Judd Mercer's Blog

Writing Aftermath has been an interesting experience. With All That Will Burn, I spent much of my time fleshing out the world of the Orvida itself, along with the characters that inhabited it.

With Aftermath, it's been easier to get the ball rolling once more. I know what the Orvida is. It is a familiar place now, I know what it looks and feels like. What it smells like. What the history is. But at the same time, there are many corners left undefined. The Orvida is a big, big place, ancient and enduring, which leaves me plenty of room for new and interesting settings. 

Storyboard sketch of the Loom.

For example, in this storyboard sketch we see one of our prime characters sailing into the Loom. The Loom is a dangerous, perpetual storm off the coast of Luminea, where the energy from those who control the weather and the forces of nature deposit excess energy. It's also designed to protect the entrance to a secret location. It's a neat location, and something never mentioned in All That Will Burn, but now exists as part of the world. 

However fun defining settings is, the most enjoyable part of writing Aftermath has been creating new characters with different perspectives than Sofia's. Dropping these characters into the world and seeing how they differently than Sofia and the other characters in All That Will Burn react is exciting and fresh. In Aftermath, we'll see the forces at play under the surface, things that Sofia only glimpsed at. 

And so, work continues as the Orvida's horizons expand ever further—who knows what will we'll discover next. 

Onward, we go.

It has been just over a year since All That Will Burn was released, and time has slipped by fast, as it would in the Orvida. I've received great feedback from reviews and conversations I've had with readers, many of whom are not typical fantasy readers.

It is this kind of response that keeps me going, as a I venture deeper into the realm of my pseudo-sequel, Aftermath. The road is long, but the pace at which I'm traveling it feels good.

A little bit about the project. Aftermath will be a short novella of sorts, faster paced and chocked full of paintings. Pulpy in length and tone, I want to tee-up a larger story, as it were, and not leave readers waiting five years for the next chapter of the Orvida. This will also give me the opportunity to flex my ever-improving painting muscles and allow me to tell a visual story more concisely.

So, Aftermath will be an exploration into the politics of the Orvida, and characters who emerge as survivors from the war and struggle to rebuild their world. It will be personal, intimate, and full of adventure. You will see things that Sofia never did, and meet people who know her only by way of story and legend. 

For readers who want to dive deep into the pages of a full-length sequel, don't worry. Another novel will follow Aftermath. So, Consider Aftermath a colorful interlude, a sweet palette-cleanser between heavier courses as I bide my time to become a full-time chef, as it were.

And so, work continues. My editor will begin her work in October, and my painting work towards the end of this year. The pencil and brush will be my world for much of 2019 and I will work as quickly as I can to bring Aftermath to life. But, like all creative endeavors, quality is the most important thing, and in the end my goal is to make sure Aftermath is worthy of your time.

 

 

There is something special about painting outside, especially rural landscapes. For me, it's one of the rare opportunities to slow down and experience the moment. It's not unlike mindfulness, and the more I learn about both meditation and painting in general, the more I see the similarities between the two.

Mindfulness is nothing more than awareness of the current moment. That's it. Nothing magical or especially complicated. It's about the sights, sounds, sensations and feelings happening right now. And right now. And so on.

Observations and sensations are always present, but are often buried under plans for the future, or recollections of the past. We often move through life in a haze and without noticing the now. Our breath is our anchor to the present, and is our way to connect with the world around us. That's really the point of mindfulness meditation and focus on the breath. 

Plein air painting, it turns out, is very similar. When I find myself walking on a quiet dirt road with my kit in tow, listening to the dirt crunch under my feet and the wind blow past my ears, it is a form of meditating. I feel the materials intently as I set up my gear, breathing slow, surveying the scene. It's mindfulness in practice. I ask myself, "how does this place make me feel at this moment?" or "what colors are really in those shadows?" versus what mix I label in my head as "shadow." I sit in the grass and see, which is very different from look. Only in this state can the glory and beauty of whatever can the magnificence of a barn or a field or factory shine. Everything is beautiful and amazing when we take the time to stop and realize how amazing it is that anything exists at all. 

What I am trying to capture in a lot of my work is more than just mood or a specific style. It's an invitation to the viewer to say "you can see the beauty in this mundane subject, too, if you'd only stop to see." By no means am I an expert at communicating this, but that is becoming more of my intent as I improve as an artist. 

Mindfulness, as I see it, is a powerful grounding tool. And mindful painting—like walking meditation or a tea ceremony—is an active form of it. It speaks to me in a way few things do, and I hope my work conveys some of this message to you, the viewer. 

I started a new video serious entitles "I'm Not an Expert...But" to offer advice about writing based on my experience writing the fantasy novel, All That Will Burn. My hope is to help other aspiring writers with some of the hurdles and challenges I faced over my five year journey.

Check out the video below!

The first important tool for me is a scene outline, which is just a fancy spreadsheet that breaks down each major chapter or scene. This helps me stay organized, especially when I'm deep in the writing process. Sometimes it's difficult to keep an eye on the big picture.

My scene outline contains these important columns:

Setting, where the scene takes place. You'd be surprised how often you drift back to similar feeling places. Seeing them all in a column encourages diversity!Type, where I'm referring to either a Rising , Action, or Falling scene. Typically, standard plot-driven books follow this rhythm in an ever intensifying pace. It's not a hard and fast rule, but it keeps me focused on the feeling and pace of the chapter.Description, as it sounds, the overall of what happens. This breaks down further to ensure the characters and their decisions are driving the story forward:What does each character want?What's stopping them?What to they do about it?Themes, I as a write, I take notes on possible themes / images that emerge. This is more a work in progress area. Plot Holes, this is especially important in fantasy writing. As I review drafts with friends and editors, I mark down questions or plot holes to fill later to make sure everything is logical.Wordcount, this is more of a target to make sure to have enough content for editing.Date, to stay on schedule with writing. 

Another big tool is character outlines. As I have a background in user experience design, I adopted user personas into my writing as a way to capture the essence of my characters. Some authors don't like the "cast" their characters, but being a visual person, I like to, at least at the beginning while I develop the feel. 

A good character persona should contain

Basic physical traitsKey personality characteristics (particularly flaws)What they fight for or believe inWhat they are afraid of

Last, characters should have some kind of ultimate goal, because this directly translates to their path through plot. If characters don't have clear goals, they become mere marionette puppets moving through scenes. It can leave scenes very flat and descriptive. 

Check out my video to see some example in more detail. These tools may not make you a better writer, but certainly a more efficient one as you develop and craft your story.

Good luck!

 

 

 

I recently visited Vancouver, BC, for a watercolor painting workshop with a legendary painter, Herman Pekel. If you're not familiar, he's a fairly eccentric guy with a very loose/abstract style and a superhuman level of composition. 

But before the workshop, I spent a few days visiting some spots around the city. I wandered around the Seawall and the newly renovated shipyard (you can see some of my plein air studies on my Instagram feed), but my favorite spot was by far the Capilano Bridge state park.

If you're not familiar, the park features Endor-esque tree houses, cliff trails and a giant, Temple of Doom-style suspension bridge. Among the lush Pacific Northwest foliage, it was a place out of time. In my previous short story Reunion, I mentioned a city called Ocasum, nestled among the giant trees to the west. At Capilano, I had found it—the primary location of my sequel.

Yes, that's right, a sequel to All That Will Burn is officially in the works!

Overwhelmed with inspiration, I spend most of the day wandering the shaded paths, tracing my fingers across the soft moss and lichens clinging to the trees. I noted the feel of "land sickness" I experienced after spending a while on the bridges. Breathed deep the moist, earth smell of the forest floor. And, of course, I sketched:

I see a city in the canopy and canyon, a place even more ancient than Luminea. A place suspended in trees with impossible wonders—suspended lakes and ponds, hot-air filled balloons supporting arenas and theaters, a network of gondolas, pulleys and ancient mechanisms. I've even been working on some character ideas, both new and familiar.

More to come on the plans for book two. I'm in the early planning stages, which is one of the most exciting parts, but many things change during the process, so I am careful not to share too many details.

Rest assured, the story of the Orvida is far from over.

The answer to what makes a good fantasy book is subjective, but I do think there are some commonalities of good fantasy books I've tried to incorporate into All That Will Burn.

Lived-In Setting

Setting is a huge part of a good fantasy story. And for a good reason. People who read fantasy books inherently find something a little dull about the real world. Myself included. Fantasy books are a way to escape, but where we escape to must feel like a real place. The setting has to have roots, a deep sense of history that is seen in the periphery but never put in the spotlight.

Some great examples from my favorite books:

Arrakis, Dune"Trojan" Mars, Ilium The Hegemony of Man, Hyperion

The danger of a lived-in setting is when authors become too enamored with the world at the expense of the story. I am guilty of this. The final draft of All That Will Burn cut about 20,000 words of description throughout the book. It's always a good idea to remember a setting is just that. It's a matte painting versus a fine art piece hung in a gallery.

And yes, I fully recognize the irony there.

Interesting (but Relatable) Characters

Characters are the heart of any story, but good fantasy books, again, push the boundaries of what is possible. Robots, demons, alien intelligences...these are all interesting to explore, but they must be relatable for readers to connect emotionally. Characters that are too strange or distant make a story a Wikipedia article with little to anchor us into the shoes of another

Some of my favorite strange, but understandable, characters:

Pie'oh'pah, the gender fluid shape-shifter, ImajicaEli, the mysterious neighbor, Let the Right One InAziraphale and Crowley, the human-like angel and demon, Good Omens

I tried very hard to make even the strangest characters in All That Will Burn relatable. If you cannot connect with characters, there is very little reason to follow their adventures, beyond pure curiosity.

Understandable Motivations

Lastly, and possibly most important for me, is understandable motivations. People are willing to accept a certain amount of logical inconsistencies (especially if they like the characters), but there is a limit. As readers, we cannot turn off our ability to "figure out" rules of a world or how characters are thinking. If you have a friend particularly good at pointing out movie plot-holes, you'll know what I mean.

For a fantasy book to work, the why behind what is happening has to make enough sense for the reader to accept the narrative and not "reject the Matrix," as it were. If events occur without logical motivations, cause and effect, etc., it all becomes experimental nonsense (in my opinion). 

Conclusion

When a lived-in setting, relatable characters and understandable motivations combine, a good fantasy works. You can get away with a lot in a made up world, but there's a limit! Understanding this is what makes good authors great fantasy story tellers. 

I've added some new videos to my YouTube channel! One is a little tour of the studio:

The other is a series of videos I'm planning on doing to talk about the art pieces in more detail, show some process sketches, and talk about the lore behind them. Check it out, and please comment if you'd like to see more!

With the release of All That Will Burn on Amazon, I'm free(er) to work on some new content and continue building the world of the Orvida!

The first compendium short story, titled Reunion, explores what love between two people might look like a place where time has no meaning. It's has a different feel compared to Sofia's story. There are so many interesting possibilities that the Orvida presents that I'm excited to work on some new angles that weren't explored in the book. Hope you like it!

I've also got a new piece of art from Reunion, called Founder's Fountain. It's the meeting place between Ronto and his love, Aurelia, and the landmark celebrates the creation of Luminea in all its architectural glory.

Last update, more video coming! I'm planning on doing some "behind the art" videos to discuss each piece, show some sketches and process stuff, and talk about what went into each. Should be fun!

 

It's finally here! After years of work, All That Will Burn is finally available for pre-order on Amazon.  Paperbacks will be available once the eBook launches. I've always dreamed of writing a fantasy adventure novel and it's surreal to see it up with all the other books. It's a real thing now.

The official release is June 25, 2017. If you pre-order the eBook, it'll automatically deliver on that day. It's a perfect vacation read, if I do say so myself.

I've also had a lot of people asking questions about the release that I thought I'd mention here.

I use iBooks / don't have a Kindle. Can I still read the book?

Yes! The Kindle App works great on any phone, laptop or tablet. I use it on my iPhone all the time. Or if you prefer an open-source format, I'll be releasing DRM-free .ePub and .Mobi versions on June 25 as well through this site. 

Will there be paperbacks?

Yes! I recently discovered Amazon's on-demand printing service. After June 25, you'll be able to order paperbacks of the book on Amazon as well. 

I'm limited to their printing capabilities, but I'm hoping for some kind of "collector's edition" or a hardcover art-only book in the future as well. 

Thank you to everyone who has already pre-ordered! I hope you enjoy it.

 

 

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I discussed in a previous post about the five-year journey it's been to get to this point, nearly finished with the book. And today, on my birthday, actually, I want to share another side to the story.

These last few months, starting in 2017, have been the hardest. Ever an anxious person, I discovered it was more than just "being nervous," and I suffered from legit OCD, a kind without the physical compulsions most people think of when they hear the term (like hand washing). Mine is more or less all in my head. Rumination, endless deliberation, judgments, etc.

It works like this. Most people have weird or strange thoughts (ever think about running your car off the road or jumping from a tall height?). Most people dismiss thoughts like these immediately. Someone with OCD, however, takes these thoughts seriously. They are real and deserve analysis. Lots of goddamn analysis. What does having this thought say about me? What does it mean? We cause make our anxiety skyrocket and find ways to cope (hence compulsions). Needless to say, it's exhausting. 

I consider myself lucky, however, in that my compulsion (aside from over-thinking) has always been to get shit done. Big shit, like projects and challenges way beyond my level. Marathons, kickboxing, building things, etc. I pour all of my anxious energy into things I have complete control over because it gives me a sense of certainty. I've since learned through therapy this is not exactly bad, but it's not exactly good either. Obsession is obsession, and the reason we do things is important. 

Through this process, I've come to realize that this book was one such project. And in reality, it is largely about me. In the book, Sofia deals with a part of her she doesn't understand. She fears it and what it might mean and what kind of person she is. It was only years after writing the book and looking back could I see myself in her struggle, and relate to the feeling of teetering on a knife's edge. 

Fear of uncertainty. That's all it is. The funny thing is that in both cases it's totally made up! It's literally all in my head. Well, it's in the book, but you get what I mean.

Once I had a hunch I had some form of OCD, I sought out specialized therapy in the form of ERP (exposure response prevention). It's basically severe desensitization to show your brain there is no reason to fear whatever it is you fear. A germaphobe might be told to eat off of a toilet seat, for example. In my case, it's playing out fantasy disaster scenarios that reveal I'm not the person I think I am—some kind of monster. Sound like anyone familiar?

I am telling you this for two reasons. One, I wanted to share that this book, and Sofia, especially, are important to me in deeply personal ways. Yes, it's neat adventure with some cool settings and all that. But for me, it's more. I see Sofia now as a kind of kindred spirit. Her journey has been largely my own. If this adds to your enjoyment of the book, all the better.

The second reason to share this is that if you deal with anxiety of any kind, know that it is probably not your fault. It's your brain trying to find ways to help you survive in the most annoying goddamn ways possible. But most importantly, it's highly treatable. I luckily found myself largely free of what I call "the black" in a just few months.

So, if you obsess, question, pace around, can't sleep, have compulsions...seek out ERP. It works. It will be scary and terrible, but we can all look to Sofia for strength and face our demons.