How I Created the World of "The Werewolf Whisperer"

Happy Halloween, everyone.

Some years back, I was invited to write a short story for a charity anthology.    The result was “The Werewolf Whisperer,” a light paranormal romance.  

Here’s a brief description:

Trapped in wolf form, caged in an animal shelter, Gray, his human identity fading, has only one hope to escape neutering or death -- "The Werewolf Whisperer." 

I’m going to discuss how I came up with the idea and how I moved from the idea to a workable paranormal world that fit my story needs.  

But, first, here’s a link to the story.  “The Werewolf Whisperer.”  

NOTE: Contents would probably be rated PG-13 with mild language and sexual content.  

~*~

My short story, “The Werewolf Whisperer” came from a discussion on worldbuilding on a list I belonged to.  We were discussing shapeshifters in the real world, not a magical world.  

One of the points made was that mass can’t be lost then regained in a closed system.  That means that a man may be able to change into a mouse, but that mouse would weigh what the man weighs, or it would be impossible for the man to change back.

Playing with that idea, I had the inspiration for a short story.  What if a werewolf were trapped in wolf form in an animal shelter, and the only way out was neutering or death?  The neutering would be permanent when he changed back to a human because of the loss of mass.  How will he get out of the shelter whole?

The worldbuilding was very simple at the point.  

I had to establish that being a werewolf was genetic, not magic.  To do that, I had the werewolf say he comes from a long line of werewolves who are genetic mutations. 

I created telepathic communication between the hero and human heroine so they could “talk.”

I had to have a reason why he’s trapped in wolf form in the shelter.  I decided that these days a werewolf would sometimes need a way to hold back from changing at the full moon because of human obligations like a job or a plane trip. I decided that a special mixture of herbs would be the antidote to changing.  

I decided that something went wrong with the herbal mixture and instead of stopping the change, it accelerated it and trapped him in wolf form.  The longer he stays a wolf, the more his humanity and memory fades.  

This also was another ticking clock they must race against to win his freedom.  The first was keeping him from being gassed as an unwanted pet.

I also had to have the werewolf’s memory of his human life hazy so he and his human rescuer wouldn’t have all the information they needed to rescue him immediately. 

Except for a few details here and there, I now had enough information to create my characters and write the story.

Links of Interest

THE DANGEROUS REVERSION CLAUSE:

http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2011/10/guest-blog-post-fitzhenry-and-whiteside.html

TIGHTENING YOUR NARRATIVE FOCUS:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2011/10/and-pretty-words-all-in-row-tightening.html

PHOTOCOPIERS AND CRIME:

http://forensics4fiction.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/photocopiers-a-reservoir-of-evidence/

WRITING RESOURCES FOR HORROR WRITERS:

http://chiseledinrock.blogspot.com/2011/10/so-you-want-to-be-horror-writer.html

HOW TO BE A GOOD BETA READER:

http://charles-tan.blogspot.com/2011/10/bryan-thomas-schmidt-7-tips-for-being.html

WHAT IS PLATFORM?

http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/2011/10/what-is-platform.html?

CRAFTING THE PITCH:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2011/10/heres-pitchits-hit-crafting-your-novels.html

CREATING A WORTHY ANTAGONIST:

http://writersforensicsblog.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/guest-blogger-jody-renner-creating-a-worthy-antagonist

WHY A CORONER MAY SKIP AN AUTOPSY:

http://forensics4fiction.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/why-might-a-coroner-skip-an-autopsy/

FIVE WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE:

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/5-ways-to-improve-your-facebook-page_b40740

FINDING YOUR VOICE:

http://riyria.blogspot.com/2011/10/writing-advice-18-voice.html

WRITING FIRST PERSON:

http://scotteagan.blogspot.com/2011/10/problem-with-first-person-but-why.html

WHY FICTION AUTHORS SHOULDN’T WORRY ABOUT BRANDING:

http://www.rachellegardner.com/2011/10/novelists-stop-trying-to-brand-yourself/

Requesting Reversion of Rights

QUESTION:  My ebook contract is coming to an end soon, and I want to pull my book rather than let it remain.  How should I go about this?

The standard method in publishing is to send a signed, registered letter stating that you want the return of your rights. (The process is a bit more complicated when it involves a large publisher.)

If this is a case where the publisher seems to be stonewalling you or is ignoring you or the business itself, you should quote a deadline like "If I do not hear from you about this within three months of your receiving this letter, I will assume your agreement in this matter."  (Be sure to keep the return receipt from the letter so you'll have legal proof!)

Be business-like and to the point.  State what you want, the legal reason why you can get what you want (the reversion of rights clause in the contract), and the particulars of the reversion like "this contract was for two years and was signed by you on this date."

You shouldn't state your unhappiness with the publisher or anything like that.

Nor should you feel bad about doing this.  Publishing is first of all a business, and you are in business for yourself, not for anyone else.

If the publisher tries to bully you, and you know you are within your rights according to the language of the contract, stand up for yourself.

Some author organizations offer help in these matters, and some experienced professional writers are also helpful in clearing up contract confusion.  Ask around if you are confused about contract language, etc.

Of course, the best thing to do is to understand the contract in the first place before you sign the dang thing.

Links of Interest

MARKET NEWS,  SF and FANTASY:

http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/genreville/?p=1564

THREE TOP EDITORS ON GETTING PUBLISHED:

http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2011/10/07/getting-published-the-inside-scoop-from-3-top-editors/

MOTIVATION AND THE CHARACTER ARC:

http://writerunboxed.com/2011/10/08/acustomfuckswiththetruckurlforvictoriamixon/

YOUR PLOT’S BLACK MOMENT:

http://www.aimeelsalter.com/2011/10/critical-plot-elements-interlude-black.html

ESCALATING CONFLICT:

http://romanceuniversity.org/2011/10/03/c-j-redwine-how-to-escalate-conflict-in-your-novel/

MAKING MAGIC FEEL REAL:

http://cherylreifsnyder.blogspot.com/2011/10/tuesday-ten-how-to-make-magic-real.html?

SERIALIZING A NOVEL ON KINDLE:

http://janefriedman.com/2011/10/05/serialize-kindle/

WRITING CHARACTER WARMTH:

http://writerunboxed.com/2011/10/05/warmth/

WHAT YOUR STORY NEEDS TO GET OUT OF THE SLUSH PILE:

http://nancyfulda.livejournal.com/321609.html

MARKETS:

http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2011/10/sub-ops-ten.html

HOW A COP SEES THINGS DIFFERENTLY THAN THE REST OF US:

http://forensics4fiction.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/about-that-creepy-guy-i-met-in-the-woods-2/

MARKET WARNING, LOBSTER PRESS AND DAILEY SWAN:

http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2011/10/alerts-lobster-press-and-dailey-swan.html?

WE’RE NOT VANITY, WE’RE A CO-OP:

http://behlerblog.com/2011/10/12/were-not-vanity-were-a-co-op/

HOW TO KEEP THE READER HOOKED AFTER THE FIRST FEW PAGES:  

http://riyria.blogspot.com/2011/10/writing-advice-17-reason-to-read.html

THERE IS NO LONGER A SIMPLE PATH TO BEING PUBLISHED:

http://kriswrites.com/2011/10/12/the-business-rusch-new-paths/

WRITING GREAT FIGHT SCENES:

http://fantasy-faction.com/2011/writing-fight-scenes

THE CHANGING FACE OF BOOK RIGHTS:

http://publishingperspectives.com/2011/10/the-changing-face-of-book-rights

10 WAYS TO CREATE STRONG SCENES:

http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/10-ways-to-launch-strong-scenes

RAMPING UP THE TENSION:

https://keligwyn.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/increasing-the-tension-in-our-fiction/

THE LITIGATION CLAUSE IN A BOOK CONTRACT:

http://www.thepassivevoice.com/10/2011/how-to-read-a-book-contract-where-are-we-gonna-fight/

TOOLS FOR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT:

http://bryanthomasschmidt.net/2011/10/13/9-tools-for-character-development/

SYMBOLISM IN OUR WRITING:

http://harrypotterforwriters.blogspot.com/2011/10/symbolism-in-writing-shell-cottage.html

FREE SOFTWARE OR WEB PROGRAMS THAT MAY BE OF USE:

http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2011/10/zero-cost-ten.html

WRITING THE DREADED SYNOPSIS:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2009/04/sum-of-parts.html

FORENSIC RESOURCE:

http://forensics4fiction.wordpress.com/2011/10/17/evidence-technology-magazine-a-valuable-resource-for-your-library/

Self-Publishing Resources

I have never been a fan of self-publishing, particularly for authors who have never sold a book to a publisher, be that an e-publisher or one of the more traditional publishers.  

First, there is a very great likelihood that no one wanted to publish that book for very good reasons.  A bad book will do nothing for your career; in fact,  it will hurt your career.  

Second, getting a book published and promoted is time and energy consuming so much less time will be available to write and improve your craft.  If your book is bad, any readers you get will be much less likely to buy your next book.

Third, only a very few authors make money at self-publishing, a much smaller percentage are very successful, and most lose money.

But, if you do decide that self-publishing may be for you, you must educate yourself.  Here is a good starting place to learn more.

First, the definitions--

SELF-PUBLISHING: The author must find a printer, editor, etc., and must pay for each service, then must find the distribution services, as well. All profit goes to the author. 

SELF-PUBLISHING THROUGH A ONE-STOP PRINTER OR E-PUBLISHING SERVICE: Some printers offer all the services necessary to publish a book. Each service is paid by the author. All profit goes to the author.

VANITY/SUBSIDY PRESS: They offer all the services necessary to publish a book like the one-stop printer. You can buy in for the basic service, then you can add on various services like editing, cover art, etc. The vanity/subsidy press, however, then takes a large cut of the profit with no risk or cost to itself.  Often, it will tie up your rights so you can never publish it elsewhere.

In other words, avoid vanity/subsidy services at all costs.

SELF-PUBLISHING RESOURCES: Links to some excellent books and websites on self-publishing.

http://self-publishingresources.com/

http://storyflip.blogspot.com/2010/07/re-write-wednesday-overcoming-adversity.html

http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2011/indesign-to-ebook-resources/

EBOOK SERVICES DIRECTORY:  Go here and click on the eBook Service Directory icon on the right.

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/

ARTICLES ON SPECIFICS OF SELF-PUBLISHING 

BUSINESS OF PUBLISHING: Some of the dangers of self-publishing to an author’s career.

http://pimpmynovel.blogspot.com/2009/09/self-publishing-ii-attack-of-pod-people.html

EBOOK FORMATS AND READERS: A primer on the ePub format standard and how to transfer an epub book into your ereader.

http://blog.laptopmag.com/epub-primer-everything-you-need-to-know-and-more

BUSINESS OF PUBLISHING: How self-publishing a book can hurt you if it was given an ISBN.

http://pubrants.blogspot.com/2010/04/isbn-that-hurts.html

WHY SELF-PUBLISHING BOOKS CAN BE A BAD THING FOR YOUR CAREER:

http://heydeadguy.typepad.com/heydeadguy/2011/01/girls-got-a-reputation.html

THE MIDLIST WRITER AND CHANGING TIMES:

http://kriswrites.com/2011/01/19/the-business-rusch-midlist-writers-big-publishing-changing-times-part-14/

FORMATTING EBOOKS IN VARIOUS FORMATS:

http://www.snowbooks.com/weblog/2010/12/how_to_create_ebooks.html

PUBLISHING: To self-publish or not.

http://behlerblog.com/2010/11/15/dear-publishers-do-we-even-need-you/

HYPE AND SELF-PUBLISHING:  Overview of some of the nonsense being written about the ebook self-publishing market.

http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2011/01/importance-of-context-part-1.html?

SELF-PUBLISHING: Via the Kindle, an agent's POV.

Part 1

http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/2010/11/launching-your-career-via-kindle.html

Part 2

http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/2010/11/building-your-career-on-kindle.html

SELF-PUBLISHING OVERVIEW: Two well-thought-out overviews on self-publishing.

http://behlerblog.wordpress.com/2010/06/27/series-should-i-self-publish-know-what-awaits-you/

http://blog.writersdigest.com/norules/2010/06/30/TheNo1MostImportantFactorForWritersConsideringTheSelfPubOption.aspx

Links of Interest

My apologies for being a day late with such a small group of links, but my Internet connection has been iffy for days and, yesterday, it was down completely.  

MARKET NEWS,  SF and FANTASY:

http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/genreville/?p=1564

THREE TOP EDITORS ON GETTING PUBLISHED:

http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2011/10/07/getting-published-the-inside-scoop-from-3-top-editors/

MOTIVATION AND THE CHARACTER ARC:

http://writerunboxed.com/2011/10/08/acustomfuckswiththetruckurlforvictoriamixon/

YOUR PLOT’S BLACK MOMENT:

http://www.aimeelsalter.com/2011/10/critical-plot-elements-interlude-black.html

ESCALATING CONFLICT:

http://romanceuniversity.org/2011/10/03/c-j-redwine-how-to-escalate-conflict-in-your-novel/

MAKING MAGIC FEEL REAL:

http://cherylreifsnyder.blogspot.com/2011/10/tuesday-ten-how-to-make-magic-real.html?

SERIALIZING A NOVEL ON KINDLE:

http://janefriedman.com/2011/10/05/serialize-kindle/

WRITING CHARACTER WARMTH:

http://writerunboxed.com/2011/10/05/warmth/

WHAT YOUR STORY NEEDS TO GET OUT OF THE SLUSH PILE:

http://nancyfulda.livejournal.com/321609.html

MARKETS:

http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2011/10/sub-ops-ten.html

HOW A COP SEES THINGS DIFFERENTLY THAN THE REST OF US:

http://forensics4fiction.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/about-that-creepy-guy-i-met-in-the-woods-2/

Bad Writing Advice

QUESTION:  What is the worst writing advice you have ever received?

I can't think of any poor advice I've received on writing.  Even inaccurate information has its value because it makes me figure out why the information is wrong.

I've had plenty of poor advice on the business of writing, however.  Several trusted writing friends inadvertently suggested publishers who turned out to be crooked or incompetent.

Does anyone else have some stinky advice they've received they'd like to share?

~*~

QUESTIONS?  I take questions, both long and ridiculously short, about the publishing business and the writing quest.  Please ask.

Links of Interest

COPYRIGHT, WHEN IS IT NO LONGER YOURS?   WHEN YOUR SMALL PUBLISHER DIES.  (A must read.)

http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/2011/09/be-my-guest-nash-black-part-2.html

USING SCREENWRITING TECHNIQUES ON PROBLEM SCENES:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2011/09/making-scene-using-scriptwriting-to-fix.html

BAD CONTRACT CLAUSES:

http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2011/09/bad-publishing-contract-clauses-part-1.html

STARTING TO PLOT:

http://www.sfnovelists.com/2011/09/29/the-skill-list-project-starting-to-plot/

SACRIFICING PLOT AND MOTIVATION FOR YOUR OWN AMUSEMENT:

http://pubrants.blogspot.com/2011/09/sacrificing-plot-and-character.html

THE STORY PROBLEM:

http://www.allaboutthewriting.com/donna_j_cummings/2011/09/whats-your-story-problem.html

REVISING AND POLISHING YOUR MANUSCRIPT:

http://writersforensicsblog.wordpress.com/2011/09/28/guest-blogger-jodie-renner-revising-and-polishing-your-novel/

FINDING CRITIQUE GROUPS:

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/2011/09/finding-critique-groups.html

ACTION IN AN INFORMATION SCENE:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2010/02/ready-setwheres-action.html

VOICE:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2011/10/guest-author-tiffany-reisz-what-you.html

AUTHOR PLATFORM:

http://www.rachellegardner.com/2011/10/10-tidbits-about-author-platform/

TWITTER TIPS FOR PROMOTION:

http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/2011/10/ten-rules-for-twitter-success.html

WRITING THAT FIRST DRAFT FAST:

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/2011/10/moving-quickly-through-draft.html

WORLDBUILDING, CRIME AND CRIMINALS IN FANTASY:

http://talktoyouniverse.blogspot.com/2011/10/google-worldbuilding-hangout-report.html

HOOKING YOUR READER THROUGH YOUR SENTENCES:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2011/10/hook-lines-and-stinkers-crafting-lines.html