yeah, umm, there’s no hiding it. They were flat. Flat like cardboard. The story had explosions and cool tech, but no soul. It also had a really depressing ending (and that’s assuming you even cared about the characters). At the time, for some bizarre reason, I believed my upbeat endings were the reason I couldn’t sell stories, so I decided a change of pace was in order.
Yeah, in the short story, all the Dragons get slaughtered. Spoilers.
This was my first and last experiment in depressing endings, just to set the record straight.
I was generally happy with the result. When I got back to Michigan, I printed off some copies and shared them with a local writers group. The result was nearly unanimous. They hated the story. One of the writers said my characters were “stupid dildo heads.” He used exclamation points.
Ouch.
They also found all the tech details confusing, said I should tone it down and make it simpler.
Yeah, not going to happen.
Now, don’t get me wrong. There are times you should listen to the advice of others. And then there are times when you just go with your gut. I went with my gut on this one and got a second opinion. I shared the story with some friends who read a lot of sci-fi, and wouldn’t you know it? They had a very different reaction. The story wasn’t perfect. Far from it, but they saw what the writers group had not: the seed of a bigger and better story.
And, with some encouragement and a lot of hard work, that seed eventually blossomed into The Dragons of Jupiter. Oh, and just to be on the safe side, I stuffed it with even more ridiculous tech details than the short story. Because, you know, that’s just how I roll with it sometimes.
If I had listened to that writers group, I would have never written the novel, never self-published it, and you can forget about a sequel.
Instead, it’s full speed ahead! Not only did H.P. and I publish The Dragons of Jupiter, but we’re going publish Time Reavers before the year is out.
And we’re just getting started!
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The Dragons of Jupiter – 15 Reviews! Average of 4.8 Stars!
So far, The Dragons of Jupiter has received 15 reader reviews: 10 on Amazon, 3 on Goodreads, and 2 on Smashwords. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, with an average rating of 4.8 stars out of 5. It’s absolutely wonderful to hear from people who enjoyed the story, and that certainly makes all the hard work feel worth it. Here are some excerpts from recent reviews:
“An excellent futuristic military science fiction novel that does not just deal with the larger struggle between planets but the personal struggle between the main characters.”
“I finished it very quickly and when I did have to put it down, I looked forward to being able to get back to reading it.”
“This book contains a lot of action (and gory violence!), some drama, and a whole lot of suspense and thrill. It was well-written and even contains some passages that make you think about family, what it means to be a human, the concept of God, and religion.”
I’m particular happy to receive that last comment. Not bad for a novel that’s 90% about action and explosions, I think. 🙂
On a more personal note, H.P. and I arranged to have the local library carry my book. And wouldn’t you believe it, but there is a waiting list for my book at the library! Granted, it’s not a huge waiting list, just three people in the queue last we checked. But still. Seriously. A waiting list for my book? This is awesome! Piece by piece, word about my book is spreading, and this is how it makes me feel.
Oh yeah, I brought out the big smiley face! But don’t think that H.P. and I are just going to sit back and relax. Heck no! We’ve been hard at work. Not only are we getting close to releasing Time Reavers, but we’re also working on a revised cover for The Dragons of Jupiter. Robert Chew’s artwork still takes center stage, but H.P. and I have learned a lot about what goes into a good cover, and we’re putting those lessons to work with an improved graphic design.
I think you’re going to like it!
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