So this is my first vBlog. It’s not really all that informative, but so be it. It’s also a little behind. I finished reading The Steam Magnate by Dana Copithorne already. Oh well. Enjoy! Links:Aio PublishingEdge/TesseractF&SF Book Lovin’ BlogGraeme’s Fantasy ReviewsThe Book Swede (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this)
Just a quick note: my book review of The Steam Magnate by Dana Copithorne is up at SQT’s blog. Check it out here! Also, I’m hoping to do a short interview with the author soon. Look forward to that. And, I’m going to start video-blogging on a semi-monthly basis. I have one I’m going to put up as soon as I can load it. I’m not very bright about things like compression and the like. If anyone has any recommendations of free software I can use to reduce the size of my files without losing too much quality that would be wonderful. Thanks! (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this)
I wrote a post a while ago about addressing ‘selling out’ and Paolini and apparently the people at Anti-shurtugal discovered it yesterday and linked it. I think some of the may have misunderstood what I was saying, or thought that when I said I would sell out like Paolini that I would sacrifice personal integrity to write popcorn fiction that has no literary value. So, I think I need to clarify what I meant by that post.When I say that I would sell out like Paolini, I would never intentionally write something to the market. I only write what I enjoy and will never do anything different. Even if I were to write popcorn fiction, it would never be stuff I don’t enjoy, but it would always be something that would be a fun exercise for me. I don’t consider myself to be a great writer, and maybe some people would argue with me over that, but I certainly have no intention of simply writing junk for the sake of getting published. Yes, I want to be published, and I would love to make lots of money doing it, not because I want to be a rich writer, but because I would absolutely love to be able to stay at home and write every single day as my career. I can’t do that unless I make decent income as a writer. It might sound that I only want to write to make money, and I guess in some ways this is true, but at the same time I have no desire to be as loaded as J. K. Rowling or Stephen King. If I could live a comfortable life telling the stories I love, then I would take that job without question.So, to say that I would sell out doesn’t mean that I would intentionally do something to get rich and successful (i.e. writing to the market), but that if the opportunity came up that I could be published and could possibly gain the adoration of fans and have film adaptations, etc., I would take it. This has nothing to do with my integrity. I will never sacrifice my literary talent, whatever it may be, for the sake of money. I write what I feel are good stories, nothing more. I also am constantly honing my craft. I don’t know if I’ll ever be published, but it’s a hope.On the subject of film adaptations, I have to make something known that perhaps hasn’t been known before. This is a rather forward discussion and perhaps somewhat arrogant on my part, though arrogant in a good way I think. I have a very strict, personal policy about film adaptations. First, if anything I ever write is optioned for a movie, awesome. Second, I will be very adamant in demanding complete involvement in the project and veto power. While a nice paycheck from a movie would be lovely, if my story is going to be bastardized by Hollywood I’d rather not have it. Complete involvement would allow me to make sure that the story itself is not lost, within reason. If this demand means that my movie won’t be made, then so be it. I refuse to allow anything I may write be turned into a horrible adaptation because I personally cannot stand bad movie adaptations.But, it has to be understood that I am not in a position now to have to worry about any of this. I’m not published (except in a literary journal for a community college, but I don’t count that because they cut the last five pages out of my story and now that story makes no sense whatsoever). I may never be published. Yes, that might sound as if I’m too pessimistic, but it’s not. Getting published isn’t like going in for a job interview. Not even close. But, I hope I’ll be published and I hope I can write for a living. That would be awesome.Hopefully this post cleared some things up, but if you have questions, just ask. I don’t mind answered things about myself.
I was recently interviewed on Peopleized about my writing. Feel free to check the full article out here. For now, a snippet: KidReviewer: What would be the most satisfying result to come from your writing? Arconna: To be published and have someone come up to me and say that my writing changed their life or had some great impact on them (perhaps it made them want to write, or they became a huge fan). I’m not so much interested in money as I am in just being able to do it. But if I can do it for a living it would be the greatest job in the world. Check out the full article! (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this)
…any of the following things are true. Science Fiction: You can’t handle the idea that your audience is smaller than fantasy and more specific. You think science fiction is retelling Star Wars or Star Trek ad naseum. You believe that FTL travel is logical and implies ‘hard’ science fiction. You think populating all alien planets with human-like, intelligent, spacefaring peoples, but giving them different cultures, is good creature building. You think that sound actually travels through the vacuum of space and so your characters can hear distant explosions through the hull of a ship. You think that info-dumping in science fiction is normal. Alternately, you believe that it’s okay to confuse the reader by using science that most people wouldn’t understand in such a way that the reader still doesn’t get it. You can’t take criticism of your science or of your story itself. You think it’s okay for your main character to be completely awesome and not have flaws. You believe that your family will be completely honest with you about your writing. Alternately, you think your non-writing, non-reading friends can actually give you worldly advice. You are under the impression that future technology will be perfectly beautiful and not be subject to Murphy’s Law. Fantasy: You think your fantasy story is 100% original right down to the very characters within the story. You can’t take criticism of your work, which will be a lot. You think that just because it is fantasy you can make up anything and expect it to be okay. You think that fantasy doesn’t have to be realistic. You think info-dumping fantasy is acceptable writing behavior. You think that your lively culture of little people is not going to be compared to Hobbits. You believe that your story is better than anything Tolkien could ever come up with. You believe Peter Jackson will turn your unpublished novel into a blockbuster movie. You’re under the impression that fantasy is not derivative by nature. You think your main character can be completely awesome and not have flaws. You believe that your family will be completely honest with you about your writing. Alternately, you think your non-writing, non-reading friends can actually give you worldly advice. You believe that your main character doesn’t have to deal with some sort of conflict and instead can go around being happy and not do anything important. What would you guys add?
This will be a short, short, short post.I’m sure enough of you out there have heard about the strike in Hollywood. If not, go here. My question is: Where do I need to go to sign up to take their jobs? Yes, that’s a serious question. I’d be willing to take their jobs. (Don’t click the read more, there is not more after this)
