Switching Gears?
I have been putting a lot of thought into my writing as of late. I’ve already made one major gear shift in the direction of my writing, focusing on more fantasy shorts than science fiction shorts. The reason for that was brought to my attention by my girlfriend, who noted that a lot of my earlier science fiction stories were driven more by plot and my newer stories are driven more by ideas, which, with the way I write, doesn’t work. I tried to work around it, but I think my problem is I don’t have a lot of interesting stories to tell at the moment in SF (just ones I’ve already written). Since switching I’ve found myself far more open to new ideas with fantasy. This is not to say that SF is bad, just that my mind is a bit overloaded on SF. I’m pushing myself too much to write “good” SF and what is coming out isn’t necessarily the best of my best. My earlier stories had more adventure and conflict, and I need to try to tap back into that. After switching I started three promising fantasy shorts. One of them is finished (“The Gnomes of New Timberfax”) and needs editing, one is almost finished (“The Beautiful Are Not Far Away”) and one is started and on a semi-hold as I figure out where it’s going (“No Home For Underworld”). I’m very pleased with the gnome story and the second one, and will be more pleased with the last when I manage to finish it. Needless to say, I’m happy with this gear shift.But now I’m considering another shift and I don’t know if it’s a smart idea at all. I’ve been focusing so much on short stories and it made me wonder if perhaps I should try to finish my science fiction novel (The Lies of Venicia/The White). I’ve been letting the novel writing slide under some sort of preconceived notion that I need to break into the short market to make novel writing more of a reality. I’m fully aware that you don’t have to do what is considered the “traditional” route to be successful, but there’s something about being a short story writer and then a novelist that seems right. But then there’s that part of it that feels like perhaps I’m putting too much time into one side and not enough time developing the other. I’ve only written one complete novel (The World in the Satin Bag) and part of the sequel (The Spellweaver of Dern), and about a third of the science fiction novel. I have loads of other novel ideas I’ve set aside because they began as shorts and became longer works, and ultimately I am not ready to have five or six novels going all at once. That’s too much.So, I’m curious if perhaps I’m burning myself out on the short market and should really try to push the longer stories forward. Novels are…difficult, to say the least. They aren’t like short stories, not by a long shot. True, there are similarities, but there is infinitely more information in a novel than in a short story, because infodumping in a short story would be pretty much the kill point. But in a novel you can expand upon ideas and fully develop characters, giving them histories, futures, everything. I love both forms because of their differences.Thinking about all this has really put my writing into question, especially considering what I want to do with my life. I’ve recently begun searching for freelance work–anything really, so long as it is something I feel comfortable doing–as a means to hopefully jump start my career and get appropriate references (anyone with a job for me, feel free to send an email). With that in mind, I considered the fact that novels take a long time to get published, if they are publishable. Unlike short stories, which can go to a magazine and get accepted or rejected in a couple days, weeks, or months, novels can take many months, sometimes years with one editor. The longest I ever waited for a short story to be rejected/accepted was four months, and that’s unusually long. But some novel writers have waited upwards of a year, sometimes two. Do I really want to wait five or six years before I start hitting the novel market (assuming I have something worth writing about, or something that an editor might like enough to want to publish, and I hope I do)? True, it could take me years to get published in any format (even if I am good), but I also have to consider where I want to be in the next two years.I want to finish my BA and go on to graduate school for my MA and then PhD. I do want to teach, though that is more as a “job to do while I’m trying to jump start a writing career” thing (think of it this way: teaching is the job I’d like to do if I can’t be a full time writer). That’s a pretty good plan, in my opinion.So, here I am, wondering what to do, how to go about my writing, etc. What do you think? Am I putting to much effort into short stories? Or should I keep plugging away?
The Fantasy Novelist’s Exam: My Answers and Results
Discovered this here the other day and thought I should do it too. The list itself is from here. I’m going to answer the questions based on WISB rather than anything else I’ve written. Here goes:1. Does nothing happen in the first fifty pages?No. A lot happens in the first and second chapters, all within that 25 page mark. 2. Is your main character a young farmhand with mysterious parentage?Nope. His parents are pretty clear and he doesn’t work on a farm. He a laptop computer and likes the Interwebs. 3. Is your main character the heir to the throne but doesn’t know it?Nope. He has no throne. 4. Is your story about a young character who comes of age, gains great power, and defeats the supreme badguy?Sort of, but not really. He never comes of age, but he does have to deal with being young and directly facing violence that he would otherwise only read about in textbooks. He doesn’t beat the bad guy in the first book, technically. He beats him, but it’s not really a defeat in the traditional sense, since the bad guy hasn’t lost his power, etc. In later books this will change, but there will be some huge shifts in certain aspects of that storyline where this won’t apply anymore. 5. Is your story about a quest for a magical artifact that will save the world?No, although there will be something like this in later books, but not nearly as cookie cutter as this question makes it sound. This artifact won’t save the world. 6. How about one that will destroy it?Nope. Not even remotely close. 7. Does your story revolve around an ancient prophecy about “The One” who will save the world and everybody and all the forces of good?No prophecies. He is kind of “the One”, but not really. People know he’s important, but he won’t become the iconic super character that saves everything by himself. He’s surrounded by a very important cast and can’t do everything on his own. 8. Does your novel contain a character whose sole purpose is to show up at random plot points and dispense information?Kind of, but not really. James has a spiritual guider, for lack of a better term, but there aren’t any long-winded infodumps or anything like that. 9. Does your novel contain a character that is really a god in disguise?No. God no (no pun intended, or maybe I do intend the pun). 10. Is the evil supreme badguy secretly the father of your main character?No. Never in a million years. 11. Is the king of your world a kindly king duped by an evil magician?Nope. The closest thing to a king thus far was killed in a battle. It was a gruesome death, although the main character didn’t see it. No evil magician duping. He fought and he died. 12. Does “a forgetful wizard” describe any of the characters in your novel?Not in the sense this question means. I have a character who uses magic that forgets things, but it’s not a commonality. It’s just, well, normal forgetfulness. We all forget things. 13. How about “a powerful but slow and kind-hearted warrior”?Not really. Darl is a grumpy old man who hates everything, and Iliad is kind-hearted, but he’s really fast, being a scout and all. 14. How about “a wise, mystical sage who refuses to give away plot details for his own personal, mysterious reasons”?No. If a character doesn’t speak about something it’s because he or she legitimately doesn’t know something. 15. Do the female characters in your novel spend a lot of time worrying about how they look, especially when the male main character is around?No. Laura will deal with some of that, cause she’s young and that will be some silly thing she’ll think about, but my female characters are mostly strong females. One of them is a healer who happens to be the resident mother, but also owns in a fight. 16. Do any of your female characters exist solely to be captured and rescued?Yes, kind of. Laura is kidnapped in the beginning and James goes after her kidnappers, but in the next book it changes because she becomes integral to the rest of the story. The whole story doesn’t revolve around her kidnapping. 17. Do any of your female characters exist solely to embody feminist ideals?No. Not intentionally at least. 18. Would “a clumsy cooking wench more comfortable with a frying pan than a sword” aptly describe any of your female characters?Not technically. Triska doesn’t have either and she isn’t a wench, but she doesn’t carry weaponry like others. 19. Would “a fearless warrioress more comfortable with a sword than a frying pan” aptly describe any of your female characters?No. Triska isn’t a warrior. She’s a mother/healer. 20. Is any character in your novel best described as “a dour dwarf”?Nope. I have one short character in the main group and he’s not dwarf-like at all. 21. How about “a half-elf torn between his human and elven heritage”?Good lord no. Elves in my world fit more into the folkloric version–short and related to the faery. 22. Did you make the elves and the dwarves great friends, just to be different?Nope. I don’t think I even have dwarves in my world. 23. Does everybody under four feet tall exist solely for comic relief?Nope. Pea may be hilarious, but he’s not there entirely for that. He’s my fun character, sure, but he’s also really important because he happens to be the first character James befriends in Traea and the one character who really looks after him, other than Triska. 24. Do you think that the only two uses for ships are fishing and piracy?Nope. My ships are used for trade, transport, etc. 25. Do you not know when the hay baler was invented?I don’t know, so yes. I’m assuming this question means the ones we use now and I am aware that those didn’t exist in 1100 AD or some
Literary SF: Thanks For Suggestions
I want to thank all of you who have been kind enough to offer me suggestions for literary SF titles (the original post is here). I’m going to list it all here for your amusement: (Larry’s suggestions)John Crowley’s works–Aegypt, Little/Big, etc.Gene WolfeUrsela Le GuinJ. G. BallardAdam Roberts (have one of his books) (Tim Walters’ suggestions)J.G. Ballard: The Terminal BeachJohn Crowley: Engine SummerSamuel R. Delany: Dhalgren (have it)Thomas M. Disch: 334; On Wings Of SongUrsula K. LeGuin: The Left Hand Of Darkness (have it)Kelly Link: Magic For BeginnersMichael Moorcock: Mother LondonGeoff Ryman: The Child GardenGene Wolfe: The Fifth Head Of CerberusJohn Fowles: A MaggotAlasdair Gray: LanarkRichard M. Powers: Galatea 2.2 (benc’s suggestions)Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (JohnC’s suggestions)Rollback by Robert J. SawyerMindscan by Robert J. SawyerRed Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (Demian’s suggestions)Solaris by Stanislaw Lem (Nick Lyle’s suggestions)Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut (have it and have read it) (Anonymous’ suggestions)The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell This is a pretty good list thus far. Thanks all for the suggestions and if anyone would like to add to this list, leave a comment! Nothing wrong with having a five-hundred book list of literary SF titles. Heck, toss some literary fantasy in there!
Ask the Bloggers Series: Question #4 (I’m in it!)
Yet another batch of answers has been put up on Grasping For the Wind. This time the question was: What has been your most rewarding moment as a blogger? So check it out here and enjoy! (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this!)
Ask the Bloggers Series: Question #3 (I’m in it!)
This is slightly old news now (and John did repost my responses as a guest post while I was on vacation), but I figure you all would like to see the answers to his third question, since I’m in it and so are bunches of others. A lot of great points are made and I had another silly typo. Okay, so it’s only a slight typo, since I used a real word and it can be molded to be correct, but I meant to say “mythos” instead of “ethos”. I guess I don’t know my latin as well as I thought! Doh! Anywho, you can find the answers here. The question was: In recent years, there has a been a rise in interest in the urban fantasy genre, even prompting some publishers to republish older urban fantasy works, such as Pyr’s recent publication of Stalking the Unicorn by Mike Resnick. What is your explanation for the recent rise in the popularity of this subgenre?Secondly, since the rise and fall of popularity of fantasy and SF subgenres tends to be cyclical, what subgenre of fantasy do you predict will see an upsurge in its popularity once urban fantasy is on the wane? So, anyone have any thoughts of their own? Figure I could open up to those of you who read my blog, since I’m curious what you all think! (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this!)
Need Your Help: Literary SF?
I need your help, everyone. I’m considering doing an independent study course on literary SF and I’ve come to the realization that I don’t really know of any literary SF. So far my potential options include Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow, which I’m told is SF, and something by Haruki Murakami (possibly Kafka on the Shore, if that is an SF/F title as some have told me). So, can you name any books that fall into the literary SF category? When I say literary SF I mean titles that are written in a more literary style. I don’t mean a confusing style, just something more deeply written than mainstream SF (and I do love mainstream SF, just so nobody throws a fit and thinks I’m being snooty here…the styles are just different and I’m looking for a specific style). So, can you help? I would like it to be SFish if possible, however works of contempary fantasy in a literary style are welcome too. Anyone can comment, so don’t be afraid! Thanks! (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this!)