Thanks again to Elana, Jennifer, and Alex for coming up with the Great Blogging Experiment. I'm still making my way through the list of participants; I hope to reach the end by this Friday. I'm now following a lot more blogs, and I'm amazed to see all the new followers I have. Welcome, everyone! To celebrate reaching 100 Followers, I'm going to announce a book giveaway on Wednesday. Stay tuned for more details.
In the meantime, I wanted to comment on something I noticed last week.
I don't have much free time for pop culture. Although I've heard of Glee, I didn't watch the first season. I have seen a couple of Lady Gaga videos, but I hadn't heard of Charice until last week, when my husband showed me this video and gave me a lovely earworm:
After watching this video, I kept thinking about Charice's character, Sunshine, and her appearance. The pigtails and big black glasses didn't suit her, to say the least. And she only wore them in this scene; I watched the entire episode online, and the rest of the time she had no glasses and wore a beret. I had come up with some reasons Sunshine would dress the way she does in the video (bad eyesight requiring heavy glasses to handle her prescription, poor self-esteem, personal taste, etc.), but they don't seem to fit the situation. The pigtails and glasses seemed like something put on Sunshine to make her an ugly duckling--or perhaps to make Rachael underestimate her. In other words, it seemed more like an author (or producer) decision than a character decision, and that pulled me out of the story.
I think that's something we authors need to be careful about in our own stories. It's not just about how we costume our characters; it's also about not forcing them to do something out of character for them to make the plot go a certain direction. In most instances, characters should show common sense and not do something that will hurt them--unless you've already demonstrated the character doesn't have common sense or has very good motivation to work against their own self-interest.
All that said, I did like the diversity of characters on Glee and enjoyed the plot twists. I told my husband we could watch the show together to have some couple time. Whether or not we can manage that with our three-year-old son's sleep (or lack-of-sleep) schedule is another story.
Do any of you have other examples from books, movies, or TV where the authors/producers obviously steered a character into doing something the character wasn't motivated to do?
Monday, September 27, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
The Great Blogging Experiment: Creating Compelling Characters
A couple of weeks ago, Elana Johnson (along with Jennifer Daiker and Alex Cavanaugh) proposed a blogging experiment. They challenged readers of their blogs to post today on the same subject: creating compelling characters. The idea was to show how each participant (there are over 150) would have a unique take on the subject. I figured that in order to create a compelling character in fiction, it would help to look at a real-life compelling person. Those of you who know me are probably not surprised at my choice: John Lennon. Here's a short list of the traits that make John Lennon a compelling figure, at least to me. All of these traits can be given to fictional characters as well.
A Dramatic Backstory: John Lennon was born during World War II (some sources say there was an air raid in progress at the time), and his childhood and adolescence weren't peaceful times either. Abandoned by both his father and his mother (when John was five, his father forced him to choose between them), John was mostly raised by his aunt and uncle. He started seeing his mother again when he was a teenager but lost her for good when she was killed in an accident. He also lost both his uncle and his best friend. All this happened before the Beatles became famous. Perhaps it's no wonder John had what I'll call...
A Complex Personality: John presented a brash, rebellious face to the world to cover up his inner insecurities. His wit could be quite cruel, especially if he sensed vulnerability. But he could be kind to fans, signing autographs for them when they waited outside his house. John's personality was large enough to contain other contradictions, as if he was a "sweet bird of paradox" himself. He sang about peace yet had a temper. An intelligent man, he could still be taken advantage of by unscrupulous people. He described himself as the laziest man in England, but he had the ambition and drive to travel across Liverpool to learn a single guitar chord, play for hours on end in Hamburg--in short, to do whatever it took to make the Beatles the best. Throughout his life, John continued to grow, seemingly conquering his inner demons. Although he wasn't much of a father to Julian, he was much more nurturing with Sean.
Leadership: John was the one who started the Beatles, but he inspired countless other people to do things, whether it was playing guitar or giving peace a chance. He was even one of three Men of the Decade (the 1960s, of course).
So to summarize, compelling characters have unique backgrounds that affect their personalities and actions in the story. They aren't one-sided, but have multiple aspects to their personalities. They have both strengths and flaws. And to make them compelling to readers, show how other characters in the story find your main characters worth watching and listening to.
I'm sure there's more I could say, but I'd rather watch this:
For a full list of the people participating in this blogging experiment, please check out the link to Elana's blog at the beginning of this post. And if you're here because of the experiment, hello! Please leave a comment so I can check out your blog too.
A Dramatic Backstory: John Lennon was born during World War II (some sources say there was an air raid in progress at the time), and his childhood and adolescence weren't peaceful times either. Abandoned by both his father and his mother (when John was five, his father forced him to choose between them), John was mostly raised by his aunt and uncle. He started seeing his mother again when he was a teenager but lost her for good when she was killed in an accident. He also lost both his uncle and his best friend. All this happened before the Beatles became famous. Perhaps it's no wonder John had what I'll call...
A Complex Personality: John presented a brash, rebellious face to the world to cover up his inner insecurities. His wit could be quite cruel, especially if he sensed vulnerability. But he could be kind to fans, signing autographs for them when they waited outside his house. John's personality was large enough to contain other contradictions, as if he was a "sweet bird of paradox" himself. He sang about peace yet had a temper. An intelligent man, he could still be taken advantage of by unscrupulous people. He described himself as the laziest man in England, but he had the ambition and drive to travel across Liverpool to learn a single guitar chord, play for hours on end in Hamburg--in short, to do whatever it took to make the Beatles the best. Throughout his life, John continued to grow, seemingly conquering his inner demons. Although he wasn't much of a father to Julian, he was much more nurturing with Sean.
Leadership: John was the one who started the Beatles, but he inspired countless other people to do things, whether it was playing guitar or giving peace a chance. He was even one of three Men of the Decade (the 1960s, of course).
So to summarize, compelling characters have unique backgrounds that affect their personalities and actions in the story. They aren't one-sided, but have multiple aspects to their personalities. They have both strengths and flaws. And to make them compelling to readers, show how other characters in the story find your main characters worth watching and listening to.
I'm sure there's more I could say, but I'd rather watch this:
For a full list of the people participating in this blogging experiment, please check out the link to Elana's blog at the beginning of this post. And if you're here because of the experiment, hello! Please leave a comment so I can check out your blog too.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Practice Makes Perfect: Writing Exercises
A recent guest post on Writer Beware® Blogs! reminded me of something I'd meant to do earlier this year after finishing Across Two Universes: develop my description abilities through writing exercises. Here's my first attempt, slightly edited to make the POV consistent:
Descriptive Exercise # 1—Lakeshore Path
It has been far too long since I’ve walked down Lakeshore Path to Picnic Point, but I still remember it like a pathway to my heart.
Lakeshore Path is on the edge of campus, on the other side of the marsh where wild swans swim. I usually drive there and park in the small lot, where gravel slips under my feet. There’s a wall surrounding Picnic Point, but an opening in the wall permits passage down the sandy road.
Once inside the wall, I see grassy areas where on pleasant days students sit on blankets, studying behind sunglasses and shut off from the rest of the world with earphones. More students pass me, jogging or biking, but not engaging me. I’m free to study the gnarls in the oak trees, the ruts in the path. I smell someone grilling up ahead near one of the picnic areas. Most of these areas are just wooden seats around a central area.
At one point the path splits. I choose to walk the cooler, shadowed path. Squirrels dart away from me, and crows caw overhead. Then the paths unite, and I continue past the small beach on the left. If I peep to the right, between the trees you can see the skyline of Madison past the blue lake.
This land isn’t level; there are small hills to climb. But I continue on, passing more picnic areas and a rusty water pump. Eventually I come to my favorite part of the path, a level stretch where trees arc above you like the roof of Nature’s cathedral. Then I burst through to the end of the path. Success! Another grassy area with the largest seating area of all awaits. Other walkers or joggers resting for a moment, strolling about as they regard the sailboats on the lake. But is this really the end?
No, it’s not. I continue down the sandy path there about one o’clock. The bank is steep, but tree roots cut steps into the path. Finally I’ve arrived at a fallen tree at the water’s edge. If I sit here quietly, smelling the water, I may hear a pair of ducks quietly peeping at each other as they swim past.
I'm thinking of trying a writing exercise once a week. Is anyone else interested in joining me? We could all post on the same day and offer feedback to each other. Please comment below if you'd like to do this.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
The Science of Science Fiction--Measuring Consciousness
What is consciousness? People have been trying to understand it for thousands of years. One University of Wisconsin professor has made developing a theory of consciousness his career, and he may be closing in on an answer.
According Professor Tononi in this article from the New York Times, consciousness is integrated information. What this means is that the neurons in our brains (or I should say, within a single brain) are sharing information. They're not doing this generally; they're organized into structures which then interact with each other. According to information theory, this is the best way to maximize shared information, referred to as phi in the article. Phi cannot be calculated because there are too many possible connections between neurons. However, Tononi is testing his theory by studying how brain activity changes after a sedative is used. Pulses of brain activity are longer, more complex, and more widespread in conscious people than unconscious ones. Someday, doctors may use these differences in brain activity to determine if a person is conscious or not. This test would work even if the patient is unable to respond.
Of course, as a science fiction writer, I'd like to look for ways to test consciousness in animals, robots, and even aliens. Would a test of this type work on these subjects? It probably would on animals, would need to be modified for robots and computers, and unfortunately be unlikely to work in aliens, given that their physiology would be so much different from ours. We'd need to find more universal tests. If we are able to find a universal test for consciousness, it would enlighten us to the general natural of consciousness and perhaps answer some of our basic questions.
According Professor Tononi in this article from the New York Times, consciousness is integrated information. What this means is that the neurons in our brains (or I should say, within a single brain) are sharing information. They're not doing this generally; they're organized into structures which then interact with each other. According to information theory, this is the best way to maximize shared information, referred to as phi in the article. Phi cannot be calculated because there are too many possible connections between neurons. However, Tononi is testing his theory by studying how brain activity changes after a sedative is used. Pulses of brain activity are longer, more complex, and more widespread in conscious people than unconscious ones. Someday, doctors may use these differences in brain activity to determine if a person is conscious or not. This test would work even if the patient is unable to respond.
Of course, as a science fiction writer, I'd like to look for ways to test consciousness in animals, robots, and even aliens. Would a test of this type work on these subjects? It probably would on animals, would need to be modified for robots and computers, and unfortunately be unlikely to work in aliens, given that their physiology would be so much different from ours. We'd need to find more universal tests. If we are able to find a universal test for consciousness, it would enlighten us to the general natural of consciousness and perhaps answer some of our basic questions.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Back on the Blog Chain: Remember Me
If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write something worth reading or do things worth the writing.--Benjamin Franklin
This week, Ten Word Tuesday has been preempted by the Blog Chain. Shannon has a tough question for us:
Imagine this: when you're gone, readers will remember your writing most for just one of these things: your characters, your plots, your settings, or your style. Which one (only one!) would you prefer over the rest? Why?
It isn't emotionally easy contemplating your death and what will be left of you afterward. However, I knew my answer to this question as soon as I read the choices. I admire authors who have poetic styles or who can create lush, detailed settings, but those aren't my strengths. Enthralling, unpredictable plots are great to read, and if I could choose two things, plots would be my second choice. But my first choice is characters. To me, bringing a complex character to life with just words, creating a "virtual" person who evokes intense emotions in my readers, who changes over the course of a story, and who may even feature in several plots is a great accomplishment. If I can manage that, then I feel I have written something worth reading indeed. I'm not the one who makes that call; it's up to my readers. As the Beatles said, "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." I hope I can create characters people love--even if they love to hate them.
Please check out Amanda's and Eric's posts on this topic to continue following the chain.
This week, Ten Word Tuesday has been preempted by the Blog Chain. Shannon has a tough question for us:
Imagine this: when you're gone, readers will remember your writing most for just one of these things: your characters, your plots, your settings, or your style. Which one (only one!) would you prefer over the rest? Why?
It isn't emotionally easy contemplating your death and what will be left of you afterward. However, I knew my answer to this question as soon as I read the choices. I admire authors who have poetic styles or who can create lush, detailed settings, but those aren't my strengths. Enthralling, unpredictable plots are great to read, and if I could choose two things, plots would be my second choice. But my first choice is characters. To me, bringing a complex character to life with just words, creating a "virtual" person who evokes intense emotions in my readers, who changes over the course of a story, and who may even feature in several plots is a great accomplishment. If I can manage that, then I feel I have written something worth reading indeed. I'm not the one who makes that call; it's up to my readers. As the Beatles said, "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." I hope I can create characters people love--even if they love to hate them.
Please check out Amanda's and Eric's posts on this topic to continue following the chain.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Said-Bookisms, Emotion, and Children
I bought Alex a couple of new books on Saturday, and we've been reading them over and over, the way he normally does the first few days after getting something new. One thing I noticed is how much the characters' emotions are described with said-bookisms and adverbs, things that are generally frowned upon in adult fiction. For young readers, I think it does make sense to use them, since they aren't experienced in picking up subtle clues about emotions. So, when do kids learn how to interpret body language and facial expressions in fiction? Does it depend on how much they read? Does there ever come a point where kids/readers in general start to notice said-bookisms, or is that a writer thing? Do any readers of this blog have answers for me?
Thursday, September 16, 2010
The Science of Science Fiction: Hello, Hybrids!
If I mention science fiction and hybrids in the same sentence, chances are this may be the first thing that comes to mind:
As "fascinating" as Spock may be, he's not a natural hybrid; it required a team of Vulcan scientists to create him. Given how different Vulcan and human metabolisms are, it would have been impossible for his parents to conceive naturally. However, closely related animal species can and do produce hybrids. According to this article in the New York Times, up to ten percent of animal species and twenty-five percent of plant species interbreed occasionally with a different species. Some of these hybrids are obviously different from their parents; they may have an intermediate number of teeth, for instance, or their coats may be a patchwork of their parents'. (See the article for a picture of a zebra-horse hybrid called a zorse.) Unfortunately, due to genetic issues such as an unusual number of chromosomes, hybrids tend to be sterile. (This is more of an issue in animals than in plants.) Although hybrids generally can't compete against their parent species in the same niches, sometimes they are able to find a unique niche where they thrive and the parents don't.
What does this mean for science fiction? For near-future science fiction, I could see interest in creating species better suited to handle upcoming climate change. Perhaps scientists would even find ways to make these hybrids fertile by manipulating genes and chromosomes. Although species have to be very closely related (usually within the same genus; never outside the order) to hybridize in nature, genetic engineering makes it possible combine DNA from vastly different species. (I think in this case, probably only a few genes would be added from the other species, not half.)
Nearly all life on Earth uses the same genetic code (there are a few exceptions in extreme climates), but would this extend to life on other planets? Even if extraterrestrial life follows the same biochemical principles that we do, tiny but crucial details may be different. Their equivalent of DNA would be highly unlikely to follow our genetic code, or perhaps they may use different amino acids to build proteins. But if there's a way to create terrestrial-extraterrestrial hybrids, science fiction writers will find it--and explore the results and implications.
As "fascinating" as Spock may be, he's not a natural hybrid; it required a team of Vulcan scientists to create him. Given how different Vulcan and human metabolisms are, it would have been impossible for his parents to conceive naturally. However, closely related animal species can and do produce hybrids. According to this article in the New York Times, up to ten percent of animal species and twenty-five percent of plant species interbreed occasionally with a different species. Some of these hybrids are obviously different from their parents; they may have an intermediate number of teeth, for instance, or their coats may be a patchwork of their parents'. (See the article for a picture of a zebra-horse hybrid called a zorse.) Unfortunately, due to genetic issues such as an unusual number of chromosomes, hybrids tend to be sterile. (This is more of an issue in animals than in plants.) Although hybrids generally can't compete against their parent species in the same niches, sometimes they are able to find a unique niche where they thrive and the parents don't.
What does this mean for science fiction? For near-future science fiction, I could see interest in creating species better suited to handle upcoming climate change. Perhaps scientists would even find ways to make these hybrids fertile by manipulating genes and chromosomes. Although species have to be very closely related (usually within the same genus; never outside the order) to hybridize in nature, genetic engineering makes it possible combine DNA from vastly different species. (I think in this case, probably only a few genes would be added from the other species, not half.)
Nearly all life on Earth uses the same genetic code (there are a few exceptions in extreme climates), but would this extend to life on other planets? Even if extraterrestrial life follows the same biochemical principles that we do, tiny but crucial details may be different. Their equivalent of DNA would be highly unlikely to follow our genetic code, or perhaps they may use different amino acids to build proteins. But if there's a way to create terrestrial-extraterrestrial hybrids, science fiction writers will find it--and explore the results and implications.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Absolute Write Blog Chain: Seasons
Yes, I'm crazy enough to join yet another Blog Chain, this one comprising posts from members of the Absolute Write Water Cooler forum. Since the topic was seasons, I immediately thought of Day of All Seasons, one of my trunked novels. Every four years, the country of Challen is afflicted with a magical storm that mixes up the seasons, and a group of four magic-users (servants of the Four Gods and Goddesses) must deal with the storm and the resulting damage.When the Sola Spring, leader of the magic-users, dies unexpectedly, a new group of four female magic-users must learn to work together despite internal differences and sabotage by the current Sol Win. The excerpt below shows a soltrans, a religious ceremony marking the change of seasons. (Jenna and Bel are two of the trainees.)
“God of Summer, God of the sun that gives us life, God of the plants that feed and clothe us, heal and please us, accept our thanks,” the Sol Sum said. His voice was strong and clear, carrying over the square. “You have given us a good season, a season of warmth and light, a season for growing, a season for enjoying all the gifts of the Four. Truly this has been a season of life.” The Sol Sum paused and glanced at the Sol Win, who nodded slightly. The Sol Sum continued, “Although this fire and these grains come from You, accept them as a measure of our gratitude.”
As he finished, the lucifer burst into flame. A strong breeze rustled the Season Lords’ clothes as the Sol Sum tilted the bowl and the Sol Win put the lucifer into it. Jenna wrinkled her nose at the smell of burnt grain, made worse by the incense mixed with it.
When the grain and incense had burned out, the Sol Win caused a small cloud to rain into the bowl, quenching the fire. He took the bowl and stepped back. The Sol Sum continued, “Oh God of Summer, Your season has been so fruitful we would ask You to stay with us always — ”
“Stop!” the Sola Fall called out. She stepped forward and threw off her cloak.
The Sol Sum looked astonished. “Who are you to interrupt my prayer to the God of Summer?”
“I am the Sola Fall, representative of the Goddess of Fall. This is Her season, and you have no right to pray to the God of Summer now. His time is over.”
“Not so. I challenge your claim.”
“I accept. Bring out the sticks.” The Sol Win stepped forward with a long stick in each hand. One end of each stick was well wrapped with leather. The Sol Sum and Sola Fall each took a stick and paced towards the sides, where the girls stood. Jenna stepped away to give them more room and motioned Bel to do the same.
“I used to play this with my brother,” Bel whispered.
“I’ve done it in the actual ritual,” Jenna whispered back. Back in Bull Rock she and her opponent would just tap each other a few times with the sticks and go on to the Kiss of Peace. She couldn’t wait to see how the real Season Lords fought.
The Sol Sum and Sola Fall saluted each other with the sticks and rushed forward, hitting each other with the padded ends. They crossed their sticks like swordfighters, retreated, and attacked each other again. The Sola Fall’s divided skirt flared as the fighters danced back and forth. Once the Sol Sum knocked the Sola Fall on her shoulder hard enough to make her sit down abruptly, provoking laughter from the audience. But she skillfully fended the Sol Sum off with her stick until she could get up, and they continued.
Bel tapped Jenna on the arm. “I hope you and Gwen don’t ever actually fight, but if you do, see if you can borrow those sticks.”
Jenna stifled her laughter.
The Season Lords moved to the center of their stage. Sweat made the Sol Sum’s green silk shirt stick to his back. The Sol Sum took the offensive with a series of blurred strikes, forcing the Sola Fall to retreat. She parried with her stick, but a few of the blows landed. Suddenly, as the Sol Sum rushed forward, the Sola Fall tripped him with her stick, and he fell. Before he could move, the Sola Fall placed her foot on his back and raised her stick above his head. “Yield!” she cried.
“I yield,” the Sol Sum said, and he dropped his stick. “On behalf of the God of Summer, I yield to the Goddess of Fall. Let us fight no longer, but follow the Goddess of Spring’s teaching and work together for the good of Challen.”
I hope you enjoyed the excerpt. Here is the list of the September Blog Chain participants; please visit their blogs too for their individual takes on the seasons.
Ralph_Pines: http://ralfast.wordpress.com/ and direct link to his post
Aheïla: http://thewriteaholicblog.wordpress.com/ and direct link to her post
DavidZahir: http://zahirblue.blogspot.com/ and direct link to his post
orion_mk3: http://nonexistentbooks.wordpress.com/ and direct link to his post
LadyMage: http://www.katherinegilraine.com/ and direct link to her post
semmie: http://semmie.wordpress.com/ and direct link to her post
llalah: http://www.twylanonsequitur.blogspot.com/ and direct link to her post
hillaryjacques: http://www.hillaryjacques.blogspot.com/ and direct link to her post
AuburnAssassin: http://clairegillian.wordpress.com/ and direct link to her post
laffarsmith: http://www.craftingfiction.com/ and direct link to her post
sbclark: http://www.sonyaclark.net/ and direct link to her post
FreshHell: http://freshhell.wordpress.com/ and direct link to her post
IrishAnnie: http://superpenpower.blogspot.com and direct link to her post
PASeasholtz: http://www.paseasholtz.com/ and direct link to his post
SF4-EVER: http://www.ulbrichalmazan.blogspot.com/ (You are here.)
T.N. Tobias: http://tnt-tek.com/
Proach: http://desstories.blogspot.com/
mada: http://questioningseeking.blogspot.com/
WildScribe: http://polyspace.wordpress.com
Regypsy: http://regypsy.wordpress.com/
“God of Summer, God of the sun that gives us life, God of the plants that feed and clothe us, heal and please us, accept our thanks,” the Sol Sum said. His voice was strong and clear, carrying over the square. “You have given us a good season, a season of warmth and light, a season for growing, a season for enjoying all the gifts of the Four. Truly this has been a season of life.” The Sol Sum paused and glanced at the Sol Win, who nodded slightly. The Sol Sum continued, “Although this fire and these grains come from You, accept them as a measure of our gratitude.”
As he finished, the lucifer burst into flame. A strong breeze rustled the Season Lords’ clothes as the Sol Sum tilted the bowl and the Sol Win put the lucifer into it. Jenna wrinkled her nose at the smell of burnt grain, made worse by the incense mixed with it.
When the grain and incense had burned out, the Sol Win caused a small cloud to rain into the bowl, quenching the fire. He took the bowl and stepped back. The Sol Sum continued, “Oh God of Summer, Your season has been so fruitful we would ask You to stay with us always — ”
“Stop!” the Sola Fall called out. She stepped forward and threw off her cloak.
The Sol Sum looked astonished. “Who are you to interrupt my prayer to the God of Summer?”
“I am the Sola Fall, representative of the Goddess of Fall. This is Her season, and you have no right to pray to the God of Summer now. His time is over.”
“Not so. I challenge your claim.”
“I accept. Bring out the sticks.” The Sol Win stepped forward with a long stick in each hand. One end of each stick was well wrapped with leather. The Sol Sum and Sola Fall each took a stick and paced towards the sides, where the girls stood. Jenna stepped away to give them more room and motioned Bel to do the same.
“I used to play this with my brother,” Bel whispered.
“I’ve done it in the actual ritual,” Jenna whispered back. Back in Bull Rock she and her opponent would just tap each other a few times with the sticks and go on to the Kiss of Peace. She couldn’t wait to see how the real Season Lords fought.
The Sol Sum and Sola Fall saluted each other with the sticks and rushed forward, hitting each other with the padded ends. They crossed their sticks like swordfighters, retreated, and attacked each other again. The Sola Fall’s divided skirt flared as the fighters danced back and forth. Once the Sol Sum knocked the Sola Fall on her shoulder hard enough to make her sit down abruptly, provoking laughter from the audience. But she skillfully fended the Sol Sum off with her stick until she could get up, and they continued.
Bel tapped Jenna on the arm. “I hope you and Gwen don’t ever actually fight, but if you do, see if you can borrow those sticks.”
Jenna stifled her laughter.
The Season Lords moved to the center of their stage. Sweat made the Sol Sum’s green silk shirt stick to his back. The Sol Sum took the offensive with a series of blurred strikes, forcing the Sola Fall to retreat. She parried with her stick, but a few of the blows landed. Suddenly, as the Sol Sum rushed forward, the Sola Fall tripped him with her stick, and he fell. Before he could move, the Sola Fall placed her foot on his back and raised her stick above his head. “Yield!” she cried.
“I yield,” the Sol Sum said, and he dropped his stick. “On behalf of the God of Summer, I yield to the Goddess of Fall. Let us fight no longer, but follow the Goddess of Spring’s teaching and work together for the good of Challen.”
I hope you enjoyed the excerpt. Here is the list of the September Blog Chain participants; please visit their blogs too for their individual takes on the seasons.
Ralph_Pines: http://ralfast.wordpress.com/ and direct link to his post
Aheïla: http://thewriteaholicblog.wordpress.com/ and direct link to her post
DavidZahir: http://zahirblue.blogspot.com/ and direct link to his post
orion_mk3: http://nonexistentbooks.wordpress.com/ and direct link to his post
LadyMage: http://www.katherinegilraine.com/ and direct link to her post
semmie: http://semmie.wordpress.com/ and direct link to her post
llalah: http://www.twylanonsequitur.blogspot.com/ and direct link to her post
hillaryjacques: http://www.hillaryjacques.blogspot.com/ and direct link to her post
AuburnAssassin: http://clairegillian.wordpress.com/ and direct link to her post
laffarsmith: http://www.craftingfiction.com/ and direct link to her post
sbclark: http://www.sonyaclark.net/ and direct link to her post
FreshHell: http://freshhell.wordpress.com/ and direct link to her post
IrishAnnie: http://superpenpower.blogspot.com and direct link to her post
PASeasholtz: http://www.paseasholtz.com/ and direct link to his post
SF4-EVER: http://www.ulbrichalmazan.blogspot.com/ (You are here.)
T.N. Tobias: http://tnt-tek.com/
Proach: http://desstories.blogspot.com/
mada: http://questioningseeking.blogspot.com/
WildScribe: http://polyspace.wordpress.com
Regypsy: http://regypsy.wordpress.com/
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Ten Word Tuesday: Quote of the Day (by Arthur C. Clarke)
Politicians should read science fiction, not westerns and detective stories.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Back on the Blog Chain: Genres
For this round of the Blog Chain, Margie wants to know How did you come to write your YA genre (e.g. contemp, fantasy, etc.)? AND (yep, it’s a 2 parter), if you weren’t writing that, what genre would you be interested in exploring?
As usual, Amanda comes before me in the chain and Eric afterward.
I'm in the minority in this group; I don't consider myself a YA writer. (But you still like me, right? Right?) For me, the speculative element of science fiction or fantasy is more important than the age of my main character or my readers. I've written both teenage and adult main characters. I like to plan not just trilogies, but sagas in which the characters I originally started with mature and have children/new main characters to continue the story; I'd like to do that with my current project. So although Across Two Universes could be YA, I think I'm better off marketing it as regular science fiction.
As to how I got into science fiction and fantasy, I started reading it when I was a girl. I went through periods where I explored other genres, but when a friend introduced me to the Star Trek novels, I gradually found my way back to SF/fantasy. At this point, it makes up the vast majority of my fiction reading. I'm a science geek, so that's part of the reason I read SF. I'm also a Midwesterner born and raised. I love the region, yet I must admit it's very mundane at times, especially in the middle of winter, when I'm surrounded by a barren landscape full of suburbs and strip malls and dead spaces between highways. Who wouldn't want something magical or alien to revive you with a sense of wonder?
Ironically, if I could no longer write SF or fantasy, my writing would probably be full of the mundane I try to escape. They say to write what you know, after all. It's hard to imagine writing something without a speculative element. I might wind up writing general fiction or women's fiction, drawing my themes from the challenges of middle age. As Ringo said in A Hard Day's Night, "Being middle-aged and old takes up most of your time, doesn't it?" But I'd still prefer to mix some magic into the mundane world of middle age. Why let teenagers have all the fun, after all? ;)
As usual, Amanda comes before me in the chain and Eric afterward.
I'm in the minority in this group; I don't consider myself a YA writer. (But you still like me, right? Right?) For me, the speculative element of science fiction or fantasy is more important than the age of my main character or my readers. I've written both teenage and adult main characters. I like to plan not just trilogies, but sagas in which the characters I originally started with mature and have children/new main characters to continue the story; I'd like to do that with my current project. So although Across Two Universes could be YA, I think I'm better off marketing it as regular science fiction.
As to how I got into science fiction and fantasy, I started reading it when I was a girl. I went through periods where I explored other genres, but when a friend introduced me to the Star Trek novels, I gradually found my way back to SF/fantasy. At this point, it makes up the vast majority of my fiction reading. I'm a science geek, so that's part of the reason I read SF. I'm also a Midwesterner born and raised. I love the region, yet I must admit it's very mundane at times, especially in the middle of winter, when I'm surrounded by a barren landscape full of suburbs and strip malls and dead spaces between highways. Who wouldn't want something magical or alien to revive you with a sense of wonder?
Ironically, if I could no longer write SF or fantasy, my writing would probably be full of the mundane I try to escape. They say to write what you know, after all. It's hard to imagine writing something without a speculative element. I might wind up writing general fiction or women's fiction, drawing my themes from the challenges of middle age. As Ringo said in A Hard Day's Night, "Being middle-aged and old takes up most of your time, doesn't it?" But I'd still prefer to mix some magic into the mundane world of middle age. Why let teenagers have all the fun, after all? ;)
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Quote of the Day
"The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause."
Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Friday, September 10, 2010
Five Years Ago....
I wore this...
And ate this....
That's right, it's our wedding anniversary! Eugene and I are taking the day off to celebrate and enjoy an Odyssey cruise on Lake Michigan. Have a happy weekend, everyone!
And ate this....
That's right, it's our wedding anniversary! Eugene and I are taking the day off to celebrate and enjoy an Odyssey cruise on Lake Michigan. Have a happy weekend, everyone!
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Kindle--Highlights and Sharing
I'm not trying to become a spokesperson for the Kindle, but it does change the reading experience.
One of the Kindle's features is that it allows you to highlight text or add notes to it. You can also share your highlighted text on Facebook or Twitter. (Edited to add: the book is automatically cited.) And if you're reading a book that other people have shared highlights from, you can see those as well. (You can turn public highlights off if they distract you.) What I like about the public highlights is that they make me feel like part of a community reading a book.
(I don't interact with a lot of SF readers in my daily life, and I don't belong to any SF book clubs. There are probably forums out there where I could discuss my reading, but as a writer, I'm not comfortable posting about other writers' books. If I say anything negative, it could come back to haunt me.)
I also like sharing my highlights on Facebook. I'm currently rereading my beloved Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig on Kindle, so if you're friends with me on Facebook, expect to see a lot of passages from that book popping up on my profile over the next few days.
Do you mark up your paper books? I generally don't, but ZMM is the exception for me. Do you like the idea of sharing your favorite passages with others? If so, would you do it for fun or publicity?
One of the Kindle's features is that it allows you to highlight text or add notes to it. You can also share your highlighted text on Facebook or Twitter. (Edited to add: the book is automatically cited.) And if you're reading a book that other people have shared highlights from, you can see those as well. (You can turn public highlights off if they distract you.) What I like about the public highlights is that they make me feel like part of a community reading a book.
(I don't interact with a lot of SF readers in my daily life, and I don't belong to any SF book clubs. There are probably forums out there where I could discuss my reading, but as a writer, I'm not comfortable posting about other writers' books. If I say anything negative, it could come back to haunt me.)
I also like sharing my highlights on Facebook. I'm currently rereading my beloved Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig on Kindle, so if you're friends with me on Facebook, expect to see a lot of passages from that book popping up on my profile over the next few days.
Do you mark up your paper books? I generally don't, but ZMM is the exception for me. Do you like the idea of sharing your favorite passages with others? If so, would you do it for fun or publicity?
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
The Science of Science Fiction--Camouflage and Mimicry
If you ask someone to name an animal that uses camouflage, chances are she may respond with something like a chameleon (we had these in elementary school one year), or maybe a butterfly or a frog. Camouflage and mimicry are widespread in nature. As this article from the NY Times shows, they may be more widespread than most people realize, and they don't just apply to visual camouflage or mimicry.
The article lists several examples of mimicry, such as jungle cats imitating the calls of baby monkeys, baby cockroaches flirting with male cockroaches to obtain food (just when you thought cockroaches couldn't get more disgusting), and octopi that can adopt the coloration of toxic fish over their entire bodies or make an arm look like a sea snake. Interestingly enough, the article concludes with an example of human mimicry; we like other people who unconsciously echo our own gestures better than those who don't.
Shape-shifting aliens are nothing new, but there are other ways to use camouflage and mimicry in science fiction. On Earth, animals use camouflage and mimicry techniques that affect the senses of vision and hearing. Perhaps aliens would rely on different senses and attempt to fool others' senses of smell, touch, or taste. They may even play with senses that we don't have. Would they have other motives for these behaviors besides food and protection? Would they play a part in procreation, for instance, or perhaps alien art? And if they learn to imitate us, will we consider that sincere flattery and accept them? What do you think?
The article lists several examples of mimicry, such as jungle cats imitating the calls of baby monkeys, baby cockroaches flirting with male cockroaches to obtain food (just when you thought cockroaches couldn't get more disgusting), and octopi that can adopt the coloration of toxic fish over their entire bodies or make an arm look like a sea snake. Interestingly enough, the article concludes with an example of human mimicry; we like other people who unconsciously echo our own gestures better than those who don't.
Shape-shifting aliens are nothing new, but there are other ways to use camouflage and mimicry in science fiction. On Earth, animals use camouflage and mimicry techniques that affect the senses of vision and hearing. Perhaps aliens would rely on different senses and attempt to fool others' senses of smell, touch, or taste. They may even play with senses that we don't have. Would they have other motives for these behaviors besides food and protection? Would they play a part in procreation, for instance, or perhaps alien art? And if they learn to imitate us, will we consider that sincere flattery and accept them? What do you think?
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Monday, September 06, 2010
Labor Day Haikus
Is this summer's end?
Not quite--I hold with Nature
And seek the balance.
***
Time is strange today.
There's extra time for errands
But when do I write?
Not quite--I hold with Nature
And seek the balance.
***
Time is strange today.
There's extra time for errands
But when do I write?
Friday, September 03, 2010
Discussion: The Joy of Rereading
I used to reread books when I was younger more often than I do now. Part of this is because I don't have as much free time for reading at all, so when I do, I attempt to conquer the Mount Everest of unread books stacked in my office. I like to fantasize that someday when I'm retired, I'll be able to reread some of my favorite books I have in my collection, but the truth is I'm more likely to die before I run out of new books to read. Some of the stories I have managed to reread (when I bought new editions) are The Jungle Book and the Sherlock Holmes stories.
When I got my Kindle last week, I discovered that there were a lot of free books for the Kindle--mostly older books that were in the public domain. I took the opportunity to download some classics I've read before. So far, I've reread A Little Princess and The Swiss Family Robinson. I preferred the first one over the second, as it was more of a story. Reading older books shows how much writing styles have changed over the years. Telling and moralizing have become less popular.
Another favorite book I downloaded was Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I still have my beloved purplish paperback, with lots of underlining and comments. (It's probably the book I've written in the most, even including my textbooks.) I haven't reread this for several years, and given that I now work in Quality Control, it should be interesting to see what I get out of this book this time. I'm looking forward to having this book with me wherever I go and sharing favorite passages on Facebook. I'm also considering buying a Kindle version of Connie Willis's To Say Nothing of the Dog so I can have it in my permanent collection (even though I have it in paperback) and have an excuse to reread it.
Do you read books just once or several times? What are your favorite books to reread? What is it that draws you to them again and again? If you have an e-reader, has that changed your reading/rereading habits?
Enjoy the Labor Day weekend, everyone!
When I got my Kindle last week, I discovered that there were a lot of free books for the Kindle--mostly older books that were in the public domain. I took the opportunity to download some classics I've read before. So far, I've reread A Little Princess and The Swiss Family Robinson. I preferred the first one over the second, as it was more of a story. Reading older books shows how much writing styles have changed over the years. Telling and moralizing have become less popular.
Another favorite book I downloaded was Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I still have my beloved purplish paperback, with lots of underlining and comments. (It's probably the book I've written in the most, even including my textbooks.) I haven't reread this for several years, and given that I now work in Quality Control, it should be interesting to see what I get out of this book this time. I'm looking forward to having this book with me wherever I go and sharing favorite passages on Facebook. I'm also considering buying a Kindle version of Connie Willis's To Say Nothing of the Dog so I can have it in my permanent collection (even though I have it in paperback) and have an excuse to reread it.
Do you read books just once or several times? What are your favorite books to reread? What is it that draws you to them again and again? If you have an e-reader, has that changed your reading/rereading habits?
Enjoy the Labor Day weekend, everyone!
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
Back on the Blog Chain: It Don't Come Easy
The blog chain has finally worked its way over to me again. Eric had this question for us:
What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of being a writer? What is your greatest reward from writing?
First, here's Ringo Starr to sing the theme song for this post:
Like many of the other people, lack of time for writing is a big challenge for me at this point in my life. When I was single, I could spend all evening in front of the computer. Granted, I was chatting and goofing off in addition to writing, but I was still able to devote significant time to it. Now it's not just the reduced writing time that I have to deal with, but the lack of "pre-planning" I can do before I sit down and write. There are so many other things competing for my attention that I don't think enough about my current projects. I've been compensating for this by trying to outline the sequel to Across Two Universes and create "character bibles" for Paul and his friends.
Although I've sold a story, it was far more thrilling to learn about the sale and see my name on the back of the anthology cover than to get my royalty statement. (Not that I minded that.) But for me, the biggest reward is the feeling of satisfaction I get when I finish a story. Even if it's just a rough draft that will require extensive rewriting, I know I've accomplished something.
This is the last post for this chain. Please go back to Eric's post and read through them in order, or work your way backward from Amanda's post. Another chain will be starting soon!
What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of being a writer? What is your greatest reward from writing?
First, here's Ringo Starr to sing the theme song for this post:
Like many of the other people, lack of time for writing is a big challenge for me at this point in my life. When I was single, I could spend all evening in front of the computer. Granted, I was chatting and goofing off in addition to writing, but I was still able to devote significant time to it. Now it's not just the reduced writing time that I have to deal with, but the lack of "pre-planning" I can do before I sit down and write. There are so many other things competing for my attention that I don't think enough about my current projects. I've been compensating for this by trying to outline the sequel to Across Two Universes and create "character bibles" for Paul and his friends.
Although I've sold a story, it was far more thrilling to learn about the sale and see my name on the back of the anthology cover than to get my royalty statement. (Not that I minded that.) But for me, the biggest reward is the feeling of satisfaction I get when I finish a story. Even if it's just a rough draft that will require extensive rewriting, I know I've accomplished something.
This is the last post for this chain. Please go back to Eric's post and read through them in order, or work your way backward from Amanda's post. Another chain will be starting soon!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Kindle 3--My Impressions
As I mentioned on Friday, I just got the latest Kindle. Here are my thoughts on it so far:
Setting it up was very easy. It only took a couple of hours for the initial charge. Since I bought it for myself, it was already registered to my Amazon account.
It is very light and easy to hold, easier than some of my paperbacks. We'll see what happens once my cover arrives (I got the one that includes a light.)
I downloaded a sample of the complete works of Shakespeare. While it's great to have it all in something so portable, there's no space for footnotes to explain the language. I admit this is one advantage of paper books.
I also downloaded some free books, such as A Little Princess, Swiss Family Robinson, Ulysses, Swann's Way, and some of the Oz books. Some I've read; some I've been meaning to read. The downloads didn't take long at all. I've already managed to read about one and a half books.
The screen is very readable as is, though you can adjust the font and font size.
Turning pages is very easy. It didn't take me long to get used to the screen blacking out between pages, though sometimes I hit the button to go forward when I mean to go back. But it's nice that your spot is automatically saved.
It's a little weird not having page numbers. I'm not sure exactly what the locations mean (each "page" is listed as being a small range of locations within the book. There is a bar at the bottom of the screen showing the percentage of how far you've advanced in the book.
The Kindle allows you to highlight and annotate the text; you even see passages other people have highlighted, though you can turn off this feature.
You can group your titles into collections and choose how you want them organized.
All in all, I'm pleased with it. I don't think I'll give up on paper books entirely, at least not yet. Still, I'm looking forward to reading more books on the Kindle.
Setting it up was very easy. It only took a couple of hours for the initial charge. Since I bought it for myself, it was already registered to my Amazon account.
It is very light and easy to hold, easier than some of my paperbacks. We'll see what happens once my cover arrives (I got the one that includes a light.)
I downloaded a sample of the complete works of Shakespeare. While it's great to have it all in something so portable, there's no space for footnotes to explain the language. I admit this is one advantage of paper books.
I also downloaded some free books, such as A Little Princess, Swiss Family Robinson, Ulysses, Swann's Way, and some of the Oz books. Some I've read; some I've been meaning to read. The downloads didn't take long at all. I've already managed to read about one and a half books.
The screen is very readable as is, though you can adjust the font and font size.
Turning pages is very easy. It didn't take me long to get used to the screen blacking out between pages, though sometimes I hit the button to go forward when I mean to go back. But it's nice that your spot is automatically saved.
It's a little weird not having page numbers. I'm not sure exactly what the locations mean (each "page" is listed as being a small range of locations within the book. There is a bar at the bottom of the screen showing the percentage of how far you've advanced in the book.
The Kindle allows you to highlight and annotate the text; you even see passages other people have highlighted, though you can turn off this feature.
You can group your titles into collections and choose how you want them organized.
All in all, I'm pleased with it. I don't think I'll give up on paper books entirely, at least not yet. Still, I'm looking forward to reading more books on the Kindle.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Life Imitates Art
My Kindle arrived today! I plan to discuss it on Monday after I've had some time to check it out. So far it's pretty neat, though.
Anyway, in the meantime, here's an article about someone at the Large Hadron Collider who claims to have come back from the future to destroy the LHC. Personally, even if time travel does become possible someday, I doubt we'd be able to travel into our own past. (That's why I have Paul travel to an alternate universe in my book.) Still, the last paragraph of the article makes you wonder, doesn't it?
Edited to Add: Whoops, I didn't look closely enough at the date. This was an April Fool's Day joke. I don't expect people to link to those in mid-August.
Anyway, in the meantime, here's an article about someone at the Large Hadron Collider who claims to have come back from the future to destroy the LHC. Personally, even if time travel does become possible someday, I doubt we'd be able to travel into our own past. (That's why I have Paul travel to an alternate universe in my book.) Still, the last paragraph of the article makes you wonder, doesn't it?
Edited to Add: Whoops, I didn't look closely enough at the date. This was an April Fool's Day joke. I don't expect people to link to those in mid-August.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Make September 7th National Buy a Book Day!
I found out about this idea through a link a friend shared on Facebook. With both Borders and Barnes & Noble having financial problems, readers and writers need to support bookstores. What better way to do so than by buying more books? I have at least twenty books on my to-read list, but there are still certain titles calling my name. The main problem will be waiting until September 7th to buy the book I have in mind: Rift in the Sky by Julie E. Czerneda. (Ironic I'm linking to Amazon, isn't it?) Please join me in buying a new book from a bookstore on September 7--and if you can help spread this idea through your blog, Facebook, or Twitter account, even better!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
White Space and Creativity
White space (or negative space) is the part of the page that's left blank. It's necessary not just to group text and graphic elements, but to give the eyes a rest. Similarly, our minds need downtime to learn and come up with new ideas. But as this article in the New York Times points out, our electronic gadgets provide temptation to fill all our downtime with distractions. If we ceaselessly shovel content into our brains, we will never have enough quiet time to be creative.
I have to admit there are times when I don't give myself enough quiet time--instead of relaxing during my lunch hour, I surf the Net or write. But there are other times, such as when I'm at the park with Alex, that I try to take time to relax, look at the clouds, and try to clear my head. It isn't easy, especially when I get earworms from Alex's shows stuck in my brain. But I've also found that when I set aside some time to be creative--for example, setting aside time to develop a plot or an alien race--several ideas may pile on top of each other.
Do you give yourself mental downtime? If so, is it just walking away from the Internet for a while, or do you take more drastic measures? Do you think more should be done to promote the importance of downtime? I wonder if some future culture will mandate everyone unplug every so often, and what affect that would have on people.
I have to admit there are times when I don't give myself enough quiet time--instead of relaxing during my lunch hour, I surf the Net or write. But there are other times, such as when I'm at the park with Alex, that I try to take time to relax, look at the clouds, and try to clear my head. It isn't easy, especially when I get earworms from Alex's shows stuck in my brain. But I've also found that when I set aside some time to be creative--for example, setting aside time to develop a plot or an alien race--several ideas may pile on top of each other.
Do you give yourself mental downtime? If so, is it just walking away from the Internet for a while, or do you take more drastic measures? Do you think more should be done to promote the importance of downtime? I wonder if some future culture will mandate everyone unplug every so often, and what affect that would have on people.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Trying New Things
Welcome back to Monday, everyone. Hope you had a good weekend. We've had a lot scheduled the last two weekend, and even though we didn't have anything planned, we were still busy as well. On Saturday, I took Alex both to the library and the pool. We shopped for a new bed for him yesterday, then visited the Chicago Botanic Garden and wound up having dinner at a restaurant with my in-laws. More of my husband's relatives stopped by, so we ended up with a spontaneous family dinner for twenty!
Saturday with my son turned out to be a success because he was able to overcome his fear of loud public bathrooms to do these activities. For a long time, he showed no interest in going to the library because he was spooked of the bathroom there. I told him we'd use the bathroom at home so we wouldn't have to use the one there. When we got to the pool, we had to go through the women's locker room to reach the pool. He balked at first, but luckily there weren't any hair dryers running, so I hurried him through. He wasn't interested in the wading pool at first, but after he played in the sand area for a while and had a snack, I was able to coax him in. Once there, he had a wonderful time.
To bring this around to writing, I think it's very useful to keep trying new things. By challenging yourself to do something different, you learn and gain new skills and perspectives. For a long time, I wrote by the seat of my pants. This meant that after completing a first draft, I'd think of new plot points and end up writing an entirely new draft. Sometimes I'd go through several loops like this. I've had ideas for the sequel to Across Two Universes (working title: Catalyst in the Crucible) for quite some time now, but although I had a decent sense of the plot, other areas really need to be fleshed out before I can progress further. So I started by writing myself a rough outline of the story. I was surprised by the inspiration that came from doing this; I generated other plot ideas as I wrote. In some sections, I have multiple ideas listed. It's nice to have a map of my novel that still gives me flexibility to change the story as I write. I'm currently working a series of character sheets to help me keep everything consistent. When I get those done, I'll be ready to return to my draft and keep going with it.
Have you tried anything new with your writing--a different genre, style, or technique? What did you learn from it?
Saturday with my son turned out to be a success because he was able to overcome his fear of loud public bathrooms to do these activities. For a long time, he showed no interest in going to the library because he was spooked of the bathroom there. I told him we'd use the bathroom at home so we wouldn't have to use the one there. When we got to the pool, we had to go through the women's locker room to reach the pool. He balked at first, but luckily there weren't any hair dryers running, so I hurried him through. He wasn't interested in the wading pool at first, but after he played in the sand area for a while and had a snack, I was able to coax him in. Once there, he had a wonderful time.
To bring this around to writing, I think it's very useful to keep trying new things. By challenging yourself to do something different, you learn and gain new skills and perspectives. For a long time, I wrote by the seat of my pants. This meant that after completing a first draft, I'd think of new plot points and end up writing an entirely new draft. Sometimes I'd go through several loops like this. I've had ideas for the sequel to Across Two Universes (working title: Catalyst in the Crucible) for quite some time now, but although I had a decent sense of the plot, other areas really need to be fleshed out before I can progress further. So I started by writing myself a rough outline of the story. I was surprised by the inspiration that came from doing this; I generated other plot ideas as I wrote. In some sections, I have multiple ideas listed. It's nice to have a map of my novel that still gives me flexibility to change the story as I write. I'm currently working a series of character sheets to help me keep everything consistent. When I get those done, I'll be ready to return to my draft and keep going with it.
Have you tried anything new with your writing--a different genre, style, or technique? What did you learn from it?
Friday, August 20, 2010
Due to Technical Difficulties....
I wanted to blog about reading books on my cellphone yesterday, but I can't find an app for that.
There's supposed to be a Kindle app for Android, but I can't find it in the Marketplace.
According to Amazon's website, you should be able to scan a barcode and get the app, except I don't know how to use my bar scanner. And I don't know where the manual for my cellphone is.
Although the thousand-page paperback I'm currently reading is unwieldy, the tech level required is so simple even I can manage it.
P.S. Speaking of more technical difficulties, my son caused quite a few of them as he laid and climbed all over me while I wrote up this post.
There's supposed to be a Kindle app for Android, but I can't find it in the Marketplace.
According to Amazon's website, you should be able to scan a barcode and get the app, except I don't know how to use my bar scanner. And I don't know where the manual for my cellphone is.
Although the thousand-page paperback I'm currently reading is unwieldy, the tech level required is so simple even I can manage it.
P.S. Speaking of more technical difficulties, my son caused quite a few of them as he laid and climbed all over me while I wrote up this post.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
The Bechdel Test and Male POV, Part Two
Thanks to all of you who commented on the first post on this subject. (If you haven't had a chance to read it yet, you can find it here.) I hope you don't mind if I refer to your comments. In this post, I'm going to look at ways to help a story pass the Bechdel Test, even if it's told from a male POV.
More is More. It probably sounds obvious, but the more women there are in a story, the greater the likelihood is that they'll talk to or interact with each other. However, as Tara and Ted pointed out, sometimes you have situations where there are few, if any women around. There may be extreme situations where this can't be changed. (I should also point out that it's perfectly OK to have stories with all men or all women, though I personally wouldn't want every story of mine to be like that.) However, sometimes it may be possible to find women if you look closely enough. For instance, Ted mentioned that his first book had few female characters because it mostly dealt with a war. An army of men would attract camp followers and possibly employ women as cooks and laundresses. There may be women working in support positions, serving as soldiers (either openly or disguised as men), or acting as spies. Finally, soldiers might encounter women in civilian positions, especially when they're on the march or stationed abroad. They may take a lover--or claim one as a war prisoner. Not all depictions of women in this scenario are positive, unfortunately. Still, their presence may make the setting seem more complete or even take the story in an unexpected direction.
Let the Women Meet. Again, an obvious point--they can't talk to each other if your hero encounters one woman every fifty pages. Sherry mentioned in her comment that in one of her books, there are several female characters, but they're physically separated over great distances. Are there places where people, particularly women, might gather? Pamela suggested a tavern as one possible meeting place. If a woman is going somewhere, is she by herself, or does she have relatives or other companions with her?
Develop Character. The more we know about a particular character's interests, the more that character has to say to other people. Character development also allows secondary characters more stage presence. This is important if your main character is male, but you still want a strong female presence in your novel.
That's all I can think of for now. I'm considering submitting this topic as a panel idea for WisCon next year. In the meantime, let me provide a few caveats, courtesy of tvtropes.org (my thoughts are in parentheses):
The Bechdel Test is not meant to give a scorecard of a work's overall level of feminism. (emphasis in the article) It is entirely possible for a film to pass without having overt feminist themes - in fact, the original example of a movie that passes is Alien, which, while it has feminist subtexts, is mostly just a sci-fi/action/horror flick. (As if there's something wrong with that!) A movie can easily pass the Bechdel Test and still be incredibly misogynistic. Conversely, it's also possible for a story to fail the test and still be strongly feminist in other ways, and there's nothing necessarily wrong with that. What's a problem is that it becomes a pattern - when so many movies fail the test, while very few fail to show male characters whose lives don't revolve around women, that says uncomfortable things about the way Hollywood handles gender....It can be interesting to apply the Bechdel Test in a wider context. ... This can be especially jarring in Speculative Fiction, which often claims to be about aliens, vampires, Klingons, or what have you, but they only ever talk to or about humans.
More is More. It probably sounds obvious, but the more women there are in a story, the greater the likelihood is that they'll talk to or interact with each other. However, as Tara and Ted pointed out, sometimes you have situations where there are few, if any women around. There may be extreme situations where this can't be changed. (I should also point out that it's perfectly OK to have stories with all men or all women, though I personally wouldn't want every story of mine to be like that.) However, sometimes it may be possible to find women if you look closely enough. For instance, Ted mentioned that his first book had few female characters because it mostly dealt with a war. An army of men would attract camp followers and possibly employ women as cooks and laundresses. There may be women working in support positions, serving as soldiers (either openly or disguised as men), or acting as spies. Finally, soldiers might encounter women in civilian positions, especially when they're on the march or stationed abroad. They may take a lover--or claim one as a war prisoner. Not all depictions of women in this scenario are positive, unfortunately. Still, their presence may make the setting seem more complete or even take the story in an unexpected direction.
Let the Women Meet. Again, an obvious point--they can't talk to each other if your hero encounters one woman every fifty pages. Sherry mentioned in her comment that in one of her books, there are several female characters, but they're physically separated over great distances. Are there places where people, particularly women, might gather? Pamela suggested a tavern as one possible meeting place. If a woman is going somewhere, is she by herself, or does she have relatives or other companions with her?
Develop Character. The more we know about a particular character's interests, the more that character has to say to other people. Character development also allows secondary characters more stage presence. This is important if your main character is male, but you still want a strong female presence in your novel.
That's all I can think of for now. I'm considering submitting this topic as a panel idea for WisCon next year. In the meantime, let me provide a few caveats, courtesy of tvtropes.org (my thoughts are in parentheses):
The Bechdel Test is not meant to give a scorecard of a work's overall level of feminism. (emphasis in the article) It is entirely possible for a film to pass without having overt feminist themes - in fact, the original example of a movie that passes is Alien, which, while it has feminist subtexts, is mostly just a sci-fi/action/horror flick. (As if there's something wrong with that!) A movie can easily pass the Bechdel Test and still be incredibly misogynistic. Conversely, it's also possible for a story to fail the test and still be strongly feminist in other ways, and there's nothing necessarily wrong with that. What's a problem is that it becomes a pattern - when so many movies fail the test, while very few fail to show male characters whose lives don't revolve around women, that says uncomfortable things about the way Hollywood handles gender....It can be interesting to apply the Bechdel Test in a wider context. ... This can be especially jarring in Speculative Fiction, which often claims to be about aliens, vampires, Klingons, or what have you, but they only ever talk to or about humans.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
The Bechdel Test and Male POV
Last Friday, Krista analyzed her writing projects to determine if they passed the Smurfette Test (the work has more than one woman) and the Bechdel Test (it has more than one woman who talk to each other about something than a man or men). These tests are important because many films, TV shows, novels, etc. still feature a token female character or put the female characters off to the side. Krista's post made me think about some of my projects to see if they would pass these tests.
The Season Lord Trilogy (Day of All Seasons, Fifth Season, and the unfinished Summon the Season Lords) featured a group of four female magic-users who have to work together to save their country. This definitely passes both tests.
My short story "A Reptile at the Reunion" is about a woman going back to the University of Magic to meet her friends, one male and one female. The two females discuss magic, not men.
My novella "Move Over Ms. L." featured a young woman who talks to her mother, her labmates (who include two lesbians), the director of the time travel program, and her ancestor's aunt. While some of the conversations are about men, others aren't.
This leads me to my current project, Across Two Universes. While there are several female characters--Paul's sister Cass; his love interest Yvonne; the ship's psychiatrist, Dr. Stern; and the ship's captain--they don't talk to each other as much as my female characters do in other stories. They tend to talk more to my main character, Paul, instead. And even when they do talk directly to each other, they talk a lot about Paul or his plans. I wouldn't say it completely fails the Bechdel test, but it doesn't pass as strongly as some of my other stories. Why?
The answer has to do with my main character, Paul. Almost all of the story is filtered through his perspective. As the main character, he has the most at stake, and his actions drive the story. It's not surprising that the other characters react to him. Paul isn't sexist; he was raised by a strong-willed mother, and he encourages his love interest to pursue her own interests. But he's also a teenager and an actor, so he has a strong ego too.
Another reason that there isn't as much female-female conversation in a book with a mostly male POV is that the women talk more to each other when Paul isn't around. There are at least three spots in my book where Cass and Yvonne (who are friends) are alone together, but since Paul's doesn't hear them, we don't know what they talk about. There are also topics women don't feel comfortable discussing in front of men. For instance, Yvonne and Cass aren't going to discuss 20th century tampons vs. 22nd century menstrual cups in front of Paul. (That's assuming they still bother with a period, that is.) Finally, during the scenes when Paul is having a conversation with more than one woman, the dialogue focuses on plot points (where speakers address the entire group or Paul in particular) instead of developing character (which would allow more sharing between secondary characters like Cass and Yvonne, rather than one of them talking directly to him).
Is a male POV always an obstacle to having a story pass the Bechdel Test? Are there other reasons why this would happen? And are there strategies we writers can use to increase female-female conversation in these stories? This topic is too important for one writer to tackle alone, so I'd like to invite you to comment on this post and offer your insights. I'll return to this topic on Wednesday, hopefully with ideas to help male POV stories pass the Bechdel Test. Stick around!
The Season Lord Trilogy (Day of All Seasons, Fifth Season, and the unfinished Summon the Season Lords) featured a group of four female magic-users who have to work together to save their country. This definitely passes both tests.
My short story "A Reptile at the Reunion" is about a woman going back to the University of Magic to meet her friends, one male and one female. The two females discuss magic, not men.
My novella "Move Over Ms. L." featured a young woman who talks to her mother, her labmates (who include two lesbians), the director of the time travel program, and her ancestor's aunt. While some of the conversations are about men, others aren't.
This leads me to my current project, Across Two Universes. While there are several female characters--Paul's sister Cass; his love interest Yvonne; the ship's psychiatrist, Dr. Stern; and the ship's captain--they don't talk to each other as much as my female characters do in other stories. They tend to talk more to my main character, Paul, instead. And even when they do talk directly to each other, they talk a lot about Paul or his plans. I wouldn't say it completely fails the Bechdel test, but it doesn't pass as strongly as some of my other stories. Why?
The answer has to do with my main character, Paul. Almost all of the story is filtered through his perspective. As the main character, he has the most at stake, and his actions drive the story. It's not surprising that the other characters react to him. Paul isn't sexist; he was raised by a strong-willed mother, and he encourages his love interest to pursue her own interests. But he's also a teenager and an actor, so he has a strong ego too.
Another reason that there isn't as much female-female conversation in a book with a mostly male POV is that the women talk more to each other when Paul isn't around. There are at least three spots in my book where Cass and Yvonne (who are friends) are alone together, but since Paul's doesn't hear them, we don't know what they talk about. There are also topics women don't feel comfortable discussing in front of men. For instance, Yvonne and Cass aren't going to discuss 20th century tampons vs. 22nd century menstrual cups in front of Paul. (That's assuming they still bother with a period, that is.) Finally, during the scenes when Paul is having a conversation with more than one woman, the dialogue focuses on plot points (where speakers address the entire group or Paul in particular) instead of developing character (which would allow more sharing between secondary characters like Cass and Yvonne, rather than one of them talking directly to him).
Is a male POV always an obstacle to having a story pass the Bechdel Test? Are there other reasons why this would happen? And are there strategies we writers can use to increase female-female conversation in these stories? This topic is too important for one writer to tackle alone, so I'd like to invite you to comment on this post and offer your insights. I'll return to this topic on Wednesday, hopefully with ideas to help male POV stories pass the Bechdel Test. Stick around!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Day Out with Thomas 2010
I've mentioned before how much of a "trainiac" my son is, so of course we had to take him to the Day Out with Thomas at the Illinois Railway Museum. We bought tickets as soon as we learned they were available. Based on advice from friends, we got the first ride of the day. This was good advice, as parking filled up quickly and we could avoid some of the craziness of such a big event.
We've been to the Railway Museum before (see this post), but there was much more kids' stuff this time: bouncy houses, temporary tattoos, a chance to meet Sir Topham Hatt from the show, and much more. But we didn't bother with any of that, because Alex was much more interested in the trains themselves.
We got to the museum around 9:30 and were able to get to the Thomas train in plenty of time. I was pleased that admission to the museum was included in the cost of the tickets; I thought we'd have to pay for that too. The coaches were regular coaches from the museum, not Annie and Clarabelle. There were some pictures of Thomas, Percy, and James tacked to the inside ceiling, next to the old adds. The train ride was about 20 minutes. During the ride, clowns passed through the cars (Alex paid no attention). At the end, he got a certificate proclaiming him a junior engineer. We'll have to put that up in his room. We took some pictures of Thomas, but we didn't do the official ones. I should also mention that although Thomas led the train, there was a diesel engine in back doing the real work. I doubt a tank engine could handle all those coaches!
After the ride, we stopped by Alex's favorite engine, a gray one numbered 3007. Then we passed through a barn before meeting some friends who were on the 10:30 train. We split up for a bit so Alex could check out all the signals on display and ride a commuter train. Then we rejoined our friends for lunch. While we were at the diner, we heard an announcement about a special tour of the steam repair shed, so we joined that tour. We looked at some more trains, but by that point we'd been at the museum for over four hours. Alex was so interested in the trains he wasn't bothered by hunger, thirst, or fatigue, but we didn't want him to have a meltdown or a potty accident. So we had to skip the ride on a cable car that we'd promised him. I think stopping by the Thomas store cured any disappointment he felt. He held up well throughout our visit, but by the end he was fading. I think we left at the right time. Our little engineer fell asleep in the car, probably dreaming about all the trains he wants to drive.
Here are a few photos from the day:
Alex and his favorite engine.
A closeup of Alex in his train engineer outfit. He was quite a hit! Many of the other kids wore Thomas shirts and hats, but I saw only one other kid in a similar outfit.
The best picture I took of Thomas.
Current and future train engineer.
We've been to the Railway Museum before (see this post), but there was much more kids' stuff this time: bouncy houses, temporary tattoos, a chance to meet Sir Topham Hatt from the show, and much more. But we didn't bother with any of that, because Alex was much more interested in the trains themselves.
We got to the museum around 9:30 and were able to get to the Thomas train in plenty of time. I was pleased that admission to the museum was included in the cost of the tickets; I thought we'd have to pay for that too. The coaches were regular coaches from the museum, not Annie and Clarabelle. There were some pictures of Thomas, Percy, and James tacked to the inside ceiling, next to the old adds. The train ride was about 20 minutes. During the ride, clowns passed through the cars (Alex paid no attention). At the end, he got a certificate proclaiming him a junior engineer. We'll have to put that up in his room. We took some pictures of Thomas, but we didn't do the official ones. I should also mention that although Thomas led the train, there was a diesel engine in back doing the real work. I doubt a tank engine could handle all those coaches!
After the ride, we stopped by Alex's favorite engine, a gray one numbered 3007. Then we passed through a barn before meeting some friends who were on the 10:30 train. We split up for a bit so Alex could check out all the signals on display and ride a commuter train. Then we rejoined our friends for lunch. While we were at the diner, we heard an announcement about a special tour of the steam repair shed, so we joined that tour. We looked at some more trains, but by that point we'd been at the museum for over four hours. Alex was so interested in the trains he wasn't bothered by hunger, thirst, or fatigue, but we didn't want him to have a meltdown or a potty accident. So we had to skip the ride on a cable car that we'd promised him. I think stopping by the Thomas store cured any disappointment he felt. He held up well throughout our visit, but by the end he was fading. I think we left at the right time. Our little engineer fell asleep in the car, probably dreaming about all the trains he wants to drive.
Here are a few photos from the day:
A closeup of Alex in his train engineer outfit. He was quite a hit! Many of the other kids wore Thomas shirts and hats, but I saw only one other kid in a similar outfit.
The best picture I took of Thomas.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Beatlefest 2010
Every year, there's a convention for Beatles fans in the Chicago area. It used to be called Beatlefest, but they changed the name several years ago to The Fest for Beatles Fans. (I've been going long enough that the old name is stuck in my mind.) The last time I attended was before Alex was born. This year, I finally decided I wanted to go, so I asked Eugene to take care of Alex while I was gone. When Alex found out where I was going, he asked to come with me. Perhaps in a couple of years I'll bring him.
I belong to an online forum for Beatles fans, and members like to get together before the event opens. I was a little late since, despite printed directions, I managed to take a wrong turn near the airport and wound up by all the car rentals. Fortunately, a gatekeeper at one of the places helped me get on the right track. I chatted with friends for about an hour. We took some pictures, though a few people left before we took them.
Afterwards, I wandered around for a bit, checking out some of the exhibits. My favorite one was of lost Beatles photos taken by their tour manager. I was sorely tempted to buy some of the photos, but I still have several Beatles photos that I haven't hung up yet in the house. I decided to wait for the book to come out next year. Then I met up with a friend of mine, Aviva, and caught up with her for a while. I also met my other friends Susan, Tina, and Kristi. Eventually I went to the dealer's room to get A Date with a Beatle autographed (the author was very sweet) and buy a shirt and toy for Alex. I also stopped in the video room and the art show.
For dinner, I went with several friends (Aviva, Susan, Tina, and Melanie) to Pappadeux. We met with Eugene and Alex. Alex hadn't napped earlier but fell asleep on the way there. He was a bit tired and cranky at first, but once he woke up (after some sugary snacks), he was a hit. I would have liked to have returned to the Fest for the fan fiction panel, but it was getting late, and I wanted to help put Alex to bed. Maybe next time. It was good to be "back where I once belonged" and see all my friends again!
I belong to an online forum for Beatles fans, and members like to get together before the event opens. I was a little late since, despite printed directions, I managed to take a wrong turn near the airport and wound up by all the car rentals. Fortunately, a gatekeeper at one of the places helped me get on the right track. I chatted with friends for about an hour. We took some pictures, though a few people left before we took them.
Afterwards, I wandered around for a bit, checking out some of the exhibits. My favorite one was of lost Beatles photos taken by their tour manager. I was sorely tempted to buy some of the photos, but I still have several Beatles photos that I haven't hung up yet in the house. I decided to wait for the book to come out next year. Then I met up with a friend of mine, Aviva, and caught up with her for a while. I also met my other friends Susan, Tina, and Kristi. Eventually I went to the dealer's room to get A Date with a Beatle autographed (the author was very sweet) and buy a shirt and toy for Alex. I also stopped in the video room and the art show.
For dinner, I went with several friends (Aviva, Susan, Tina, and Melanie) to Pappadeux. We met with Eugene and Alex. Alex hadn't napped earlier but fell asleep on the way there. He was a bit tired and cranky at first, but once he woke up (after some sugary snacks), he was a hit. I would have liked to have returned to the Fest for the fan fiction panel, but it was getting late, and I wanted to help put Alex to bed. Maybe next time. It was good to be "back where I once belonged" and see all my friends again!
Friday, August 13, 2010
WriteOnCon Recap
First, I'd like to thank the organizers and industry professionals who made WriteOnCon such a success. They put a lot of effort into the presentations and the site. I was among those who couldn't access the website on the first day due to server problems, so I appreciated it when Elana and some of the other organizers posted the presentations on their own blogs. That way, I could still follow along.
There were so many presentations with a lot of information, so it's hard to pick my favorite. I would say I found the live agent chats where the agents reviewed query letters and sample pages most helpful. But all of the presentations are still on the website, so you can go back and view them for yourself. The forums will be available for at least a little longer, so there's still time to post material, critique, and network.
Although the con was set up for working people, I was glad to have the time off. I felt free to watch the vlog presentations, which I wouldn't have done at work. Plus I had more time to critique others' sample pages and work on my next project.
If the organizers run something like this next year, I personally would be happy to donate a small amount (say $10) to help defray server and administration costs. But I think it's great that they kept it free to allow everyone access.
Anyway, it's back to work for me today, so I have to make this short. I have some fun personal things planned for this weekend, so perhaps I'll have time to post some pictures. (After finishing up crits on the WriteOnCon forum, of course.) By Monday, I should be ready to return to a normal blogging schedule. Have a good weekend, everyone!
There were so many presentations with a lot of information, so it's hard to pick my favorite. I would say I found the live agent chats where the agents reviewed query letters and sample pages most helpful. But all of the presentations are still on the website, so you can go back and view them for yourself. The forums will be available for at least a little longer, so there's still time to post material, critique, and network.
Although the con was set up for working people, I was glad to have the time off. I felt free to watch the vlog presentations, which I wouldn't have done at work. Plus I had more time to critique others' sample pages and work on my next project.
If the organizers run something like this next year, I personally would be happy to donate a small amount (say $10) to help defray server and administration costs. But I think it's great that they kept it free to allow everyone access.
Anyway, it's back to work for me today, so I have to make this short. I have some fun personal things planned for this weekend, so perhaps I'll have time to post some pictures. (After finishing up crits on the WriteOnCon forum, of course.) By Monday, I should be ready to return to a normal blogging schedule. Have a good weekend, everyone!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Social Networking Experiment
I'm reposting this announcement from Nicola Morgan's blog. She's conducting a social networking experiment on Facebook, looking for people to join her fan page. For every 50 people who "like" her page in the next two weeks, she'll give away a signed copy of one of her books. (She'll give away a maximum of ten books.) Although I haven't read any of them myself, they're aimed at teenagers. So if you're a teenager, you know a teenager, or you enjoy reading YA, head on over and join!
Quote of the Day
"Few people think more than two or three times a year; I have made an international reputation for myself by thinking once or twice a week."
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Monday, August 09, 2010
Gearing Up for WriteOnCon
Tomorrow I'm going to a different type of writing convention--an online one. WriteOnCon runs from Tuesday, August 10, through Thursday, August 12. Although it's primarily geared for kidlit authors, the organizers say there will be plenty of information that writers of all kinds will find useful. Since it's free, there's no reason not to sign up.
It's strange preparing for an online convention. I decided to take the next few days off (I have plenty of vacation time) so I could focus on the con, but it looks like most of the chats will be in the evening, when my family will be home. I can always revise my work and critique other people's during the day. Since this convention promises to be a big one, there should be lots of networking opportunities.
Is anyone else attending this con? Have you attended other online cons before? I'm not sure what to expect. At least this is much cheaper than traveling to a real-life con, and I don't have to worry about sleeping in a hotel room or conflicting panels. I think I will miss a real dealer's room, but that may be easier on my wallet too. ;)
As for preparations, I've posted my current query letter for review, and I'll do the same with parts of Across Two Universes once I'm allowed to. Off to go review them one last time...
It's strange preparing for an online convention. I decided to take the next few days off (I have plenty of vacation time) so I could focus on the con, but it looks like most of the chats will be in the evening, when my family will be home. I can always revise my work and critique other people's during the day. Since this convention promises to be a big one, there should be lots of networking opportunities.
Is anyone else attending this con? Have you attended other online cons before? I'm not sure what to expect. At least this is much cheaper than traveling to a real-life con, and I don't have to worry about sleeping in a hotel room or conflicting panels. I think I will miss a real dealer's room, but that may be easier on my wallet too. ;)
As for preparations, I've posted my current query letter for review, and I'll do the same with parts of Across Two Universes once I'm allowed to. Off to go review them one last time...
Friday, August 06, 2010
Oxford's Secret Word Vault
Did you know there are millions of rejected words waiting for the chance to join the English language? According to this article in Time, the Oxford University Press has a vault with "unwords" written on cards and filed away. Some of these words include "dringle" (The watermark left on wood caused by a glass of liquid) and "oninate" (To overwhelm with post-dining breath--I presume this must be onion-breath). Although they were once judged "unsuitable" for the Oxford English Dictionary, there's still a possibility that they could be accepted into future editions of the OED, so they're kept around. It reminds me a bit of Jasper Fforde's Well of Lost Plots, which, if I remember it correctly, contained every book ever written--unpublished, published, good, or bad. As a writer, I think it would be really cool to look at some of those unwords -- and the whole concept sounds like a story idea to me. What do you think? Do we need more words like dringle and oninate, to name things we all come across yet seldom discuss? What unwords would you nominate to the Secret Word Vault?
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Back on the Blog Chain: Status Report
For this round, Cole wants to know what we've been working on lately:
Are you querying? Gearing up to go on submission? Writing? Revising? I'd love to hear what's new with you. And if you'd like to share a snippet of your WIP, even better!
Amanda posted before me, and Eric comes next.
Well, since I talk about my science fiction novel Across Two Universes so much, I figure I should discuss it first. I've done as much as I can with it on my own, so it's out to three reviewers. While I wait to hear from them, I've been getting feedback on my query letter and synopsis from the Absolute Writer Water Cooler and OWW. I've also started researching agents on QueryTracker. All this means that after umpteen zillion years, I'm finally gearing up to submit this project. Exactly when this will happen depends on the feedback I get from my reviewers, though I'm hoping I'm past the "tear it up and start over" phase by now.
Even though I haven't sold Across Two Universes yet, my characters have compelled me to start the sequel, currently called Catalyst in the Crucible. I was planning to make it a NaNoWriMo project, but I guess that's out the window now. That's OK; I just want to resolve Paul's story so he leaves me alone. ;)
I haven't forgotten about my shapeshifting sisters either. Although I'm not actually writing their story yet, I'm trying to plot it out. To be more precise, I have one plotline from the first project I wrote with them and a second plot from a short story I wrote while I was taking a break from Across Two Universes. I'm trying to figure out how to merge them. While I'd like to outline this story, I tend to write by the seat of my pants, so I have to make sure the outline doesn't spoil my urge to write the actual story. I think it would be good for me to work on something different from Paul once in a while.
Finally, here's the opening of Across Two Universes:
Are you querying? Gearing up to go on submission? Writing? Revising? I'd love to hear what's new with you. And if you'd like to share a snippet of your WIP, even better!
Amanda posted before me, and Eric comes next.
Well, since I talk about my science fiction novel Across Two Universes so much, I figure I should discuss it first. I've done as much as I can with it on my own, so it's out to three reviewers. While I wait to hear from them, I've been getting feedback on my query letter and synopsis from the Absolute Writer Water Cooler and OWW. I've also started researching agents on QueryTracker. All this means that after umpteen zillion years, I'm finally gearing up to submit this project. Exactly when this will happen depends on the feedback I get from my reviewers, though I'm hoping I'm past the "tear it up and start over" phase by now.
Even though I haven't sold Across Two Universes yet, my characters have compelled me to start the sequel, currently called Catalyst in the Crucible. I was planning to make it a NaNoWriMo project, but I guess that's out the window now. That's OK; I just want to resolve Paul's story so he leaves me alone. ;)
I haven't forgotten about my shapeshifting sisters either. Although I'm not actually writing their story yet, I'm trying to plot it out. To be more precise, I have one plotline from the first project I wrote with them and a second plot from a short story I wrote while I was taking a break from Across Two Universes. I'm trying to figure out how to merge them. While I'd like to outline this story, I tend to write by the seat of my pants, so I have to make sure the outline doesn't spoil my urge to write the actual story. I think it would be good for me to work on something different from Paul once in a while.
Finally, here's the opening of Across Two Universes:
After standing so long under the hot lights, Paul felt like he’d passed through the wormhole as he entered the shadowed backstage. He headed to the green room for water, but a costume programmer yanked him off to the side, away from a couple of cursing stage hands.
“You’re Paul Harrison, right?” she asked. “Your sister’s at the back door. She says there’s a family emergency.”
Paul removed his sweaty face mesh. “What’s wrong?”
"She was too upset to tell me.”
I hope it’s nothing major. He sprinted down the corridor of narrow dressing rooms to the back. Cass peered through the security window. Mascara was streaked across her face, and her auburn hair tumbled wildly around her head. After he let her in, she clung to him so tightly her jacket became entangled in his holoprojectors.
“What’s up, Sis?” He strained his hearing to follow the onstage dialogue. “I have to go back before my next scene.”
She looked up at him, her blue eyes glistening. “Mom’s in the hospital.”
I hope you enjoyed it!
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Discussion: Let's Talk Science!
Since science is obviously an important part of science fiction, I thought it would be interesting to talk about it and our attitudes toward it. I've been interested in science since I was a child. I became particularly interested in genetics when I was a teenager. I'm adopted, so genetics was a way for me to learn about my biological parents by studying my own genes. (I have a lot of recessive traits, so it didn't help much.) I also read books on quantum mechanics; they were written for a general audience. I don't think I could follow journal articles on quantum mechanics! I majored in molecular biology in college, intending to become a geneticist. Things happened along the way, and today, although I do work in a lab, I'm currently in Quality Control. I still suffer from Research Withdrawal from time to time.
How do you feel about science? Do you prefer one type of science to another? (E.g., biology vs. physics.) What types of science would you like to see me cover in my Science of Science Fiction posts?
How do you feel about science? Do you prefer one type of science to another? (E.g., biology vs. physics.) What types of science would you like to see me cover in my Science of Science Fiction posts?
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Monday, August 02, 2010
Crossing the Genre Border
I recently joined a Facebook Book Club started by some people I went to high school with. The first book chosen was one I hadn't heard of before: Life as I Know It. I'm currently about two-thirds of the way through. Although I'd consider it women's fiction, the premise is rooted in fantasy. Briefly, after two women are struck by lightning at the same time, one of them finds herself living both lives, switching back and forth from her own life as a single working girl to a married mother of four kids. For me, this would be enough to call it fantasy, though I can see why it's marketed as women's fiction. I think mixing genres in a given book can enrich the story. However, unless there's a way to indicate that the story fits multiple genres, it can be very difficult for a book to reach all the members of its potential audience. Plus, the differences in genre conventions may confuse or alienate some readers.
Do you read or write books that cross the genre border? If so, do you find them more challenging than stories of a single genre?
Do you read or write books that cross the genre border? If so, do you find them more challenging than stories of a single genre?
Saturday, July 31, 2010
The All Aboard Diner
I've mentioned before how my son is a "trainiac," obsessed with everything train-related. There's a restaurant not too far from us that caters to his type. It's called the All Aboard Diner, and it features trains, trains, and more trains. We decided to take Alex there today on a whim.
As you walk into the diner, which is tucked into a strip mall, there's a model train setup next to the door. It's glassed off so kids can't touch it, but there's a raised platform they can stand on and lots of buttons they can push to make items move.
Another model train runs on a track near the ceiling:
More trains, from plates to murals, decorate the walls. Thomas the Tank Engine plays on the TV screens. But the chief attraction of the diner is the long U-shaped bar in the center, where a model train hauls your order to your seat:
Alex was too excited to eat much; he was more interested in the train whistle that came with dessert (a chocolate chip sundae with a cookie) than the dessert itself. Unfortunately, not even the promise of trains in the bathroom could entice him into using it. But the service was good, and I'm sure we'll be back there soon so he can watch more trains in action.
As you walk into the diner, which is tucked into a strip mall, there's a model train setup next to the door. It's glassed off so kids can't touch it, but there's a raised platform they can stand on and lots of buttons they can push to make items move.
More trains, from plates to murals, decorate the walls. Thomas the Tank Engine plays on the TV screens. But the chief attraction of the diner is the long U-shaped bar in the center, where a model train hauls your order to your seat:
Alex was too excited to eat much; he was more interested in the train whistle that came with dessert (a chocolate chip sundae with a cookie) than the dessert itself. Unfortunately, not even the promise of trains in the bathroom could entice him into using it. But the service was good, and I'm sure we'll be back there soon so he can watch more trains in action.
Friday, July 30, 2010
E-Reader Update
My post yesterday turned out to be quite timely, as Amazon announced they were coming out with a new version of the Kindle next month. I decided to jump on it and pre-order. I even pre-ordered my first book for it (Blameless, by Gail Carriger, due September 1.) I still have a slew of paper books to read, but I'm excited about the Kindle and can hardly wait.
How do you prefer to read, paper books or e-books? If you read e-books, do you have a reader, and if so, which one?
How do you prefer to read, paper books or e-books? If you read e-books, do you have a reader, and if so, which one?
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Where the SF E-Books Are
Although I've read a couple of e-books on my laptop, I've held off getting a reader like a Nook or a Kindle. I admit I have a soft spot for physical books; just handling them and rearranging them on my bookshelves brings back memories. Still, my bookshelves are nearly full, and I don't have much space in my office to add more. It might not be a bad idea to switch to e-books, but I wasn't sure which reader I preferred. And honestly, I wasn't even sure what the selection of e-books was like. I normally buy SF/fantasy paperbacks; how many of them are in electronic editions these days? I decided to conduct my own experiment.
I chose six books I recently purchased:
I took this picture on my cellphone, which is why it's so blurry. Here are the titles: The Dragon and the Stars (an anthology), Gaslight Dogs, A Cast-Off Coven (mystery), Infoquake, Nine Gates, and The Patriot Witch. I then checked both Amazon.com and Barnes and Nobles' website for electronic versions of these books.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were indeed digital versions of all these books available. However, Amazon.com had all six books, while Barnes and Noble did not have e-book versions of The Dragon and the Stars and Infoquake.
I put the Kindle on my wish list. It's temporarily out of stock, otherwise I might have been tempted to go ahead and buy it. There will probably be some books I will still want to buy in paper editions, but the Kindle might keep my bookshelves from overflowing.
I chose six books I recently purchased:
I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were indeed digital versions of all these books available. However, Amazon.com had all six books, while Barnes and Noble did not have e-book versions of The Dragon and the Stars and Infoquake.
I put the Kindle on my wish list. It's temporarily out of stock, otherwise I might have been tempted to go ahead and buy it. There will probably be some books I will still want to buy in paper editions, but the Kindle might keep my bookshelves from overflowing.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
The Science of Science Fiction--All the Lonely Planets
Planets--others in our solar system, gas giants, frozen planets, and many others--have long been a staple of science fiction. While these novel environments can evoke a sense of wonder, planets similar to ours could host something even more wonderful--life. When I was born, we hadn't found other planets outside our solar system. About fifteen years ago, the technology to find them became available, but at first, we could only find Jupiter-sized planets. Today, we've detected 150 Earth-sized planets, the kind most suitable for life as we know it. It's estimated there are 100 million planets similar to ours in our galaxy. For more details, check out this interview with astronomer Dimitar Sasselov on CNN.
If there really are so many other possibly habitable worlds out there, that should be good news for science fiction writers and explorers. The problem is our galaxy is so vast we couldn't visit these planets with our current technology, at least not in any reasonable time. This is why science fiction writers need to come up with some way of making faster-than-light (FTL) travel possible. For me, I use a wormhole; a spaceship can enter one end and pop out somewhere else.
One other interesting point in the article is how long life has been a part of the universe. According to Sasselov, it's been around (at least on Earth) for about a third of the universe's life. (We had to wait for other stars to create other elements besides hydrogen and helium.) With so many planets and so much time to work with, there can be all sorts of alien beings out there. Perhaps some are similar to those here on Earth, or perhaps there are worlds where the biology is just a little off. (For example, perhaps some lifeforms use the same chemicals as we do but different optical isomers of them.) Or perhaps some worlds have biology so bizarre it could have only been imagined by a science fiction writer.
Perhaps the planets aren't so lonely after all.
If there really are so many other possibly habitable worlds out there, that should be good news for science fiction writers and explorers. The problem is our galaxy is so vast we couldn't visit these planets with our current technology, at least not in any reasonable time. This is why science fiction writers need to come up with some way of making faster-than-light (FTL) travel possible. For me, I use a wormhole; a spaceship can enter one end and pop out somewhere else.
One other interesting point in the article is how long life has been a part of the universe. According to Sasselov, it's been around (at least on Earth) for about a third of the universe's life. (We had to wait for other stars to create other elements besides hydrogen and helium.) With so many planets and so much time to work with, there can be all sorts of alien beings out there. Perhaps some are similar to those here on Earth, or perhaps there are worlds where the biology is just a little off. (For example, perhaps some lifeforms use the same chemicals as we do but different optical isomers of them.) Or perhaps some worlds have biology so bizarre it could have only been imagined by a science fiction writer.
Perhaps the planets aren't so lonely after all.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Weeding and Writing
We have a never-ending battle with weeds on our lawn. I seldom find the time to go out there and pull them, and with Eugene's schedule, he hasn't been able to spread the Weed-n-Feed recently. Yesterday, I did manage to get outside while Eugene was with Alex. I trimmed the roses so they weren't blocking the sidewalk, then pulled some nettles. Most of the ones I found were small, at least on the surface. When you look at the root (assuming I managed to get all of it), the root can be much longer than the rest of the plant. It made me think of a couple of ways in which story roots can be much more extensive than the actual story.
All stories require a certain amount of pre-planning, such as characters and plot. Even though I don't formally outline a story before writing it, I do have some ideas of the beginning, ending, and a few points along the way. For science fiction and fantasy, the pre-planning work can be more involved if you also have to create the setting or establish rules of magic. It's not enough just to create the parts specifically mentioned in the story; you have to know the underlying details that make the world realistic. This doesn't mean that you have to know every detail about the history of a location, for instance, but sometimes it can enrich the story. Sometimes it's useful to think about the resources and economy of a setting to make sure the story makes sense. For instance, if you're writing about a top predator such as a dragon, it'll need a large territory to find enough food to support itself. Dragons may seem to be a natural part of a desert, but if the area can't support dragon prey, it can't support a dragon either.
Story roots also make me think of the several drafts a story can go through before reaching the final version. The final draft may not have any traces of the original, but the writer still had to create that first draft before getting to the final one.
The final way in which stories can be like weeds is in the way they multiply. Once I get one idea for a story fleshed out, I'm more likely to come up with a sequel, possibly several of them. Sometimes it can be very hard to tug a beloved set of characters out of my head, even when I need to work on another story.
I think that's about as far as I can push this analogy. I certainly don't want other people thinking of my stories as weeds that need to be removed! :grin:
All stories require a certain amount of pre-planning, such as characters and plot. Even though I don't formally outline a story before writing it, I do have some ideas of the beginning, ending, and a few points along the way. For science fiction and fantasy, the pre-planning work can be more involved if you also have to create the setting or establish rules of magic. It's not enough just to create the parts specifically mentioned in the story; you have to know the underlying details that make the world realistic. This doesn't mean that you have to know every detail about the history of a location, for instance, but sometimes it can enrich the story. Sometimes it's useful to think about the resources and economy of a setting to make sure the story makes sense. For instance, if you're writing about a top predator such as a dragon, it'll need a large territory to find enough food to support itself. Dragons may seem to be a natural part of a desert, but if the area can't support dragon prey, it can't support a dragon either.
Story roots also make me think of the several drafts a story can go through before reaching the final version. The final draft may not have any traces of the original, but the writer still had to create that first draft before getting to the final one.
The final way in which stories can be like weeds is in the way they multiply. Once I get one idea for a story fleshed out, I'm more likely to come up with a sequel, possibly several of them. Sometimes it can be very hard to tug a beloved set of characters out of my head, even when I need to work on another story.
I think that's about as far as I can push this analogy. I certainly don't want other people thinking of my stories as weeds that need to be removed! :grin:
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Back on the Blog Chain: Revision
I'm back again with another blog chain. For this round, Sarah asked us this question:
How do you handle revisions? Do you revise as you're writing, or do you wait until you've gone through beta readers and crit partners to revise? How soon after you finish do you begin your revisions?
Amanda posted before me, and Christine follows me.
I'm one of the people who likes to revise as I go along. In fact, I usually start my writing session by reviewing what I last wrote and tweaking it. This helps me get back into the world of my story. Before I post a chapter to the OWW Writing Workshop or send it off to crit partners, I review the whole thing again. I'm pretty good about writing a "clean" draft, one that doesn't have many spelling or grammar mistakes, but I'd rather catch the mistakes myself first if I can. More importantly, I want to make sure my draft is as strong as I can make it. For instance, I know I have a tendency not to use much description in my initial drafts, so if I find the setting seems sparse to me, I'm not going to wait for someone to tell me to add description; I just weave it in. That way, my reviewers can focus on the problems I can't see myself.
If I'm revising on a chapter-by-chapter basis, I like to wait until I get feedback from several people (at least three or four) before revising. I'll print out the marked-up copies and go through them one by one, making changes to the manuscript. Sometimes, to speed things up, I'll lay out all the copies side-by-side so I can see all the suggestions at once. That way, I can see if several people pick up on the same problem.
When I finish a story, I believe in giving it a cooling-off period before looking at it again. After I finished the current version of Across Two Universes back in late April, I took about six weeks away from it. I filled the writing void in the meantime by writing a short story/first chapter about some different characters. I then go ahead and print out a copy so I can read the story on paper instead of onscreen; sometimes I can catch different things that way. I like to make notes on the paper manuscript, though sometimes I just go back to the electronic copy and work there. This is, of course, assuming I don't just toss the previous draft and start over. It may seem like a lot of work, but as the song "Simple Gifts" says, "To turn, turn will be our delight/Til by turning and turning we come round right."
How do you handle revisions? Do you revise as you're writing, or do you wait until you've gone through beta readers and crit partners to revise? How soon after you finish do you begin your revisions?
Amanda posted before me, and Christine follows me.
I'm one of the people who likes to revise as I go along. In fact, I usually start my writing session by reviewing what I last wrote and tweaking it. This helps me get back into the world of my story. Before I post a chapter to the OWW Writing Workshop or send it off to crit partners, I review the whole thing again. I'm pretty good about writing a "clean" draft, one that doesn't have many spelling or grammar mistakes, but I'd rather catch the mistakes myself first if I can. More importantly, I want to make sure my draft is as strong as I can make it. For instance, I know I have a tendency not to use much description in my initial drafts, so if I find the setting seems sparse to me, I'm not going to wait for someone to tell me to add description; I just weave it in. That way, my reviewers can focus on the problems I can't see myself.
If I'm revising on a chapter-by-chapter basis, I like to wait until I get feedback from several people (at least three or four) before revising. I'll print out the marked-up copies and go through them one by one, making changes to the manuscript. Sometimes, to speed things up, I'll lay out all the copies side-by-side so I can see all the suggestions at once. That way, I can see if several people pick up on the same problem.
When I finish a story, I believe in giving it a cooling-off period before looking at it again. After I finished the current version of Across Two Universes back in late April, I took about six weeks away from it. I filled the writing void in the meantime by writing a short story/first chapter about some different characters. I then go ahead and print out a copy so I can read the story on paper instead of onscreen; sometimes I can catch different things that way. I like to make notes on the paper manuscript, though sometimes I just go back to the electronic copy and work there. This is, of course, assuming I don't just toss the previous draft and start over. It may seem like a lot of work, but as the song "Simple Gifts" says, "To turn, turn will be our delight/Til by turning and turning we come round right."
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Alex's Bed Train
I've just written my shortest book ever, at 101 words.
As you may have guessed from my Ten-Word Tuesday, our three-year-old son is having trouble sleeping. He gets scared of noises, even asking about them long after they've stopped. He's a champion staller, and when we do get him into bed, he tosses and turns like I do before falling asleep. (Though I don't bring trains to bed and play with them to stay awake.) Lately he insists on having my husband stay in the room with him until he falls asleep, which can take well over an hour. (And Alex has a late bedtime to begin with.) If we leave Alex alone in his room, he bursts out, crying and looking for us. Even once he's safely asleep in his bed, if he wakes up in the middle of the night, he comes into our room, ensuring no one sleeps well.
Last night, to give my husband a break, I sat with Alex. I sat just outside the open room, watching him do everything but sleep. Finally, when it was past my bedtime, I tried to leave, and Alex went into crisis mode. I had to bring him back to his bed a couple of times. In the end, he finally fell asleep--probably because I gave in and sat by his bed until he fell asleep. But while I was there, I stroked his hair and told him a story about the bed train taking him to the sleep station. (He's quite the "trainiac.") At least tonight he slept through, though he has roused a couple of times this morning calling for me. So I jotted down a quick story for him. I plan to illustrate it with pictures of him and his bedroom. If I get ambitious enough, I may have a copy bound for him. (I hope this self-publishing doesn't turn off any editors or agents.) Who knows, maybe I should do some research into selling the text to a picture book publisher. I figure that would be even harder than the regular book market, though.
I'll be rewarded enough if Alex sleeps well--so we can too.
As you may have guessed from my Ten-Word Tuesday, our three-year-old son is having trouble sleeping. He gets scared of noises, even asking about them long after they've stopped. He's a champion staller, and when we do get him into bed, he tosses and turns like I do before falling asleep. (Though I don't bring trains to bed and play with them to stay awake.) Lately he insists on having my husband stay in the room with him until he falls asleep, which can take well over an hour. (And Alex has a late bedtime to begin with.) If we leave Alex alone in his room, he bursts out, crying and looking for us. Even once he's safely asleep in his bed, if he wakes up in the middle of the night, he comes into our room, ensuring no one sleeps well.
Last night, to give my husband a break, I sat with Alex. I sat just outside the open room, watching him do everything but sleep. Finally, when it was past my bedtime, I tried to leave, and Alex went into crisis mode. I had to bring him back to his bed a couple of times. In the end, he finally fell asleep--probably because I gave in and sat by his bed until he fell asleep. But while I was there, I stroked his hair and told him a story about the bed train taking him to the sleep station. (He's quite the "trainiac.") At least tonight he slept through, though he has roused a couple of times this morning calling for me. So I jotted down a quick story for him. I plan to illustrate it with pictures of him and his bedroom. If I get ambitious enough, I may have a copy bound for him. (I hope this self-publishing doesn't turn off any editors or agents.) Who knows, maybe I should do some research into selling the text to a picture book publisher. I figure that would be even harder than the regular book market, though.
I'll be rewarded enough if Alex sleeps well--so we can too.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Contest Annoucement
Michelle Davidson Argyle has a novella coming out next month. It's called Cinders, and it's a take on Cinderella, where the happily-ever-after didn't last and Cinderella has to find true love without magic. To celebrate, Michelle's giving away lots of prizes on her website. Spread the word about the contest and leave a comment to enter. The contest runs through August 13th. Good luck!
Ten Word Tuesday: Sleep Habits of Toddlers
It's amazing how toddlers can take over their parents' beds.
Monday, July 19, 2010
A Tale of Two Queries
Last Friday, I discussed the difficulties of writing query letters, especially for science fiction/fantasy novels. Today, I'm going to post part of my original query letter and a second I wrote to address some of the concerns my reviewers had. I'm just posting the part specifically about my novel, Across Two Universes; it's the same length in both queries.
Query #1:
On the day Paul’s mother was murdered, he didn’t perform his key scene in Hamlet. But when he realizes his Great-Uncle Jack may have been behind his mother’s death, his life becomes more like the play than he ever wanted. As the clone of a 20th century rock star, Sean Quinn, seventeen-year-old Paul is the heir to musical talent his great-uncle yearns to possess. Now that Paul’s mother can’t stop him, Jack plans to force Paul to become a full-time Sean impersonator and give up his acting career.
Paul temporarily escapes his great-uncle by returning to the spaceship where he lives. Every year, the spaceship makes a round-trip passage through a wormhole to an alternate 20th century universe where Sean is still alive. If Paul can persuade Sean to let him make a holo-likeness, then he can impersonate Sean’s ghost and trick a confession out of his great-uncle. But before Paul can meet the man he was cloned from, he first must convince other wary time travelers to let him visit the 20th century Earth. Sean himself is slated to be murdered soon, something Paul’s mother tried to prevent. Would Paul honor her memory more by saving Sean or incriminating Great-Uncle Jack? If Paul chooses to save Sean, he could strand the spaceship in the 20th century—assuming he doesn’t die in Sean’s place. With his life at risk in one universe and his freedom in another, Paul will need his friends, his holoprojector costume, and a quantum talent he didn’t know he had to avoid tragedy.
Query #2:
Every year, the spaceship Sagan passes through a wormhole to an alternate 20th century Earth. Time travelers visit this planet to observe historic events as they occur and to take genetic samples back to their century. Sometimes they take samples from famous people, such as Sean Quinn, a rock star and peace activist.
Seventeen-year-old Paul lives on the Sagan with his family. After his mother is murdered during leave in the 22nd century, he learns he’s Sean’s clone, created at his great-uncle’s insistence to be a new Sean. Although Paul loves acting, he doesn’t want to be stuck in the same role all his life. He suspects Great-Uncle Jack had his mother murdered to make Paul’s life more like Sean’s, but there’s no evidence. Paul decides to trick a confession out of his great-uncle by impersonating Sean’s ghost. He feels the best way to do this is to meet the man he was cloned from. But the other travelers refuse to let him do so, fearing Paul could change the 20th century Earth’s history if he warns Sean about his own upcoming murder. Paul manages to escape from the time travelers to find himself caught in a horrible dilemma: continue with his original plans and let an innocent man die, or risk his own life to save Sean’s. Even that may be preferable to returning to face Great-Uncle Jack, who is plotting to use Paul’s girlfriend against him. Facing risks in two universes, Paul will need a quantum talent he didn’t know he had to avoid tragedy.
Which one do you think works better, and why? Do you have any suggestions for improvement? I'm planning to pitch this book as YA as well as science fiction; do you think one version would work better for that market than the other? Thanks in advance for your comments!
Query #1:
On the day Paul’s mother was murdered, he didn’t perform his key scene in Hamlet. But when he realizes his Great-Uncle Jack may have been behind his mother’s death, his life becomes more like the play than he ever wanted. As the clone of a 20th century rock star, Sean Quinn, seventeen-year-old Paul is the heir to musical talent his great-uncle yearns to possess. Now that Paul’s mother can’t stop him, Jack plans to force Paul to become a full-time Sean impersonator and give up his acting career.
Paul temporarily escapes his great-uncle by returning to the spaceship where he lives. Every year, the spaceship makes a round-trip passage through a wormhole to an alternate 20th century universe where Sean is still alive. If Paul can persuade Sean to let him make a holo-likeness, then he can impersonate Sean’s ghost and trick a confession out of his great-uncle. But before Paul can meet the man he was cloned from, he first must convince other wary time travelers to let him visit the 20th century Earth. Sean himself is slated to be murdered soon, something Paul’s mother tried to prevent. Would Paul honor her memory more by saving Sean or incriminating Great-Uncle Jack? If Paul chooses to save Sean, he could strand the spaceship in the 20th century—assuming he doesn’t die in Sean’s place. With his life at risk in one universe and his freedom in another, Paul will need his friends, his holoprojector costume, and a quantum talent he didn’t know he had to avoid tragedy.
Query #2:
Every year, the spaceship Sagan passes through a wormhole to an alternate 20th century Earth. Time travelers visit this planet to observe historic events as they occur and to take genetic samples back to their century. Sometimes they take samples from famous people, such as Sean Quinn, a rock star and peace activist.
Seventeen-year-old Paul lives on the Sagan with his family. After his mother is murdered during leave in the 22nd century, he learns he’s Sean’s clone, created at his great-uncle’s insistence to be a new Sean. Although Paul loves acting, he doesn’t want to be stuck in the same role all his life. He suspects Great-Uncle Jack had his mother murdered to make Paul’s life more like Sean’s, but there’s no evidence. Paul decides to trick a confession out of his great-uncle by impersonating Sean’s ghost. He feels the best way to do this is to meet the man he was cloned from. But the other travelers refuse to let him do so, fearing Paul could change the 20th century Earth’s history if he warns Sean about his own upcoming murder. Paul manages to escape from the time travelers to find himself caught in a horrible dilemma: continue with his original plans and let an innocent man die, or risk his own life to save Sean’s. Even that may be preferable to returning to face Great-Uncle Jack, who is plotting to use Paul’s girlfriend against him. Facing risks in two universes, Paul will need a quantum talent he didn’t know he had to avoid tragedy.
Which one do you think works better, and why? Do you have any suggestions for improvement? I'm planning to pitch this book as YA as well as science fiction; do you think one version would work better for that market than the other? Thanks in advance for your comments!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Query Letters: Mind the Gap
Well, Across Two Universes has been sent off to my beta readers (though I have room for a third reader, if anyone's interested), so now it's time to work on the query letter and synopsis. I've drafted both and posted the synopsis on OWW and the query letter on Absolute Write for feedback. So far, I've had one review on the synopsis, and there was only one paragraph the reviewer had trouble following. That's not bad. My query letter, on the other hand, still needs work.
Writing query letters is tough, but I think for SF/fantasy writers, it's even harder. It's not enough just to summarize the story; you have to explain the setting too, especially if it's much different from our world. To boil down a novel to a couple hundred words, you have to leave out a lot of details that help build credibility. There's a big gap between the novel and the query letter you have to mind, much like the famous "gap" of the London Undergound.
I think for my next draft of my query letter, I'm going to start with a background paragraph before diving into Paul's goals and conflicts. We'll have to see if that works better. In the meantime, have you experienced this gap between story and summary, and how did you deal with it?
Writing query letters is tough, but I think for SF/fantasy writers, it's even harder. It's not enough just to summarize the story; you have to explain the setting too, especially if it's much different from our world. To boil down a novel to a couple hundred words, you have to leave out a lot of details that help build credibility. There's a big gap between the novel and the query letter you have to mind, much like the famous "gap" of the London Undergound.
I think for my next draft of my query letter, I'm going to start with a background paragraph before diving into Paul's goals and conflicts. We'll have to see if that works better. In the meantime, have you experienced this gap between story and summary, and how did you deal with it?
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