The Things That Set Us Apart

I'm of the opinion that, as authors, we need to stand out in our own ways that are unique to each of our individual processes and aesthetics in writing novels.

There are many of us in this craft, and we need to stand out from others in a way that will help propel us forward and up to new heights.

Now, I'm a believer in a rising tide lifting all boats, so the more one person succeeds, the less that success reduces the impact of another author's work .

In fact, the more we succeed, the better it is for everyone.

But for me personally, I believe in using methods and aesthetics that are unique to my own writing. Much of what I do is not necessarily unique only to me, but the mixture of different writing options and the use of certain structures differentiate my writing from that of other authors.

Kishōtenketsu Structure Is My Calling Card

My biggest example of standing apart in the Western author arena is that I use the kishōtenketsu writing structure.

I do not use the Western three-act method. I don't believe in following it if my stories are to have a unique feel to them.

Some of my readers didn't like the extra buildup in that structure, but character is king for me. Why should the plot move along if the characters aren't people you can care about first?

This is most commonly seen in Eastern styles of storytelling, where there are two acts of setup before the author turns the story and finds a conclusion based on that turn.

Now, that term "turn" doesn't always mean a plot twist.

While a turn can be a twist, it doesn't have to be a plot twist. I effectively use plot twists in that section of the story, but it's not always a plot twist.

The whole point is to turn the story around and reveal something in a new light or present new information.

I've always found that beautiful about Eastern storytelling.

Many popular shows, manga, and novels from the East use this structure, and being a Western author, I thought it would be interesting to adopt it in a way that respects the art form.

Presenting Flavor Text in My Own Way

Another technique that allows me to do things a bit differently from other authors is an example from my upcoming light novel, The Voided Promises of Noble Songs.

In that light novel, there are interspersed sections where characters have small banter with each other. Instead of formatting it like regular dialogue, I put little icons of the characters next to some lines, and it'll always be a funny situation or something that deepens the characterization.

Think of it like a campfire story, only while they're walking along their way.

Of course, this might be a weird idea for some, but I think that to help my novels stand out, I need to have this type of characterization that other authors might not do.

I've given an example of it before on one of my writing craft posts on my website, but the characters will have miniature chibi portraits, and they will speak in a funny situation or relay a character's backstory in a way that is unique to the medium.

I found that doing this gives the novel an adventurous flavor, if that makes sense, because on an adventure, there are going to be times when the characters interact with each other between the main dialogue sections.

You know, the silent moments you don't typically hear.

I thought it'd be fun to intersperse these throughout the narrative, and I think it makes for excellent characterization and worldbuilding.

That is the primary goal: worldbuilding and expanding the characterization in such a way that the characters feel like true people instead of words on a page.

Triple and Quadruple Meanings Beyond the Surface

Another way I differentiate myself from other authors is my use of subtext in such a way that a line can be read in three different ways, sometimes, rather than only one.

I don't exactly mean a triple entendre so much as a triple meaning, but I learned that from the Hebrew Scriptures, where there will be a lesson to learn from a piece of the text of the Torah, for example.

Then, a new insight can be gleaned from it by reading it with a higher interpretation present.

A notable example of this in the New Testament is when Paul compares receiving money for the gospel to the way an ox should not be muzzled while treading out the grain.

It's a beautiful way to look at it, and certainly not the plain-text interpretation, but I can see how he concluded that from how he observed the text.

I do the same in my own novels.

Lyricism and Majesty in Crown of the Orphic Queen

My next release, Crown of the Orphic Queen, has this type of method attached to its prose.

The prose is far more lyrical than plain, yet not so purple.

Some sentences have actual meter. The dialogue at night turns archaic and Shakespearean, and in doing so, it has a unique identity. I've never seen a novel change diction levels specifically at night and transform them into archaic forms of words. That being the case, we now have this novel that does so.

Now, I probably won't repeat that same type of prose style in another book.

I want Crown of the Orphic Queen to be unique to itself, and I want it to stand out for that reason.

I'm never going to repeat a method as much as I am able to avoid it, except for my long-running series.

And speaking of that series, what sets it apart from other literature is the Antiphonal Metaphor Combat System.

My Antiphonal Metaphor Combat System's Core Foundation

This combat system is something I developed because it is part of a musical series, The Orchestrylus Odyssey, based on musical terminology and the concept of musica universalis, or the music of the spheres, where everything in the universe has a harmony and is playing music.

The world itself consists of seven spheres interspersed with gems and light trails between them, but I wanted something to set the story apart, so I came up with my Antiphonal Metaphor Combat System.

In essence, it is a call-and-response poetry mechanic where battles are described through poetic verses.

It isn't a matter of verses saying that someone was slashed with a sword or blocked a fire-based magic attack.

It's not like that at all.

In fact, the battle is itself the poetry.

One character will attack with a poetic stanza or a set of stanzas, and the other character will return a response in the middle of the duel with stanzas of their own. In this way, a tale told through text can be musical. The poems will be actual poems that are a duel between two or more opposing forces.

Somewhere in the far reaches of a certain sphere, there is an ancient tribe that uses rap flow as part of this combat system. So their poetry when they attack will be rap instead of something in iambic heptameter.

This is a big problem I had to overcome in this series.

How can I make the battles feel musical when a book does not produce sound to begin with?

It's text on a page, and it's in your mind, yet the world literally plays music.

This world is alive in such a way that it plays notes in the background. A seagull might flap wings with A notes.

The ocean rumbles with bass as the waves crash.

It is a strange world where blossoms, full flowers, and petals fall from dancing auroras in the skies of each sphere, and each different zone has a different bloomfall pattern.

To accentuate that world, it needed something in the battles to set it apart from everything else. The Antiphonal Metaphor Combat System is the solution. Each battle takes place in a mindscape as well as physically.

The main character, Stanzielle Quintette, can use more poetic stanzas than other characters because she wields Stellatina.

Just because she has green eyes doesn't mean she's tied to one specific emotion or color on the iroseva spectrum. Her eyes change color throughout the entire iroseva spectrum, even having heterochromia options if she decides on something like blue and red concurrently.

She can use multiple poetic stanzas in such a way that her poetry will be as diverse as possible. Whereas other characters' poetry is tied to their eye color and the corresponding emotions bound to that eye color.

This will also help me set a type of musical score to the novels, where one character's backstory might have a recurring poem that increases in size as the story goes along, such as Violeste Allegrette, the Black Mistress of the Medleyian Orchestra Division.

She is the perfect example of one of these poems, and that specific poem will recur throughout the entire series, ultimately expanding into a beautiful set of verses that enlighten the reader to her entire backstory.

This is what I came up with because, while text doesn't have sound, a musical story needs to be musical.

Yes, we can use the terminology, and character names might be based on music, but to really make the sound come alive for the reader, poetry is the best method forward.

Even the main character's name, Stanzielle Quintette, has this nod to it.

So the battle IS the poetry that only the reader sees, but the characters are fighting physically while the reader sees call-and-response poems between characters or monsters.

I'm quite fond of and proud of this system and feel it will help this series carve a unique niche in fantasy.

Bryan Rivera-Rivera Needs to Shine Throughout the Books

It is because of these different facets of my writing that I feel like I've carved out an identity for myself.

My books will always have the Bryan Rivera-Rivera aesthetic to them.

I want to be known for having a specific style of writing in each of my books. I want someone to be able to pick up a book and go, "Yeah, this is one of his novels."

That's how I view things.

I don't want to be like every other writer, and I don't think any writer aspires to be like another writer.

We have our inspirations and our influences, sure, but to carve out a path for ourselves through the call to artistry and the use of our artistic methods, it takes this type of experimentation and carving things out for ourselves.

My books have resonated with some people who have surprised me, and I want to continue to make my books resonate. I'm a patient man, and I know this journey is not an instant one. It will take a lot of hard work, but writing is the thing I love to do the most in this world, and I will continue to do so until I take my last breath.

I don't believe in retiring from this. Also, I don't believe in retirement when you're doing something you love. I want to be in my eighties, writing books, telling stories, and bringing some hope to the people of the next generation.

To me, nothing would be more wonderful.