June 19th, 2013
And today I've got a guest blog up on the Fox Spirit Books site to celebrate the launch of the very fabulous Piracy. (Yarrrrgh!)It's subtly entitled - When Temples Attack! and lets me gloriously indulge in my love of pseudo-archaeology and archaeology-adventure tropes in films and other media. (Though this has nothing whatsoever to do with m'story in Piracy, but our Feral Leader did say we could do any subject we wanted!)
bouncyHello, Internets!
I of course must respect the privacy of my students, so I don't talk about them directly here, or much about what I do with them (and wouldn't even if I had the time!) but I think professional conduct allows me to say this:
Today we were doing a creative writing lesson on writing an action scene. I gave the students this for an example:
"What happens next?" they wanted to know.
"You tell me!" I said merrily, and set them brainstorming, planning, and drafting.
I think Luisa dies in about half the stories. 14 year olds LOVE gore.
This entry was originally posted at http://karenhealey.dreamwidth.org/67823.h
I of course must respect the privacy of my students, so I don't talk about them directly here, or much about what I do with them (and wouldn't even if I had the time!) but I think professional conduct allows me to say this:
Today we were doing a creative writing lesson on writing an action scene. I gave the students this for an example:
At the soft scrape of a bare foot on stone , Luisa whirled.
The Grey Man stood directly behind her, reaching for her throat. Luisa didn’t waste a second. She took one step forward, lifting her knee sharply. Her tensed foot snapped up. Too late! With the speed of a snake, the Grey Man caught her ankle and yanked.
Luisa went down hard, the gritty rock of the clifftop scraping her hands and knees raw. She tasted blood in her mouth and felt the sharp pain of a bitten tongue. With a monumental effort, she forced herself back to her feet. The Grey Man was waiting. Watching.
“Give me the stone,” he said, his voice soft and sibiliant. “The secret stone. Give it to me.”
Luisa risked a look over her shoulder. The ocean below was rough, the sharp rocks jagged teeth. And there were predators in the water.
But none of those were as dangerous as the creature that blocked her exit.
No safe way past him. The only way out was down.
With her heart pounding in her chest, thumping against the stone in her pocket, Luisa turned on her heel and fled. Towards the edge of the cliff.
She felt a tug at her hair, but she wrenched free and leapt. For a breathless moment, she felt suspended in air, flying past the startled gulls who screamed their displeasure.
Then, she fell.
"What happens next?" they wanted to know.
"You tell me!" I said merrily, and set them brainstorming, planning, and drafting.
I think Luisa dies in about half the stories. 14 year olds LOVE gore.
This entry was originally posted at http://karenhealey.dreamwidth.org/67823.h
June 18th, 2013
(Original here)
Writing advice is... well... cheap. You can find it everywhere. It's mostly harmless, as far as it goes, but then - sometimes - I come across a list which I begin itching to annotate. Here's one such:
1. Your novel is not a personal journal. Consider the reader.
Sounds pretty basic, but when you unpack it the whole thing is nonsense. Absolutely, a novel isn't a personal journal - and there is a lot to be said about the adage that when you find yourself not telling a story but preaching a sermon from your own personal soapbox it's time to pack up the Speaker's Corner paraphernalia and walk away. BUT. This sort of thing is painfully obvious. It will scream from the page, if it is practised. All you have to do, in order to "consider the reader", is to remember that a story's PLOT and its THEME may be two very different things - and quite possibly there are themes that you shouldn't consider writing about because you are too close to them. On the other hand all rules are there to be broken and if you are a powerful enough writer AND are very close to an issue what comes out in novel form can change the world. Sure, consider the reader. But first of all, consider the writer. The potential "reader" of a potentially published book is a long way away while that book is still being created. The best way around this is to get a trusted beta reader, possibly one whose worldview isn't identical to your own - if your first reader tells you that you're preaching, tone it down. Problem solved. But it's the writer who needs to be considered here. The readers aren't there yet. Not for a long while.
2. Writing is a business. You enter into an agreement with a reader. You agree to entertain in exchange for their money and emotion. You agree to inform for their time.
No. PUBLISHING is a business. Writing is something else, something that is a difficult cross between an art and a craft. And your only responsibility is to provide the best story that you are capable of producing. What happens to it afterwards... is not yours to control. What you "owe" the reader is that,a nd only that. And once it's out of your hands, readers who pick up the published version of your story are going to bring their own baggage, their own vision, their own interpretations into the thing - and you have absolutely no way of knowing (and therefore cannot be responsible for) what emotions your book arouses in them. You cannot, CANNOT, write the perfect book for every reader, and trying to do it will kill you. And just what does "agree to inform for their time" mean, exactly? Sure, I've learned some of the most fundamental human truths from fiction. That's partly what it is FOR. But it isn't a class, or a course, or a school. Fiction is lies breathed through a tissue of silver that is a thin veil of truth; the thing that the readers get from this isn't "information". They can go to the encyclopedia (or, in these cyberdays, to Google) for their information. They want wisdom from ficiton, not knowledge. And wisdom has never been a "business". You cannot put a price on wisdom. So writing that wisdom down is not a business, as and of itself. Publishing... is a whole different animal.
3. Readers don’t like charmless heroes. Just because your protagonist happens to be an anti-hero does not mean you are free to make him or her 100% unlikable.
COrrect - to a point, But charm isn't required, really. What is required is that you CARE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS TO A PROTAGONIST. The most likeable character in the world is rendered irrelevant when the reader fails to connect with that character to the point of caring about their ultimate fate. I can list numerous novels where the protags were charming as all get go and I couldn't care less which way they jumped. And if this were the ultimate rule what about, say, Thomas COvenant (whose charm quotient was as close to ultimate zero on the charm scale as it is possible to get - and who somehow - through pity? through sheer frustration at his existence? - still managed to protag his way through a number of successful novels...)?
4. Only experienced novelists who have successfully completed two published books should attempt to use an anti-hero as a protagonist.
Ferchissakes. See point 1. You're preaching again. One man's anti hero is another man's, er, freedom fighter (for whatever freedom you care to be fighting for). If you are good enough you can make it work - it's been done. IT HAS. Successfully. Hannibal Lecter, anyone...? Elric of Melnibone? In other words, beginning writer, you may not succeed the first time you try something like this - but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't try it if a particular story is where your passion lies. Passion trumps rules. You'd be surprised where you can take a reader if you and your story (and your anti-hero protagonist) set their soul on fire.
5. Antagonists should be people, not things.
Okay. So then "Jaws" should not have been written. "The Perfect Storm" should never have been written. For that matter, if you take it to an extreme, the One Ring in "Lord of the Rings" is the ultimate antagonist in that story. Really, now? Really? I'm sure you can add to this list. Even the most basic and pared down list of posssible plots includes "man versus nature" - so there's that; and there are any number of objects which have worked quite well in literature as "antagonists" over the centures that we have been telling stories. Could we be just a tad less prescriptive and a little more open minded here...?
6. If you aren’t willing to listen to advice, if you aren’t able to learn from your mistakes, and if you aren’t prepared to let go of stories nobody wants to read, you will probably not succeed.
...you mean like me, here, taking THIS advice apart...? [grin] But seriously. Yes, you should listen to advice from more experienced voices. Yes, you are going to make mistakes (please don't think you won't) and if you are any good at all you WILL learn from them. There ARE stories which you will love fiercely but which you will have to shelve and get on with something new if you want to get anywhere at all. But first... but first... you have to write those stories, you have to make those mistakes, and you must not be afraid of that. This is what the writing apprenticeship is all about, and everyone's gone through it. EVERYONE.
7. You have to read a lot to be able to write.
The first thing in here so far which I can greet with a complete and unequivocal AMEN.
8. Using examples of famous authors who were published more than 30 years ago to justify long passages of description in your boring manuscript is not a good idea. Publishing has changed. Readers have changed.
Hm. Robert Jordan, anyone...? Describing every step anyone in his books ever took, every meal they ever ate, every breath they ever drew...? And yet somehow still read...? How about "Game of Thrones" with its thousands upon thousands of pages worth of description...? I think the rule is, "don't be boring". The readers haven't changed THAT much - "don't be boring" is all that is required. You ARE allowed to write lush and detailed. Yes, you damned well ARE. Just know your limits, and stop before you get there, is all.
9. Self-publishing does not mean you don’t need to pay somebody to proofread and edit your book. Readers are insulted when they find mistakes in books. It’s like serving guests dinner on dirty plates.
Yes, okay, I'll go with this. Writers are notoriously too close to their own work. If you do NOTHING else with your self=published book, invest in a good copy editor. Trust me on this. You can thank me later.
10. Always delete the first three chapters of the first draft of your first three novels. It will always be filled with backstory you don’t need.
ANY piece of advice that begins with "Always" or "Never" is to be discarded immediately. Because there is no such thing. There is NO "one true way". yes, you are likely to err on the side of starting your story before it really begins, especially when you are just beginning to practice the craft - but following this bit of advice blindly is simply going to land you in quicksand because the backlash can be fierce - yes, you don't want endless exposition in the front of your book, but you also don't want to fling characters about whom your reader doesn't know nearly enough to care about what happens to them straight into the jaws of conflict, and expect your reader to stay while these strangers are inexplicably whacking at each other for reasons which you (because you followed this advice) mercilessly cut out from before the conflict happens. yes, there is a lot to learn in the writing craft - and one of the most important lessons is that of Michaelangelo who, when asked how he created his statues from a block of marble, responded that he started with the block and just chipped away everything that wasn't the statue. If the first thing you happen to find as you're chipping away at your block of marble happens to be a hand, don't chop off the fingers because you haven't figured out the rest of the arm yet. Shake hands, be nice. Take it easy. Let us get to *know* your story before you throw it snarling in our face. And remember that no rule is absolute - think about James Michener and his "And the Earth cooled" beginnings - and look at how that worked out for HIM. Repeat after me - there IS no "Always". There is just you, and what is best for YOUR story. Yes, by all means listen to advice - but in the end write the best story you know how to write, and then trust it. That is your only debt to the story, and to anyone who takes it forward after you're done. The readers will take care of themselves.
Writing advice is... well... cheap. You can find it everywhere. It's mostly harmless, as far as it goes, but then - sometimes - I come across a list which I begin itching to annotate. Here's one such:
1. Your novel is not a personal journal. Consider the reader.
Sounds pretty basic, but when you unpack it the whole thing is nonsense. Absolutely, a novel isn't a personal journal - and there is a lot to be said about the adage that when you find yourself not telling a story but preaching a sermon from your own personal soapbox it's time to pack up the Speaker's Corner paraphernalia and walk away. BUT. This sort of thing is painfully obvious. It will scream from the page, if it is practised. All you have to do, in order to "consider the reader", is to remember that a story's PLOT and its THEME may be two very different things - and quite possibly there are themes that you shouldn't consider writing about because you are too close to them. On the other hand all rules are there to be broken and if you are a powerful enough writer AND are very close to an issue what comes out in novel form can change the world. Sure, consider the reader. But first of all, consider the writer. The potential "reader" of a potentially published book is a long way away while that book is still being created. The best way around this is to get a trusted beta reader, possibly one whose worldview isn't identical to your own - if your first reader tells you that you're preaching, tone it down. Problem solved. But it's the writer who needs to be considered here. The readers aren't there yet. Not for a long while.
2. Writing is a business. You enter into an agreement with a reader. You agree to entertain in exchange for their money and emotion. You agree to inform for their time.
No. PUBLISHING is a business. Writing is something else, something that is a difficult cross between an art and a craft. And your only responsibility is to provide the best story that you are capable of producing. What happens to it afterwards... is not yours to control. What you "owe" the reader is that,a nd only that. And once it's out of your hands, readers who pick up the published version of your story are going to bring their own baggage, their own vision, their own interpretations into the thing - and you have absolutely no way of knowing (and therefore cannot be responsible for) what emotions your book arouses in them. You cannot, CANNOT, write the perfect book for every reader, and trying to do it will kill you. And just what does "agree to inform for their time" mean, exactly? Sure, I've learned some of the most fundamental human truths from fiction. That's partly what it is FOR. But it isn't a class, or a course, or a school. Fiction is lies breathed through a tissue of silver that is a thin veil of truth; the thing that the readers get from this isn't "information". They can go to the encyclopedia (or, in these cyberdays, to Google) for their information. They want wisdom from ficiton, not knowledge. And wisdom has never been a "business". You cannot put a price on wisdom. So writing that wisdom down is not a business, as and of itself. Publishing... is a whole different animal.
3. Readers don’t like charmless heroes. Just because your protagonist happens to be an anti-hero does not mean you are free to make him or her 100% unlikable.
COrrect - to a point, But charm isn't required, really. What is required is that you CARE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS TO A PROTAGONIST. The most likeable character in the world is rendered irrelevant when the reader fails to connect with that character to the point of caring about their ultimate fate. I can list numerous novels where the protags were charming as all get go and I couldn't care less which way they jumped. And if this were the ultimate rule what about, say, Thomas COvenant (whose charm quotient was as close to ultimate zero on the charm scale as it is possible to get - and who somehow - through pity? through sheer frustration at his existence? - still managed to protag his way through a number of successful novels...)?
4. Only experienced novelists who have successfully completed two published books should attempt to use an anti-hero as a protagonist.
Ferchissakes. See point 1. You're preaching again. One man's anti hero is another man's, er, freedom fighter (for whatever freedom you care to be fighting for). If you are good enough you can make it work - it's been done. IT HAS. Successfully. Hannibal Lecter, anyone...? Elric of Melnibone? In other words, beginning writer, you may not succeed the first time you try something like this - but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't try it if a particular story is where your passion lies. Passion trumps rules. You'd be surprised where you can take a reader if you and your story (and your anti-hero protagonist) set their soul on fire.
5. Antagonists should be people, not things.
Okay. So then "Jaws" should not have been written. "The Perfect Storm" should never have been written. For that matter, if you take it to an extreme, the One Ring in "Lord of the Rings" is the ultimate antagonist in that story. Really, now? Really? I'm sure you can add to this list. Even the most basic and pared down list of posssible plots includes "man versus nature" - so there's that; and there are any number of objects which have worked quite well in literature as "antagonists" over the centures that we have been telling stories. Could we be just a tad less prescriptive and a little more open minded here...?
6. If you aren’t willing to listen to advice, if you aren’t able to learn from your mistakes, and if you aren’t prepared to let go of stories nobody wants to read, you will probably not succeed.
...you mean like me, here, taking THIS advice apart...? [grin] But seriously. Yes, you should listen to advice from more experienced voices. Yes, you are going to make mistakes (please don't think you won't) and if you are any good at all you WILL learn from them. There ARE stories which you will love fiercely but which you will have to shelve and get on with something new if you want to get anywhere at all. But first... but first... you have to write those stories, you have to make those mistakes, and you must not be afraid of that. This is what the writing apprenticeship is all about, and everyone's gone through it. EVERYONE.
7. You have to read a lot to be able to write.
The first thing in here so far which I can greet with a complete and unequivocal AMEN.
8. Using examples of famous authors who were published more than 30 years ago to justify long passages of description in your boring manuscript is not a good idea. Publishing has changed. Readers have changed.
Hm. Robert Jordan, anyone...? Describing every step anyone in his books ever took, every meal they ever ate, every breath they ever drew...? And yet somehow still read...? How about "Game of Thrones" with its thousands upon thousands of pages worth of description...? I think the rule is, "don't be boring". The readers haven't changed THAT much - "don't be boring" is all that is required. You ARE allowed to write lush and detailed. Yes, you damned well ARE. Just know your limits, and stop before you get there, is all.
9. Self-publishing does not mean you don’t need to pay somebody to proofread and edit your book. Readers are insulted when they find mistakes in books. It’s like serving guests dinner on dirty plates.
Yes, okay, I'll go with this. Writers are notoriously too close to their own work. If you do NOTHING else with your self=published book, invest in a good copy editor. Trust me on this. You can thank me later.
10. Always delete the first three chapters of the first draft of your first three novels. It will always be filled with backstory you don’t need.
ANY piece of advice that begins with "Always" or "Never" is to be discarded immediately. Because there is no such thing. There is NO "one true way". yes, you are likely to err on the side of starting your story before it really begins, especially when you are just beginning to practice the craft - but following this bit of advice blindly is simply going to land you in quicksand because the backlash can be fierce - yes, you don't want endless exposition in the front of your book, but you also don't want to fling characters about whom your reader doesn't know nearly enough to care about what happens to them straight into the jaws of conflict, and expect your reader to stay while these strangers are inexplicably whacking at each other for reasons which you (because you followed this advice) mercilessly cut out from before the conflict happens. yes, there is a lot to learn in the writing craft - and one of the most important lessons is that of Michaelangelo who, when asked how he created his statues from a block of marble, responded that he started with the block and just chipped away everything that wasn't the statue. If the first thing you happen to find as you're chipping away at your block of marble happens to be a hand, don't chop off the fingers because you haven't figured out the rest of the arm yet. Shake hands, be nice. Take it easy. Let us get to *know* your story before you throw it snarling in our face. And remember that no rule is absolute - think about James Michener and his "And the Earth cooled" beginnings - and look at how that worked out for HIM. Repeat after me - there IS no "Always". There is just you, and what is best for YOUR story. Yes, by all means listen to advice - but in the end write the best story you know how to write, and then trust it. That is your only debt to the story, and to anyone who takes it forward after you're done. The readers will take care of themselves.
I want to talk about the confluences between lifting/fitness and gender, yet I cannot ever seem to put my thoughts in a rational order that doesn't consist mostly of short phrases with exclamation points. (Sometimes I'm more masculine than others! I think "strong" is not gender coded! Yet I think many of these new muscles read on my body as masculine! Why is that!) There's plenty to say about the way that this experience has been something I am doing for its own sake--I'm loving this fitness stuff, passionately and with delight--but that this doesn't preclude it from also being related, as most things are, to my gender identity and presentation.
Complicated, yeah.
*
Getting real, here.
My partner has been having a lot of emotional and mental difficulties recently, job-related and therefore life-related. This is one of the many reasons I am glad that we're leaving the country for what will end up being a sort of year's sabbatical for him and at least a recovery period for me. I do not like seeing my life-mate depressed and being unable to help. I am a fixer, you see. I fix things for other people obsessively, and I caretake those I feel strong emotions for with a zeal that I often have to check because it's a little much and I can't sustain my own self-care if I'm putting all of my energy out externally.
When we come back, we have to face the employment-versus-emotional/psychologica
I haven't been able to fix this, and it drives me up a wall. I just want to be able to provide for us so It's All Better, but that's--impossible. So other solutions must be found.
Complicated, yeah.
*
Getting real, here.
My partner has been having a lot of emotional and mental difficulties recently, job-related and therefore life-related. This is one of the many reasons I am glad that we're leaving the country for what will end up being a sort of year's sabbatical for him and at least a recovery period for me. I do not like seeing my life-mate depressed and being unable to help. I am a fixer, you see. I fix things for other people obsessively, and I caretake those I feel strong emotions for with a zeal that I often have to check because it's a little much and I can't sustain my own self-care if I'm putting all of my energy out externally.
When we come back, we have to face the employment-versus-emotional/psychologica
I haven't been able to fix this, and it drives me up a wall. I just want to be able to provide for us so It's All Better, but that's--impossible. So other solutions must be found.
Two things, both awesome:
A totally ridiculous Star Trek: The Backcompatibalized Original Original Series vid that makes me happy and stuff:
Popular Science magazine recruited a bunch of SF authors and artists to play futurist! Features John Picacio, Scott Lynch, Nancy Kress, David Palumbo, Ian Tregillis, Dave Seeley, Karl Schroeder, Daniel Dociu, Kim Stanley Robinson, Elizabeth Bear (that's me!), Stephan Martiniere, Kathleen Ann Goonan, James S. A. Corey, and Vandana Singh.
A totally ridiculous Star Trek: The Backcompatibalized Original Original Series vid that makes me happy and stuff:
Popular Science magazine recruited a bunch of SF authors and artists to play futurist! Features John Picacio, Scott Lynch, Nancy Kress, David Palumbo, Ian Tregillis, Dave Seeley, Karl Schroeder, Daniel Dociu, Kim Stanley Robinson, Elizabeth Bear (that's me!), Stephan Martiniere, Kathleen Ann Goonan, James S. A. Corey, and Vandana Singh.
amusedReview copy provided by Netgalley. The galley is copyrighted 2013, but Goodreads says a version was published in 1997.
Content note: Some discussion of rape, murder, and mutilation.
This is a hard book to review because my reaction to it is basically, "Eh."
It's not a terrible book, it's not a great book, it's not off-putting, it's not absorbing. Typically, my rule for deciding if I want to watch a TV show is, "Is this more fun than reading a book?" For this book, I would much rather have been watching TV.
Euripides wrote the version of Medea best known to modern audiences: the princess of Colchis falls in love with the adventurer Jason and betrays her family -- to the point of murdering her brother -- to help Jason steal the Golden Fleece. She then has a checkered career murdering people for Jason's advancement, which ultimately leads to him becoming king of Corinth. Eventually, Jason decides to abandon her in favor of another princess. (I am not sure I have ever read a single version of this myth in which Jason is not a total schmuck.) In revenge, Medea kills the other woman and her own children. In earlier versions, Medea kills the children by accident or the children are killed by the citizens of Corinth.
In most versions, there is yet more wandering and killing and attempted killing. Most notably Medea marries Aegeus and then tries to poison Theseus when he comes to claim his birthright. (This is included in The King Must Die, because sadly Mary Renault does not seem to have ever encountered a misogynistic trope she didn't like.) Medea is often said to have escaped from both Corinth and Athens in a chariot drawn by dragons. I wonder where she stabled and fed the dragons in between witchy midnight escapes. Possibly she just borrowed them from Hekate in her times of need.
Most versions of Medea's history end with her returning to Colchis and killing her uncle to restore her father to the throne. Presumably her father felt that this made up for that one time she murdered her brother and chopped his body into little pieces to scatter in the sea.
( Mildly spoilery, but you already know most of this.Collapse )
Content note: Some discussion of rape, murder, and mutilation.
This is a hard book to review because my reaction to it is basically, "Eh."
It's not a terrible book, it's not a great book, it's not off-putting, it's not absorbing. Typically, my rule for deciding if I want to watch a TV show is, "Is this more fun than reading a book?" For this book, I would much rather have been watching TV.
Euripides wrote the version of Medea best known to modern audiences: the princess of Colchis falls in love with the adventurer Jason and betrays her family -- to the point of murdering her brother -- to help Jason steal the Golden Fleece. She then has a checkered career murdering people for Jason's advancement, which ultimately leads to him becoming king of Corinth. Eventually, Jason decides to abandon her in favor of another princess. (I am not sure I have ever read a single version of this myth in which Jason is not a total schmuck.) In revenge, Medea kills the other woman and her own children. In earlier versions, Medea kills the children by accident or the children are killed by the citizens of Corinth.
In most versions, there is yet more wandering and killing and attempted killing. Most notably Medea marries Aegeus and then tries to poison Theseus when he comes to claim his birthright. (This is included in The King Must Die, because sadly Mary Renault does not seem to have ever encountered a misogynistic trope she didn't like.) Medea is often said to have escaped from both Corinth and Athens in a chariot drawn by dragons. I wonder where she stabled and fed the dragons in between witchy midnight escapes. Possibly she just borrowed them from Hekate in her times of need.
Most versions of Medea's history end with her returning to Colchis and killing her uncle to restore her father to the throne. Presumably her father felt that this made up for that one time she murdered her brother and chopped his body into little pieces to scatter in the sea.
( Mildly spoilery, but you already know most of this.Collapse )
Oh, why not? Maybe it's just today's fad, but nobody's going to suffer if it never shows again...
This afternoon I’m not really in the kitchen anyway, except for washing dishes (I am learning not to say “washing up”, because it confuses Americans) and sorting stuff after the yogi dinner last night and before Katherine comes tomorrow.
I am however in the back yard, smoking bacon. Not that it needs much attention. Every twenty minutes or so I wander out and chuck a handful of soaked vinewood chips onto a few sullen coals, and a minute later the grill is leaking smoke from all its orifices. It has a lot of orifices. Cook’s Illustrated says it’s the worst in its field, for poor construction and gaps all around. I like it, though. Probably because I know no better, but hey.
Oh, and I boiled some rice for later. We’ve got cold grilled pork in the fridge, and long beans from the farmers’ market, so obviously I’m thinking Chinese. Probably just a fry-up of rice and pork and mushrooms, with the beans on the side. (Karen tends to like things served separately, I tend to like everything mungled up together in a single convenient dish; I may call this a compromise.) Ginger in the beans, garlic in the rice, soy in everything.
The bacon's been on for an hour and a half, which is probably enough. If I had a Thermapen, I'd know. I'm still dithering about that, but really I ought to stop with the dither and just splurge. Meantime, I just rely on smell and taste and feel, and what kind of cooking do you call that...?
This afternoon I’m not really in the kitchen anyway, except for washing dishes (I am learning not to say “washing up”, because it confuses Americans) and sorting stuff after the yogi dinner last night and before Katherine comes tomorrow.
I am however in the back yard, smoking bacon. Not that it needs much attention. Every twenty minutes or so I wander out and chuck a handful of soaked vinewood chips onto a few sullen coals, and a minute later the grill is leaking smoke from all its orifices. It has a lot of orifices. Cook’s Illustrated says it’s the worst in its field, for poor construction and gaps all around. I like it, though. Probably because I know no better, but hey.
Oh, and I boiled some rice for later. We’ve got cold grilled pork in the fridge, and long beans from the farmers’ market, so obviously I’m thinking Chinese. Probably just a fry-up of rice and pork and mushrooms, with the beans on the side. (Karen tends to like things served separately, I tend to like everything mungled up together in a single convenient dish; I may call this a compromise.) Ginger in the beans, garlic in the rice, soy in everything.
The bacon's been on for an hour and a half, which is probably enough. If I had a Thermapen, I'd know. I'm still dithering about that, but really I ought to stop with the dither and just splurge. Meantime, I just rely on smell and taste and feel, and what kind of cooking do you call that...?
You can tell I wasn't a gardener, when I was writing The Garden. If I had six barrowloads of leaves these days, they wouldn't be getting anywhere near my compost-heap. They'd go in black bags and sit in a corner till they broke down into lovely leafmould, however long it took.
In other not-very-related news, I thought I might take a leaf out of Nigel Slater's book(s), and start a kitchen diary. It might actually be useful to have a searchable daily record of what I cook, what I use, what works and what doesn't. (On the other hand, of course, my record at keeping daily records is not great; but on the other other hand, it's a shame to quit before I begin. Better to start and fail than never to start. Etc. So I might. Hell, I might even post it here. With tags. My record at remembering to use tags is even more risible, but, y'know. Try again, fail again. Fail better.)
In other not-very-related news, I thought I might take a leaf out of Nigel Slater's book(s), and start a kitchen diary. It might actually be useful to have a searchable daily record of what I cook, what I use, what works and what doesn't. (On the other hand, of course, my record at keeping daily records is not great; but on the other other hand, it's a shame to quit before I begin. Better to start and fail than never to start. Etc. So I might. Hell, I might even post it here. With tags. My record at remembering to use tags is even more risible, but, y'know. Try again, fail again. Fail better.)
Another shopping trip this morning first stopping in Ashford and then in Canterbury where I had a Pret filter coffee and a sandwich. It was quite humid and at times it felt thundery. Luckily it remained dry.
In Ashford i visited a charity shop and picked up some books and a CD, followed by a couple more books in the HMV sale in Canterbury.
The books are -
Ron Berry - Collected Short Stories (Gomer Press)
David Mateur - Courts Poets And Patrons, The Renaissance in Europe (Yale)
Eric Partridge - Usage And Abusage (Penguin)
Tom Cunliffe - Good Vibrations, Coast To Coast By Harley (Summersdale)
Simon Reynolds - Bring The Noise (Faber & Faber)
The CD is a classic soul album from 1995 - D'Angelo's "Brown Sugar).
This evening I watched the last interview with Iain Banks , A Culture Show special on BBC 2.
In Ashford i visited a charity shop and picked up some books and a CD, followed by a couple more books in the HMV sale in Canterbury.
The books are -
Ron Berry - Collected Short Stories (Gomer Press)
David Mateur - Courts Poets And Patrons, The Renaissance in Europe (Yale)
Eric Partridge - Usage And Abusage (Penguin)
Tom Cunliffe - Good Vibrations, Coast To Coast By Harley (Summersdale)
Simon Reynolds - Bring The Noise (Faber & Faber)
The CD is a classic soul album from 1995 - D'Angelo's "Brown Sugar).
This evening I watched the last interview with Iain Banks , A Culture Show special on BBC 2.
I have no recollection of buying today's earrings, but they were my default, best-loved pair for years. They were a perfect match for an equally well-loved suit that I remember fondly. It was a silky viscose in similar colours - a full skirt and a shirt that worked either loose or tucked in. I did, eventually, wear it out.
The shirt on which the earrings are resting is also an old favourite. I bought it from M&S in 2006 and accidentally dyed it pale pink early in 2007, just before packing it to go on holiday. (It's faded back to white now.) I was wearing it the first time we met three of my very favourite people, in Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi. As it happens, the linen skirt I was wearing with the shirt today is the same linen skirt I was wearing on that day in India. I wasn't wearing earrings in 2007, though, I can't bear them in the heat.
The other thing I've remembered, is that my sensitivity to metals increased over the earring-wearing years. I didn't manage to keep these in for the whole day, and I definitely need to replace many of the wires with hypoallergenic findings.
Comment here or comment there (where there are
comments).
The shirt on which the earrings are resting is also an old favourite. I bought it from M&S in 2006 and accidentally dyed it pale pink early in 2007, just before packing it to go on holiday. (It's faded back to white now.) I was wearing it the first time we met three of my very favourite people, in Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi. As it happens, the linen skirt I was wearing with the shirt today is the same linen skirt I was wearing on that day in India. I wasn't wearing earrings in 2007, though, I can't bear them in the heat.
The other thing I've remembered, is that my sensitivity to metals increased over the earring-wearing years. I didn't manage to keep these in for the whole day, and I definitely need to replace many of the wires with hypoallergenic findings.
Comment here or comment there (where there are
I was sitting there with a plate of french toast and checking email when a message popped up from Tom Dark of the Heacock Hill Literary Agency.
“Greetings and Salutations,” he proclaimed!
Well, no. Actually he opened his email by saying, “I see you’re a snide supporter of the ‘Absolute Write’ gang.” He then proceeded to spend approximately 900 words explaining that Heacock Hill has been the victim of a vicious hoax “purposely instigated by ‘Absolute Write’ and/or ‘Writer Beware.’” He described Absolute Write as a cult, informed me that he was not Jewish, and added that he was also not Miriam Silverstein.
All of which left me with three questions.
- Who was this guy?
- Why was he emailing me?
- Where the hell did this french toast come from?
Question three was easiest to answer, and once I made my way back to the right table, I sat down to examine this email in more detail. As near as I can make out, someone wrote some nasty comments about this guy, including things like, “You want to go around and write your little PEE BOY SQUIRT OINKER BULLSHIT all over my stuff, go ahead.”
This may or may not have been on the Absolute Write site; if it was, the moderators at AW have removed it as inappropriate.
Therefore Absolute Write is a cult. Or something. I’m not sure. I was still disoriented by the french toast mishap.
Absolute Write does have a thread about this agency. Please note: this is the link that Dark himself sent me in his email. Following that link reveals … folks talking about how Tom Dark sends weird/creepy-aggressive emails to people.
Despite the fact that Mr. Dark has a pretty cool superhero name, I was starting to get a little weirded out by this point. I skimmed another nasty comment someone apparently sent, and jumped to the end, where he states:
This little cult that pretends to “protect writers from fraud” have been pulling this sick game for years. Years ago they also attacked our founder, in her eighties, with lies about fees charged. We see how these lies have spread unchecked to sites that also refuse to check up on the malicious libels they’re serving to perpetrate. We see how some sites have falsely characterized this as “a controversy.”
A lawsuit is time- taking and expensive. If we must get around to it eventually, we certainly will, and with the intent to simply get rid of these vicious, hypocritical phonies, very loudly….
Maybe we won’t have to. A little insider info for you: a good many editors are getting sick and tired of this gang of hacks, finally.
He then wished me a fun career, turned into a puff of dandelion fuzz, and floated away in a maple syrup-scented breeze.
Being the inquisitive fellow I am, I headed over to the Heacock Hill Literary Agency where I found, just as Dark had claimed, that they “do not charge up front fees.” I also found zero information about who their clients were or what books they might have sold. So I emailed Mr. Dark asking if he’d be willing to share.
Dark was quick to reply, letting me know that:
We, I, represent a bunch of people, some, real mighty. I don’t care if you know who they are. Couple up and comers are on my personal blog. We do care that those concerned know who they are. We do care that we, and they, don’t have to put up with the rancid lying shit your buddies smear around.
Huh. Okay, I’ll happily admit that one of the comments he sent me included some nasty antisemitic name-calling, apparently directed at Dark. But why did he feel the need to tell me all about all of this? As I explained to him, I didn’t even know who Tom Dark was, nor the Heacock Hill Literary Agency.
To which he explained:
Wasn’t that you who wrote the snide “apology” about some “Write Agenda” thing on your blog? When I looked into these cronies of yours are, what I found from these so-called “sock puppets” independently pretty much matched.
He’s referring to this blog post, which was indeed rather snide in its disdain for the homophobic twits of The Write Agenda.
Oh wait, I see the connection. Mister Dark had a guest post for TWA, wherein he spends 2900 words (yes, I did a word count) to explain that everything Absolute Write said about him was a lie by lying liars who lie, he has lots of important and brilliant clients that he won’t name, and he really was popular, so there! Also, something about flying monkeys.
By now, I was having fun, so I did a little more digging and found a blog post wherein he talks (anonymously) about a few of his clients, including one who sadly didn’t work out.
Now, the crazy lady instead left such a loud-mouthed message on my machine I thought it better we wrote quietly. She wrote back loudly, officiously declaring how to do my business and how this certain last-minute thing I happened to be doing was totally impossible.
Is “stupid c**t” politically correct English? It’s scientific.
So that’s what’s been wafting through my inbox. I’m sad to say that the only things I made up here were that bit about the french toast and Dark’s ability to vanish in a poof of dandelion fluff.
Short version: Classy “agent” is classy.
PS, When Mr. Dark discovers this post, he is more than welcome to share any details he wishes that might help establish his credentials as a successful agent and counter the scammerish red flag of refusing to list any clients or sales. But trolling and name-calling will be deleted and/or kittened, depending on my mood.
Mirrored from Jim C. Hines.
Now that things have finally settled down again, it's back to work on the current project. Yesterday was spent with Buffy season six and Helen Lowe's Heir of Night which won a Gemmell Award for Best Fantasy Newcomer in 2012. Overall, Heir of Night has been pretty slow pace-wise for me, but it's definitely information-dense in the world building department. There's a great balance of female to male characters too, and if you like your fantasy medieval and heavy on the magic, it's definitely recommended. I owe someone [cough] a handmade journal too. So, I need to apply myself to my ToDo list--pronto. This weekend is ApolloCon! Yay! I haven't gotten a schedule yet, but according to the website it looks like I've got two panels on Saturday. I'm supposed to have a reading on Saturday. The paneling looks pretty thin thus far. I imagine this is just the first pass.
So, this is my tentative schedule:
Saturday 10am - Archetype, Stereotype, Caricature: What Do These Mean in Speculative
Saturday 4pm - Autograph Table
Saturday 5pm - Writing 101: This Is Where You Start
Hopefully, I'll see some of you this weekend.
So, this is my tentative schedule:
Saturday 10am - Archetype, Stereotype, Caricature: What Do These Mean in Speculative
Saturday 4pm - Autograph Table
Saturday 5pm - Writing 101: This Is Where You Start
Hopefully, I'll see some of you this weekend.
...before turning and walking back.
This cottage is at the furthest point on the walk I normally do with Brith. Because of his issues, we are somewhat limited in where we can go, but even though we walk up and down the same stretch of road, there's always something new to see as the seasons change. Today we saw a field being re-seeded. It's unusual to see a field of brown soil, just about everything is grass round here.
Where the tiny lane meets a slightly larger lane, there is this old stone cottage.
After the walk and lunch, I drove to the station to pick up an old friend who is staying in town for a few days. All being well and weather permitting, we'll do a walk together on Thursday.
This cottage is at the furthest point on the walk I normally do with Brith. Because of his issues, we are somewhat limited in where we can go, but even though we walk up and down the same stretch of road, there's always something new to see as the seasons change. Today we saw a field being re-seeded. It's unusual to see a field of brown soil, just about everything is grass round here.
Where the tiny lane meets a slightly larger lane, there is this old stone cottage.
After the walk and lunch, I drove to the station to pick up an old friend who is staying in town for a few days. All being well and weather permitting, we'll do a walk together on Thursday.
tiredIt's here! It's here! The third episode of Indexing is now live!
Eventually the excitement of getting a new team member must die down and let things get back to normal, which means dealing with memetic incursions into the real world. In "Honey Do," Henry and the field team have a serious problem to deal with, and not much time to do it...unless they feel like being eaten by bears.
This post serves as both your reminder and discussion thread.
Once upon a time...
Eventually the excitement of getting a new team member must die down and let things get back to normal, which means dealing with memetic incursions into the real world. In "Honey Do," Henry and the field team have a serious problem to deal with, and not much time to do it...unless they feel like being eaten by bears.
This post serves as both your reminder and discussion thread.
Once upon a time...
excitedSo, in the interest of actually being held accountable for stuff…
I’ve joined the Clarion West write-a-thon: my goal is to have 50,000 words of my (untitled) novel set in a post-apocalyptic, colonial Paris completed by August 2 (ok, maybe by end of August). Can’t say much about it (I *hate* talking about what I’m writing while I’m writing it), but it’s got fallen angels, Vietnamese dragons and immortals, and plenty of magical fireworks.
You can see a snippet from the WIP on my write-a-thon page–as well as information for donating, and links to all the pages by fabulous other writers such as Rochita Loenen Ruiz, Stephanie Burgis and Floris M Kleijne.
Cross-posted from Aliette de Bodard
Leave a comment at original post, or comment here.
So you may have noticed that review roundups are getting more and more out of date. This is largely because my link file is getting more and more out of date, to the point that I actually forgot to set alerts for a few books. I wish this spoke to a growing serenity, but it really sort of speaks to the opposite, so...whoops. Anyway, here: have some reviews.
Bookshelf Bombshells has posted a review of Feed, and says, "You wouldn't expect a book that’s laden with so many technological details (the genesis of the virus, the virus’s after-effects, biological scanning equipment, and the various gadgets that the bloggers use) to be a gripping, fast read, but it really is." Aw, yay.
Ranting Dragon has posted a review of One Salt Sea, and says, "Read this book for the action. Read this book for the worldbuilding. But most of all, read this book for the characters and the story. McGuire truly hits her stride in this novel, and it shows, both in pacing as well as her character work." Glee.
Persephone Magazine has posted a review of Deadline, and says, "I was pretty critical of the first book in Mira Grant's zombie-tastic Newsflesh trilogy, Feed. The second book, Deadline, was everything I wanted Feed to be. It was a tighter story, it relied less on clever tricks and more on great storytelling, the characters were richer and deeper, and the whole book was cleaner and felt more intentional." Hooray!
Galavanting Girl Books has taken a slightly different approach, posting, not a review, but a breakdown of October Daye herself as a heroine. It's a really well-done review of Toby's growth over the first five books, without spoilers, and ends with, "Toby Daye I really hope faerie isn't done screwing with you. I love you, but I'm not ready to let you go yet." How much love? All the love.
Rescue Fins has posted a review of Feed, and says, "It's common enough for zombie literature to be used as a medium for discussion of social issues and underlying societal fears, and Grant's book does that brilliantly, taking on not just government control and the trade-off between freedom and security, but tackling the sociology of fear itself." I love it when people catch that, I really do.
So that's five reviews, which makes for a roundup. I'm getting my link file under control, and while I don't know how long I'll continue posting reviews in this format—it's time-consuming, which is bad, but it's also a great way to point out thoughtful, interesting book blogs, which is good—but at least I've started my day by getting something done.
Bookshelf Bombshells has posted a review of Feed, and says, "You wouldn't expect a book that’s laden with so many technological details (the genesis of the virus, the virus’s after-effects, biological scanning equipment, and the various gadgets that the bloggers use) to be a gripping, fast read, but it really is." Aw, yay.
Ranting Dragon has posted a review of One Salt Sea, and says, "Read this book for the action. Read this book for the worldbuilding. But most of all, read this book for the characters and the story. McGuire truly hits her stride in this novel, and it shows, both in pacing as well as her character work." Glee.
Persephone Magazine has posted a review of Deadline, and says, "I was pretty critical of the first book in Mira Grant's zombie-tastic Newsflesh trilogy, Feed. The second book, Deadline, was everything I wanted Feed to be. It was a tighter story, it relied less on clever tricks and more on great storytelling, the characters were richer and deeper, and the whole book was cleaner and felt more intentional." Hooray!
Galavanting Girl Books has taken a slightly different approach, posting, not a review, but a breakdown of October Daye herself as a heroine. It's a really well-done review of Toby's growth over the first five books, without spoilers, and ends with, "Toby Daye I really hope faerie isn't done screwing with you. I love you, but I'm not ready to let you go yet." How much love? All the love.
Rescue Fins has posted a review of Feed, and says, "It's common enough for zombie literature to be used as a medium for discussion of social issues and underlying societal fears, and Grant's book does that brilliantly, taking on not just government control and the trade-off between freedom and security, but tackling the sociology of fear itself." I love it when people catch that, I really do.
So that's five reviews, which makes for a roundup. I'm getting my link file under control, and while I don't know how long I'll continue posting reviews in this format—it's time-consuming, which is bad, but it's also a great way to point out thoughtful, interesting book blogs, which is good—but at least I've started my day by getting something done.
geekyIf you're in the kickstarter mood, look no further than the following two cool projects -
What Fates Impose: Tales of Divination - an anthology of original fiction about the complications of predicting the future.
The Pitch:
"Edited by Nayad A. Monroe, this anthology brings together stories from a diverse group of speculative fiction writers who show the possibilities of what can go right or very wrong when people get predictions of their future. The book also includes cover artwork by Steven C. Gilberts, and an introduction by Alasdair Stuart."
At present, the contributors are:Introduction by Alasdair Stuart: "Singing from the Book of Holy Jagger"
David Boop: "Dipping into the Pocket of Destiny"
Maurice Broaddus: "Read Me Up"
Jennifer Brozek: "A Card Given"
Amanda C. Davis: "The Scry Mirror"
Damien Walters Grintalis: "When the Lady Speaks"
Sarah Hans: "Charms"
Erika Holt: "Murder of Crows"
Keffy R.M. Kehrli: "Gazing into the Carnauba Wax Eyes of the Future"
Jamie Lackey: "Another Will Open"
Rochita Loenen-Ruiz: "Body of Truth"
Remy Nakamura: "Pick a Card"
Cat Rambo: "To Read the Sea"
Andrew Penn Romine: "Ain't Much Different'n Rabbits"
Ken Scholes: "All Our Tangled Dreams in Disarray"
Lucy A. Snyder: "Abandonment Option"
Ferrett Steinmetz: "Black Swan Oracle"
Eric James Stone: "A Crash Course in Fate" (new) and "A Great Destiny" (reprint)
Tim Waggoner: "The Goggen"
Wendy N. Wagner: "Power Steering"
LaShawn M. Wanak: "There Are No Wrong Answers"
Beth Wodzinski: "One Tiny Misstep (In Bed)"
Why It's Cool:
Dude, look at the contributors! That's why it's cool.
The Link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stev
Also check out...
"As I began looking into the possibility of a cyborg anthology, I quickly noticed that the cyborgs most people think of are villains (Cybermen, Darth Vader, the Borg, etc.). My people make excellent villains, but that only represents the tip of the iceberg. The more I thought about it, the more certain I became that this was the anthology project I had been looking for... a cyborg-edited cyborg anthology. I don't think that's been done before. Besides, cyborgs are cool.
"It seems only appropriate that this campaign will end on the first anniversary of my heart attack."
The following authors have already agreed to have a story in Upgraded:
Plus there will be an open submissions period for some of the content.
Why It's Cool:
Again I say, dude! Look at them authors! Also Julie Dillon is a fantastic artist.
The Link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/clar
What Fates Impose: Tales of Divination - an anthology of original fiction about the complications of predicting the future.
The Pitch:
"Edited by Nayad A. Monroe, this anthology brings together stories from a diverse group of speculative fiction writers who show the possibilities of what can go right or very wrong when people get predictions of their future. The book also includes cover artwork by Steven C. Gilberts, and an introduction by Alasdair Stuart."
At present, the contributors are:Introduction by Alasdair Stuart: "Singing from the Book of Holy Jagger"
David Boop: "Dipping into the Pocket of Destiny"
Maurice Broaddus: "Read Me Up"
Jennifer Brozek: "A Card Given"
Amanda C. Davis: "The Scry Mirror"
Damien Walters Grintalis: "When the Lady Speaks"
Sarah Hans: "Charms"
Erika Holt: "Murder of Crows"
Keffy R.M. Kehrli: "Gazing into the Carnauba Wax Eyes of the Future"
Jamie Lackey: "Another Will Open"
Rochita Loenen-Ruiz: "Body of Truth"
Remy Nakamura: "Pick a Card"
Cat Rambo: "To Read the Sea"
Andrew Penn Romine: "Ain't Much Different'n Rabbits"
Ken Scholes: "All Our Tangled Dreams in Disarray"
Lucy A. Snyder: "Abandonment Option"
Ferrett Steinmetz: "Black Swan Oracle"
Eric James Stone: "A Crash Course in Fate" (new) and "A Great Destiny" (reprint)
Tim Waggoner: "The Goggen"
Wendy N. Wagner: "Power Steering"
LaShawn M. Wanak: "There Are No Wrong Answers"
Beth Wodzinski: "One Tiny Misstep (In Bed)"
Why It's Cool:
Dude, look at the contributors! That's why it's cool.
The Link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stev
Also check out...
Upgraded: A Cyborg Anthology - an original science fiction anthology for the cyborg age. Stronger... better... faster... We will rebuild you.
The Pitch:
"Hi. My name is Neil Clarke and I'm the editor of Clarkesworld Magazine and a current Hugo Nominee for Best Editor Short Form. Last July, I suffered a "widow-maker" heart attack that nearly killed me. The damage to my heart was very significant and that led to my doctors installing a defibrillator in my chest. That day, I became a cyborg.I've been working on Clarkesworld for almost seven years, but I've never edited an anthology that wasn't Clarkesworld-related. I just didn't come across anything that inspired me. Trust almost dying to provide you with inspiration."As I began looking into the possibility of a cyborg anthology, I quickly noticed that the cyborgs most people think of are villains (Cybermen, Darth Vader, the Borg, etc.). My people make excellent villains, but that only represents the tip of the iceberg. The more I thought about it, the more certain I became that this was the anthology project I had been looking for... a cyborg-edited cyborg anthology. I don't think that's been done before. Besides, cyborgs are cool.
"It seems only appropriate that this campaign will end on the first anniversary of my heart attack."
The following authors have already agreed to have a story in Upgraded:
- Elizabeth Bear
- Tobias S. Buckell
- Yoon Ha Lee
- Ken Liu
- Genevieve Valentine
- E. Lily Yu
Plus there will be an open submissions period for some of the content.
Why It's Cool:
Again I say, dude! Look at them authors! Also Julie Dillon is a fantastic artist.
The Link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/clar
cheerful37. "Scatter, Adapt, and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction" by Annalee Newitz
Review, here.
38. "North American Lake Monsters: Stories" by Nathan Ballingrud
There's a review forthcoming for this one, too.
And as the release date is finally here, the spoiler review for Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane also went live.
( Books Read 2013 Complete ListCollapse )
Review, here.
38. "North American Lake Monsters: Stories" by Nathan Ballingrud
There's a review forthcoming for this one, too.
And as the release date is finally here, the spoiler review for Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane also went live.
( Books Read 2013 Complete ListCollapse )