Interview with Science Fiction Western novelist, Rachael Clarke, Half 2 – How To Write the Future podcast
“What I’ll inform individuals is to seek out your writing group, discover your writing household.”
— R.A. Clarke
On this episode, “Interview with Western Science Fiction Novelist, Rachael Clarke, Half 2” podcast host Beth Barany continues her interview with Rachael Clarke the place they talk about Rachael’s writing course of, together with one of many greatest factors of struggles. Plus, they share why it’s essential to be part of a writing neighborhood.
Take heed to half 1 the place they each talk about Rachael’s first full-length novel printed beneath her pseudonym R.A. Clarke, Race to Novus.
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Concerning the How To Write the Future podcast
The *How To Write The Future* podcast is for science fiction and fantasy writers who need to write constructive futures and efficiently carry these tales out into {the marketplace}. Hosted by Beth Barany, science fiction novelist and creativity coach for writers. We cowl ideas for fiction writers. This podcast is for readers too if you happen to’re in any respect interested by the way forward for humanity.
This podcast is for you when you have questions like:
– How do I create a plausible world for my science fiction story?
– How do I determine what’s not working if my story feels flat?
– How do I make my story extra attention-grabbing and alive?
This podcast is for readers too if you happen to’re in any respect interested by the way forward for humanity.
About Rachael Clarke
R.A. Clarke is a former police officer turned stay-at-home mother residing together with her household in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. Moreover elevating two rambunctious boys, soaking in a lot wanted lake time, illustrating, and performing in neighborhood theatre, R.A.’s spare time is spent plotting, fantastical novels, and multi-genre brief fiction. Her tales have been featured in varied publications, and she or he has received worldwide contests, akin to Purple Penguin Books’ humour contest, the Author’s Weekly 24-Hour Contest, The Writers Exercise: Author’s Video games, and the 2023 Write Fighters 3-Day Novella Problem. She was additionally named a finalist for the 2021 Hindi’s Librairies Females of Fiction Awards, the 2021 Futurescapes Award (for “Race to Novus”), and the 2022 Darkish Sire Awards.
Web site: https://www.rachaelclarkewrites.com/
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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@rachaelclarke9631
Join my e-newsletter and recieve an unique brief story from the “Race to Novus” world (a prequel). https://eepurl.com/ih-3XH
To observe all of my adventures writing and illustrating youngsters’s books particularly, go to: https://www.fb.com/rachaelclarkewrites.com
Different contact: https://linktr.ee/raclarkewrites
Transcript for Interview with Western science fiction novelist, Rachael Clarke, Half 2
BETH BARANY: Hey everybody. Welcome to How To Write the Future Podcast. I’m your host, Beth Barany. I’m a creativity coach, science fiction and fantasy author and writing trainer, and clearly host of this podcast. I do that podcast to assist fiction writers, particularly science fiction and fantasy writers, but additionally anybody who cares in regards to the future.
I care about serving to you form constructive, optimistic futures as a result of with our creativeness, which is such a robust instrument, with our creativeness, we may help remake the world, which is my ardour and pleasure.
[00:34] Intro to Half 2 The Significance of Writing Help Teams and Your Writing Course of
BETH BARANY: I simply wanna underscore for everyone listening, ’trigger I’m a writing trainer and a coach and I run my very own teams, how essential it’s that now we have help teams and I really like that you’ve your in-person teams, you’ve your on-line teams. As many teams as you’ll be able to deal with is what I like to recommend individuals do. Locations the place they get to be with their friends, you get to be along with your friends. You’re working a gaggle, which additionally means that you can be taught in a brand new method. And we be taught from our friends, we be taught from our college students, we be taught from our mentors, and which might are available in all types of kinds. I’m actually happy that you simply’re doing that, and in addition simply to mannequin for different individuals who is likely to be struggling.
[01:08] One of many greatest factors of battle
BETH BARANY: One of many greatest factors of battle is that they’re too remoted. And truly it’s an enormous fantasy that writers are simply these solo- You’re off by your self. There may be that interval the place we’re writing and it’s simply you and the web page, after which your story, however then the whole lot else about being a author like you’ve proven us is neighborhood.
[01:28] Writing Neighborhood
BETH BARANY: It’s our friends, it’s our critique companions, it’s our help community, it’s our household.
After which it’s your followers and your readers and the individuals who purchase your books and all that good things.
RACHAEL CLARKE: Completely.
BETH BARANY: Yeah. So I actually love that you’re showcasing that as a result of I meet authors on a regular basis who’re fighting the steadiness that, that you’ve so fantastically carved out.
[01:48] Rachael’s Writing Course of
BETH BARANY: So I’m curious additionally about your writing course of. In the event you discover that you simply infuse components of your self into your tales or your characters.
RACHAEL CLARKE: Sure. So I do, I undoubtedly do. Sincere, there are occasions the place I truly actively keep away from infusing my actual life into characters.
There’s the twofold. In order that, sure, I one hundred percent do infuse. So like even Finn Finley Rucker from my novel, there’s components of me in her, like I’ve struggled with my household.
I’ve struggled with- Not essentially like feeling like myself or like I do know myself absolutely or that like I really feel like I would like a brand new begin or that I’m struggling. Lots of people can most likely relate to these issues as properly.A few of that, these experiences that I’ve gone by way of with my household did sneak into to Finn just a little bit as a result of I felt like I may relate to that character in that method.
And so in some methods, I may then assist that character be realized extra clearly.
Additionally, I really like horses, so in fact she’s gonna love horses. Perhaps just a little little bit of a unusual humorousness, just a little little bit of moxie at occasions.
I wouldn’t say she’s a, excuse my language, however a ballbuster. However she’s an adventurous lady and she or he’s keen to get her arms soiled and get in there. I see myself in that very same method. I’ve by no means been afraid of getting my arms soiled.
And, so yeah, there’s bits of me and her, however she’s undoubtedly her personal character. She’s not me.
And similar there’s bits of individuals I do know in plenty of my characters.
Or my experiences wherever I’ve been, wherever I’ve traveled, something that I’ve toiled with or no matter, these issues can undoubtedly make their method into my novel and be described, as a result of we write what we all know, So if we’ve lived these experiences, that’s even higher and extra clear, in our writing. And I don’t know. I haven’t heard rather a lot different authors actually say this or discuss this a lot, however I don’t know. That’s the best way I’m. I try to keep away from, making my characters into individuals I do know. I need them to be fully made up and I create them from the bottom up. Yeah. Generally I am going that route too, the place it’s like, no, I don’t want this character to be like anyone.I need this character to be its personal factor.
BETH BARANY: Yeah. Yeah.
If that is smart. Yeah. Yeah. As a author myself and in addition as a writing trainer, It’s typically a lot simpler to create characters which can be very totally different from us and will be very difficult to create characters which can be very alike. And it’s an excellent train and stretch to be enjoying with characters which can be fully totally different.
[03:54] World-Constructing Science Fiction and Fantasy
BETH BARANY: I wanna contact just a little bit in your world constructing and I’m curious if we are able to, if you happen to can inform us just a little bit like what attracts you and has drawn you to put in writing science fiction and fantasy.
RACHAEL CLARKE: That’s an excellent query. Gosh, it’s onerous to really pinpoint that. How do you nail that down? I write just a little little bit of rather a lot, particularly so say with my brief tales, when it’s themed and prompted contests, you get the whole lot and you actually step out of your consolation zone and also you’re attempting all types of various genres.
And so I’ve written plenty of issues. I additionally fairly get pleasure from fantasy.however I all the time gravitate to sci-fi.
All of my lengthy kind works, like all my concepts for my novels, which the listing is sort of lengthy at this level, and I by no means have sufficient time. I’m by no means gonna be capable of write all of them, however they’re all sci-fi and yeah.
I actually assume it’s simply my want. Escapism is large for me. As a result of I’ve had some struggles with PTD and various things, diving again into that writing world and actually going into a complete new place. And it’s not even actual. It’s not the true world, it’s future. It may be no matter I need it to be.
I can take into consideration what issues might be and the way they’ll have an effect on issues and the way they work together with issues. And simply utilizing my creativeness. I actually like that and I’ve all the time been a sci-fi fanatic, like I used to be a film buff. My first job was at a film retailer on the nook. And I prided myself on being that particular person that folks would ask and I’d be capable of inform them probably the most obscure, they’d be like, oh, it’s that film with that man that had the toupee and like he rode the horse. Do not forget that? Have you learnt that what I’m speaking about?
And I’d be like, oh yeah, that’s this and this, And like I had 1500 VHS at one time in my assortment. in any case,
I really like motion pictures and I really like sci-fi, like Stargate, was an enormous affect. I’m attempting to assume. Clearly Star Wars, Star Trek, love, Star Trek, and like plenty of various things.
BETH BARANY: And yeah, undoubtedly a sci-fi particular person. So I believe that simply units me up for it, I really like watching movies like that. I really like studying books like that. And clearly I really like writing it too, so yeah, I don’t know. I believe that’s nice. Simply the notion that once we write in regards to the future and we are able to write about something. And actually discover some issues. Yeah. Like your, how your present novels got here from What-If.
What would horses appear to be sooner or later? What modifications would possibly they’ve? And yeah, I simply love that.
[06:01] Warrior Ladies
BETH BARANY: So can I ask you some questions on being a police officer?
RACHAEL CLARKE: Oh, certain. Yeah. Yeah, go for it. I’m an open e book. Yeah.
BETH BARANY: The rationale I’m very involved in that’s as a result of I’ve a ardour challenge about writing about warrior ladies. Each of my protagonists, my heroines, have a previous within the navy and one in all them was a navy cop and the opposite is a fantasy setting, so she was a soldier. And the opposite was in like a future model of the Area Pressure that I’ve invented and in addition navy cop and has a science background. I too am very involved in science and I’ve all the time been , I believe in like how issues work.
And I’m additionally curious in your perspective, if being a cop influences- the truth that you had been a police officer, if that influences your writing in any method or if it influences the questions you wanna discover or the tales you wanna inform. Simply exploring.
RACHAEL CLARKE: For certain. it is going to and it does. Okay. And I do produce other author buddies that ask me questions too, in the event that they’re writing a narrative and so they’ll be like, Hey, would this occur?
Or can I bounce one thing off of you? And I really like serving to them if I can.
Clearly, policing is totally different wherever you go geographically. Yeah.
However yeah, it does affect how I work as a result of there’s some, I discover there’s some scenes that perhaps I may write that may automatically- I do know issues, some issues, proper?
So once I write a narrative, a chase scene with a police officer or one thing, or something of that nature, I can use some lingo or use some descriptions I’d say can be largely believable, throughout the board for probably the most half.
In order that has helped me and undoubtedly does affect my tales. However that mentioned, I don’t actively pursue writing police tales and it’s not as a result of I’d ever do it.
However I don’t know, a part of me has put that in my previous. Yeah, due to the challenges that had been there. And in order that’s why I believe I just like the wild creativity of fiction and speculative fiction a lot.
And I don’t know, I don’t need to dive again into that world an excessive amount of, I assume if that is smart. ’trigger typically it may possibly set off me to be sincere. Yeah. However I undoubtedly, it undoubtedly does get, I undoubtedly use it. It’s undoubtedly there. And if I’ve to depend on that information, I do, I don’t run away from it, however I don’t actively dive into it both of that.
BETH BARANY: Yeah. Once I’m writing, it’s a leap for me. I’m writing about homicide mysteries set on house stations, so I’m getting into a world that I don’t know, however I do plenty of analysis for,
which is a part of the adventuresomeness of being a fiction author. You get to enter worlds, you get to analysis issues that you simply don’t know as greatest you’ll be able to.
RACHAEL CLARKE: Completely. Yeah. yeah. And I used to be gonna say, particularly like with when it’s fantastical, when it’s not like modern based mostly. then I don’t assume I’d ever get triggered by that, actually, in that regard as a result of it’s so totally different.
You can also make cops into something you need sooner or later. And I’m attempting to assume of- what’s his e book? Oh, it’s The Expanse. Yeah. Consider just like the investigators within the Expanse.
it’s to date faraway from something that may ever be what I’d’ve ever finished, So it’s in some cases, yeah. It simply, nevertheless it’s simply enjoyable.
BETH BARANY: Yeah. And he’s nonetheless investigator and he’s nonetheless asking questions and he’s nonetheless going the place he shouldn’t be going.
It’s nonetheless the core of what an investigator doesn’t change.
RACHAEL CLARKE: Precisely. Yeah.
[09:10] What’s Subsequent for Rachael Clarke
RACHAEL CLARKE: I’m so excited for you. I wanna actually encourage of us to take a look at your e book.
BETH BARANY: And it’s fabulous that you simply’ve obtained a trilogy, or two extra books coming. And talking of that, so what are you engaged on now and,what’s subsequent for you?
RACHAEL CLARKE: It’s all thrilling. I’ve obtained a number of irons within the hearth, identical to you mentioned, you’ve obtained a bunch of issues on the go. I’m the identical. I’m taking a little bit of a break proper now from writing plenty of brief fiction and attempting to give attention to larger tasks.
So I’m undoubtedly writing the sequel to Race To Novus. I’m nearly finished it truly the primary draft.And it’s gonna be referred to as Combat For Revaru, which is the identify of a location within the e book, which I can’t disclose an excessive amount of about.
So, yeah. Um, after which after that, I’m hoping this NaNoWriMo, I’m gonna dive into e book three and begin drafting that, however I even have a pair novellas that I’ve been engaged on.
Certainly one of ’em truly is known as, Changing into Grace, and it truly received, the Proper Fighters Three-day novella problem final yr, which was like, woo-hoo, yay. However it wants some extra, clearly you’ll be able to solely write a lot in three days, so there’s gonna be issues that you simply wanna, flesh it out some extra, So I’m engaged on that really slowly proper now, and I’m hoping to place that out sooner or later, perhaps subsequent yr. I don’t know. Yeah, so I used to be simply engaged on little issues right here and there, however the novel, I’m actually specializing in getting my Race to Novus trilogy finished.
BETH BARANY: Yeah.
RACHAEL CLARKE: After which, after which yeah, we’ll go from there. Decide one other concept and run with it.
BETH BARANY: And if individuals wanna discover out extra about you, the place can they go?
RACHAEL CLARKE: Completely. So I’ve obtained a lot of social media, however one of the simplest ways, I assume the simplest method can be to hop onto my web site, which is RachaelClarkeWrites.com.
[10:42] Join with Rachael Clarke
BETH BARANY: Rachael, it’s been a lot enjoyable chatting with you.
I undoubtedly wanna have you ever again once you get e book two out. I wanna encourage everybody to take a look at Rachael’s e book, Race to Novus. I’ll have the e book cowl on the display if you happen to’re YouTube. And all of Rachael’s hyperlinks will probably be within the present notes or the present description, weblog put up, wherever the main points of this podcast episode are.
[11:04] Recommendation for Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers
BETH BARANY: Simply to complete up, is there any piece of recommendation that you simply wish to supply different writers who’re writing science fiction or fantasy? Any like sizzling tip or prime of thoughts tip that you simply wish to supply different writers?
RACHAEL CLARKE: I believe we already touched on it. Normally what I’ll inform individuals is to seek out your writing group, discover your writing household.
That’s actually essential. But in addition to go together with that, I’d say try to discover critique companions. Individuals you can alternate reads with individuals which can be on the identical wavelength as you. It doesn’t must be, you already know, rewriting the very same factor, however you can get one another and work properly with one another.
it’s price its weight in gold. I accomplish that a lot beta studying for individuals and and. I realized a lot from different individuals. And likewise you make invaluable relationships and connections with different writers that method. It actually is a sort of a household factor. You want individuals round you and also you’re gonna share their work, and so they’re gonna share yours.
And it truly is a household factor and simply to uplift one another. yeah, I’d say that may be my sizzling tip, is locate your self, a number of good critique companions.
BETH BARANY: Yeah. That’s so nice. I’d simply underscore that about one million occasions. You’re so proper on. And we write alone, however we succeed collectively.
Sure. So I want you a lot success and thanks a lot for being a visitor on tips on how to Write the Future.
RACHAEL CLARKE: I adore it. Thanks a lot for having me. It’s been a blast.
That’s so nice. All proper, everybody, thanks a lot for listening to this episode of Methods to Write The Future.
Write Lengthy and Prosper.
That’s a wrap. All proper. Do you, how do you want my log out?
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ABOUT BETH BARANY
Beth Barany teaches science fiction and fantasy novelists tips on how to write, edit, and publish their books as a coach, trainer, guide, and developmental editor. She’s an award-winning fantasy and science fiction novelist and runs the podcast, “How To Write The Future.”
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