Steampunk

Saturday, August 7th, 2010

Japanese Goth fashion might work well in Lost Company - for some of the characters, anyway.

I’ve never written within the Steampunk genre, and am now doing some hasty research. I know a bit about the Victorian period, and I’ve read a few Steampunk novels - Phillip Reeve’s Mortal Engines, Michael Moorcock and most recently Richard Harland’s World Shaker, although perhaps the finest Steampunk story I’ve ever read was a short story by Julian Lim on the  SFF Online Writing Workshop.

Often, Steampunk stories imagine machinery that seems to be a natural/logical development of technology that existed in the 19th Century. History might be reimagined, as in World Shaker, where Napoleon has successfully invaded England. Or a Steampunk novel might be set in a fantasy world with steam-powered technology. A good definition of Steampunk can be found at Wickipedia.

Delving into the world of Steampunk has been interesting, and I’ve come across a few good websites:

• Steampunk Magazine
• Steampunk Scholar
• UK Steampunk Network
• The Asylum

There’s a general feeling on all the websites I’ve looked at that Steampunk novel has certain fixed conventions, or at least agreements, about fashion, society, weaponry and attitudes of the people (the funniest example being Toby Frost’s Space Captain Smith books). But as with all types of story, be it Steampunk, fantasy, thrillers, contemporary, I think the key element has to be narrative drive, a sense that, like a steam locomotive, the story is forever moving forward.

So while I am interested in the idea of world building, I don’t want to be so swamped with details I forget the story. It’s tempting to lose myself in worldbuilding for a while. I loved doing it for The Tale of the Birds, and filled six notebooks full of details. But I’m a family man now. As well as wanting to ensure I spend time with my family, rather than my imaginary characeters, I’m also faced with myriad DIY chores. Most days, I even have to hold down a day job. I don’t have time to imagine every intricate detail of the world or societies my characters inhabit. So with Lost Company, I’m going to concentrate on writing the story with the characters I’ve got. Then, in the second draft, I’ll build their world around them.

Tags: Lost Company, Steampunk, World building
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Retro Writer

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

I’m going through a bit of a retro stage. Perhaps my subconscious is gearing up to start working on my Steampunk first draft. I’ve gone on something of a Western splurge, I’m listening to music from my youth (currently Land of Confusion by Genesis) and I’m about to reread an old David Morrell novel. Watching the Westerns and listening to the music brings back all sorts of memories of growing up on the Isle of Man.

My Steampunk novel, so far called Lost Company, is inspired by an old Big Country song Lost Patrol. I loved Big Country when I was a teenager, in the same way I loved David Eddings’s books. I loved all kinds of guitary music - Dire Straits, Gary Moore, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard.

I remember being impressed by Big Country’s latest album, Peace In Our Time, and playing it in a pub on the promenade in Douglas for Simon Rea, now a singer-songwriter. While Big Country clearly weren’t his thing, he said, “It’s good they’re changing, not just staying the same.”

Which is as good a creative philosophy as any I’ve heard. I’m not saying Simon’s words have reverberated through 22 years (God, was it really 1988, when we were in that pub?), driving my writing forwards, but the philosphy behind them encapsulates why I’ve written in so many different genres:

• The Tale of the Birds - Historical fantasy
• The Mask Slips - Contemporary
• The Concubine’s Son - SE Asian fantasy 
• Chess Novel - Young Adults
• Lost Company - Steampunk

So while I’m enjoying wallowing in my retro-phase at the moment, I don’t think it will go on for much longer. Different novels require different music playlists, different styles of writing and different ways of thinking. After the Steampunk novel, I’m planning on writing one of two thrillers I’ve mapped out. I already know the music I’ll be listening to then, and it won’t be Dire Staits or Big Country. They’re perfect for Lost Company, though.

Tags: Genres, Isle of Man, Lost Company
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