Ask the Author: D.J. Bodden
Answered Questions (5)
D.J. Bodden
Hi Khrail,
I did, didn't I :) I've spent most of this year working on a different project, a sci-fi universe I'm putting together for both myself and other authors. The publisher and I are pretty excited about it, and it's been an enormous amount of effort to get all the pieces in place, but that will launch in Q1 2021.
As for Nil, I've written the first act of the book, which takes place about 200 years earlier than Cataclysm in game-time. I had to take a step back from it, both because of my other project and because I felt like I didn't know enough to do the character justice at the time. I've learned what I needed to since then, so it's just a matter of finding enough hours in the day to write it.
I am also working with James hunter on a mini-series called Portal Mage, which takes place sixteen years *after* the Grim Jack series (seventeen years after Alan joined the game)--you can find that on my Patreon or get the first episode by signing up for my newsletter ((https://www.djboddenauthor.com/switch...). We do an episode a month. It features a certain mimic and the absolute best boy in the world. The sixth episode with the big boss fight will come out at the end of December, and there will be about twenty episodes per season.
Nil also appears in book 7 of the Viridian Archives, Grim Jack's series.
Let me flip that around for you, though. What made you like Nil? And is there anything that you would absolutely want to see about it in its book or in Portal Mage?
I did, didn't I :) I've spent most of this year working on a different project, a sci-fi universe I'm putting together for both myself and other authors. The publisher and I are pretty excited about it, and it's been an enormous amount of effort to get all the pieces in place, but that will launch in Q1 2021.
As for Nil, I've written the first act of the book, which takes place about 200 years earlier than Cataclysm in game-time. I had to take a step back from it, both because of my other project and because I felt like I didn't know enough to do the character justice at the time. I've learned what I needed to since then, so it's just a matter of finding enough hours in the day to write it.
I am also working with James hunter on a mini-series called Portal Mage, which takes place sixteen years *after* the Grim Jack series (seventeen years after Alan joined the game)--you can find that on my Patreon or get the first episode by signing up for my newsletter ((https://www.djboddenauthor.com/switch...). We do an episode a month. It features a certain mimic and the absolute best boy in the world. The sixth episode with the big boss fight will come out at the end of December, and there will be about twenty episodes per season.
Nil also appears in book 7 of the Viridian Archives, Grim Jack's series.
Let me flip that around for you, though. What made you like Nil? And is there anything that you would absolutely want to see about it in its book or in Portal Mage?
D.J. Bodden
My nostrils twitch, and I see the spreading realization and disgust at what was done, the revulsion twisting their expressions, which I mirror, though only smug satisfaction beats within my breast. It was me.
D.J. Bodden
Well, technically every character in the book is a piece of me merged with people I've observed--an author can only write what they know. But if we were to look at Jonas specifically, here are some big items:
The barrier: I've had a memory palace (method of loci, if you prefer) since I was a teenager. Mine doesn't look like Jonas', but it's there and I've found interesting ways to use it.
The music: I went through five or six years of musical training in school, along with the French schooling system, drama classes and performance arts in general, and it was all heavy on memorization. I literally can hear music in my head, if I want to, and I often do. You'll catch me whistling, humming, or singing things several times a day, and my earphones go in when I run or work on big projects.
The missing dad: Yep, raised by my mother after my father died. I had a whole cast of interesting people come and go in my life, and you'll see that in how Jonas learns a little bit from everyone he meets and grows from it.
The way he thinks: Part of the process of being read has taught me that Jonas is a weird kid. He gets his life flipped upside down, has some near misses with death, falls in love fast and deep, and generally takes it in stride until he reaches a point where that doesn't work anymore, and he acts to solve the problem with a certain detachment. It's odd. It's also very much the way I experience the world.
Hope that helps :)
The barrier: I've had a memory palace (method of loci, if you prefer) since I was a teenager. Mine doesn't look like Jonas', but it's there and I've found interesting ways to use it.
The music: I went through five or six years of musical training in school, along with the French schooling system, drama classes and performance arts in general, and it was all heavy on memorization. I literally can hear music in my head, if I want to, and I often do. You'll catch me whistling, humming, or singing things several times a day, and my earphones go in when I run or work on big projects.
The missing dad: Yep, raised by my mother after my father died. I had a whole cast of interesting people come and go in my life, and you'll see that in how Jonas learns a little bit from everyone he meets and grows from it.
The way he thinks: Part of the process of being read has taught me that Jonas is a weird kid. He gets his life flipped upside down, has some near misses with death, falls in love fast and deep, and generally takes it in stride until he reaches a point where that doesn't work anymore, and he acts to solve the problem with a certain detachment. It's odd. It's also very much the way I experience the world.
Hope that helps :)
D.J. Bodden
I know how it all ends.
Ever have a T.V. series you really liked get cancelled, or a movie or game that never gets the planned sequel, and you're left with a gnawing, empty feeling that the ending was rushed, or left unfinished? Firefly and Advent Rising come to mind, among others.
Or maybe the writing/publishing team got changed up mid-series, or went a little crazy, and you feel like the original plot-line was lost *cough* Halo, Star Wars, Mass Effect *cough*
As the writer of the Black Year Saga I don't have that problem. I know who lives or dies, and why, and how the world will be changed. I have a timeline from 5000 BC to... well, I won't ruin it for you, but it's going to be a fun ride.
Ever have a T.V. series you really liked get cancelled, or a movie or game that never gets the planned sequel, and you're left with a gnawing, empty feeling that the ending was rushed, or left unfinished? Firefly and Advent Rising come to mind, among others.
Or maybe the writing/publishing team got changed up mid-series, or went a little crazy, and you feel like the original plot-line was lost *cough* Halo, Star Wars, Mass Effect *cough*
As the writer of the Black Year Saga I don't have that problem. I know who lives or dies, and why, and how the world will be changed. I have a timeline from 5000 BC to... well, I won't ruin it for you, but it's going to be a fun ride.
D.J. Bodden
My version of writer's block is more like a severe case of distraction.
The best way to write a book is to write. I read somewhere that Sir Terry Pratchett put down 300 words a day, rain or shine, related to his current project or not, and that works really well. If you can't think of something to write, plot. If you can't plot, come up with a new detail about one of your characters' back-stories and see what that changes.
Think about your story while you drive, in the shower, and especially right before you go to sleep (make your dreams work for you), and keep a notepad by the bed. I killed a character once because the thought of losing them made me tear up on the way home from work. The more time you spend on it, the easier it is to put it on the page.
The best way to write a book is to write. I read somewhere that Sir Terry Pratchett put down 300 words a day, rain or shine, related to his current project or not, and that works really well. If you can't think of something to write, plot. If you can't plot, come up with a new detail about one of your characters' back-stories and see what that changes.
Think about your story while you drive, in the shower, and especially right before you go to sleep (make your dreams work for you), and keep a notepad by the bed. I killed a character once because the thought of losing them made me tear up on the way home from work. The more time you spend on it, the easier it is to put it on the page.
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Dec 09, 2020 12:17AM · flag