The Future Blogging Game Plan Thing: Opinions Welcome

As I mentioned on Twitter the other day, I’ve started putting together a new structure for my online writing.  Today, I offer up one possible restructuring effort.  Your opinions are always welcome, even if you fundamentally disagree with the whole endeavor. On a side note:  I do plan to move this blog to its own website soon (to coincide with my own personal site).  I don’t know if I will keep the World in the Satin Bag name, though I probably should. Here is the structure I’m considering: WISB would shift to an sf/f commentary and writing blog; most of what I’d offer here would be my semi-academic discussions, views on what’s happening in sf/f, views on sf/f, and general nonsense about my sad little writing career (which is frankly what this blog has mostly been anyway).  Basically, this blog ceases to be a review blog and becomes more of a discussion blog that provides much of the same stuff I’ve always provided, but with a little more focus. All book reviews would move to The Skiffy and Fanty Show blog OR to review sites (Strange Horizons, etc.; I already have a review coming out through them soon) Totally Pretentious would become my “movie discussion” arena, since it’s a movie podcast and blog.  This would include three specific elements:a) the podcast (more on that later)b) Retro Nostalgia:  it will become a feature where I review an sf/f movie released 10/20/30/40/50+ years from a specific week or month (example:  Ladyhawke was released in April 1985).  I’ll just go back and forth through time by divisions of 10 :)!c) The 6 Continents Director Circle:  a terrible title for a feature in which I explore the work of a single director, moving from continent to continent.  This may come in the form of reviews or essays about the breadth of their work (from the perspective of a budding film critic and film scholar).  I’m told by David Annandale that we might also include this as part of the podcast at a future point (more on that later).  This would mean restructuring my Patreon so it focuses on the specific things I’m offering (the columns at TP and reviews at S&F).  It would also mean effectively killing many of my current columns in favor for a smaller number of specific ones, which may or may not be the path I should take (or the expectation of readers).  You are free to disagree if you really love something I do on WISB.  Hell, you can disagree with this entire post if you so choose. It was also suggested to me that I should perhaps put more focus into my podcasting anyway, since that’s where I’m better known.  And it’s true that I really love podcasting and would love to do more of it.  I’m not sure how to incorporate that into the structure, though.  Thoughts? My biggest concern with the new structure is this:  it seems to diversify my writing across multiple spaces, which seems counter-intuitive to the project of focus.  Is that just in my head, or is that fairly accurate?  Should I just focus the columns on this blog and simply repeat a weekly “formula” on a consistent basis (three columns a week on MWF; every week…always)?  Would that be more effective?  Would that be better for my existing readership?   Alright.  The comments are all yours.

Book Review: Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear

For someone who considers themselves a fan of Elizabeth Bear’s work, I sure haven’t talked about her work all that much on this blog.  Two of my favorite science fiction novels — Carnival and Dust — were written by Bear, so it should come as no surprised that her latest novel, Karen Memory, would entice me equally as much as her much earlier work.  This novel, of course, is not the same kind of thing as Carnival and Dust, both more connected to a long and storied tradition of science fictional writing.  Karen Memory is delicious late 19th-century pulp pastiche steampunk!

5 Lesser Known SF/F Cold War Films

It seems Ian Sales and I are playing a list challenge game, and this list is sure to disappoint him this round.  Why?  Because I’m pretty sure two of the options on my list don’t actually qualify except in my head.  But we do what we can, no? This time around, I was challenged to come up with a list of 5 lesser known Cold War films that fit roughly in the sf/f genre.  The rules were as follows: The film must be sf/f-ish (duh) The film must be set in the historical period called the Cold War OR The film must directly engage with the Cold War via alternate or future history (metaphors and obscure allegories do not count) The film must be “lesser known” based on my interpretation of that phrase Now for the list:

Shaun’s Terrible Book Covers: With Great Power by @_terri_jones

In case you missed it on Twitter, I playfully suggested that I would draw the cover art for someone’s book if they sent me a description for a scene.  And I promised the art would be bad, because I’m no artist. One brave victim responded to my call:  Terri Jones. And this is what I came out with: You can click for a larger image.  Yes, it is terrible.  But it’s also kind of awesome. I may do this again in the future, so keep an eye out 😛

A Long List of Writing/Blogging Projects I Want to Do

As you may recall, I mentioned that I had started to reconsider the future of this blog and my various blogging/podcasting/writing projects.  The conversation preceding and surrounding that post have led me here:  a post about the things I would like to do. Obviously, I cannot do all of these things, but I know these are projects I want to complete or pursue at some point in my life.  Your opinions on anything listed here is greatly appreciated.  If anything leaps out at you as something you’d really be interested in, let me know in the comments.  You’re also welcome to suggest things, as it’s possible I’ve forgotten something. Blogging Projects: Write more commentary on WISB — less so on controversies than on genre Create a steady, repeatably schedule of specific things for WISB Star Wars Extended Universe Re-read — reading, discussing, and reviewing the entire extended universe.  The ENTIRE EU.  In chronological order.  I feel inclined towards this because the EU is, well, gone, and I think that is a travesty. SFF Film Odyssey — a broader take on the lackluster feature I’ve been running.  Taking a play out of Jay Garmon’s suggestion, this would involve looking at sf/f films 10/20/30/40/50+ years in the past in some kind of order I’ve yet to determine.  Perhaps by week (10 years ago this week…).  Reviews and discussions of significant sf/f films (housed, I suspect, at Totally Pretentious). Director Explorations — reviewing every feature-length film released by a single director, old and new.  I’ve talked about doing this already; I think it could be a lot of fun to do at Totally Pretentious. Space Opera Read Along (for the Fall) — I’m teaching a space opera course in the fall.  Since I don’t often discuss older books on this blog, I thought that might be a cool thing to do in the fall. More book reviews — in combination with new and old.  I do so much “new” reading for Skiffy and Fanty that I feel I’m missing out on a lot of older stuff, and I suspect some of you might actually care what I think about books 20 or so years removed. International SF/F Fan Survey — to get input from non-US fandom about the Hugo Award (perception, etc.); this isn’t specific to the SP/RP thing, though a question would be directed to that.  I plan to get general feelings versus specific responses to contemporary controversies; the intent is to understand what folks outside of the States think about the award. Podcasting: Monetize The Skiffy and Fanty Show (yeah, I want to consider this now) Expand Totally Pretentious (and monetize so we can do more stuff) — David and I are talking about adding a second feature (Gap Fillers — where we alternate selecting a movie we think the other should see that they haven’t) and possibly adding more stuff in the future.  Some of that would be solved by increasing the subscriber base, but the others would require funding it, I think. Start a writing podcast Start a semi-academic sf/f podcast called Opera Fantastika. Start a podcast about my grandmother’s crazy life (seriously, her life was full of weirdness and laughter and crazy) Note:  to be clear — I don’t mean “monetize” in the sense of “I want to make money for myself.”  For Skiffy and Fanty, monetizing wouldn’t be profitable for me anyway because I share the show with a lot of other people.  But bringing in revenue for that show could mean we can get better recording equipment, attend more conventions, etc. Fiction: The Histories (blog novel) — a fictional history book detailing the real identity of Mike Underwood via an in-depth analysis of anthropological, photographic, and historical evidence. YA Space Opera Craziness — the novel I’ve been working on for a while, which I’ve tentatively described as two siblings — a tech-savvy genius and her wheelchair-using combat expert — go on a grand adventure through the universe, with wheelchair mecha, crazy technology, religious fanatics, mayhem, and wicked cool stunts. Camden in Nightface — “gritty” space opera which follows the leader of a revolutionary force who witnesses the total destruction of his homeworld and wages a terrorist campaign against a federation of Earth-aligned worlds.  The MC is literally a terrorist, so it’s a bit of a challenge. Full Magic Jacket — urban fantasy about a guy who bonks his head after a drunken stupor one evening and awakes to find that not only can he see the supernatural, but also his cat can talk to him…and turns out to be the reincarnated soul of an Egyptian pharaoh. Editing Projects: The Evil Anthology of Evil SFF — a collection of subversive science fiction and fantasy addressing evil in all its complicated machinations (at least two authors expressed interest in this, by the way, so I think it’s likely something like this could happen) The Secret Cabal — a collection of equally subversive sf/f on bigotry in its overt and subconscious forms House Cleaning: Finally move WISB to its own website. Finally figure out what WISB will become… And that’s it…for now.

In the Duke’s Sights: Danielewski, Carroll, Butcher, and Helgadóttir

In the Duke’s Sights is a regular column where I talk about the various books and movies that grabbed my interest in the last week. Destroying the Novel So Your TV Will Make Sense! I won’t pretend to fully understand all of Danielewski’s work, but I own all of it and find his refusal to participate in normal novel writing fascinating.  His latest novel, The Familiar Vol. 1, is apparently a deconstruction of the television series.  io9 has some great shots of the weird formats in the book, which are, as Danielewski is known for, just plain weird. The book doesn’t come out until next month, so you’ll have plenty of time to pre-order. Bigfoot is Probably Real (or in a Book) Subterranean Press recently sent me an ARC of an upcoming collection of three Harry Dresden novellas.  Since I’ve never actually read any of Butcher’s books, for which I will probably be summarily hung, I figure it’s about time I give his work a shot.  This seems like a nice entry point:  short and to the point!  Granted, I actually really liked the Dresden Files TV series, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy the written work, too. This particularly set of stories has Harry working for, well, Bigfoot.  That’s sufficiently goofy for me to want to read it. Really Weird Covers Creep Me Out! The cover for Jonathan Carroll’s upcoming novella from Subterranean Press reminds me of Aphex Twin’s music video for “Come to Daddy.”  Go on.  Watch it.  You know I’m right: In any case, Teaching the Dog to Read looks like more of Carroll’s brilliant weirdness wrapped in a single 96-page book.  The description says it all: Since the appearance of his first novel, The Land of Laughs, in 1980, Jonathan Carroll has been one of the most compelling, consistently versatile storytellers in modern imaginative literature. His extraordinary new novella, Teaching the Dog to Read, is quintessential Carroll: surprising, funny, and filled with unexpected moments and astonishing revelations.  The story opens when mid-level office drone Tony Areal receives an extravagant gift: the Lichtenberg wristwatch he has always coveted. Shortly afterward, he receives an even grander gift: the luxurious—and expensive—Porsche Cayman that has always been the car of his dreams. Accompanying the car is the mysterious Alice, who knows more about Tony’s dreams and desires than Tony himself. This encounter opens the door to a rich and unexpected universe: the world behind the world.  Teaching the Dog to Read is set at the intersection of the mundane and the miraculous, a place where reality itself shifts and shimmers with disconcerting suddenness. It begins in the realm of recognizable things and ends in a room where a bizarre—and invisible—reunion takes place. Along the way, it offers both grand entertainment and a visionary meditation on the complex connections between our dreaming and waking selves. The result is a master class in the art of narrative and a permanent addition to Jonathan Carroll’s remarkable body of work. The Stars, the Moon, the Inner Journey, the Outer Journey… Fox Spirit Books recently sent me several books from the far off mystical land of England.  Among them was Margrét Helgadóttir’s The Stars Seem So Far Away, a tale about the Earth in its last days.  Though the premise sounds familiar, the blurbs on the back of the book certainly enticed me, as they included high praise from Damien Walter of The Guardian and Adam Roberts, the celebrated academic and author.  Both praised Helgadóttir’s prose, so it’s likely I’ll find something to love in this particular book.  Thus, it goes to the big fat To Be Read pile!  —————— And there you have it.  Those are the things that grabbed my attention this week.  What about you?