Tall Writing Order
Today is going to be intense and it’s entirely possible that I will explode. Here’s what’s going down: At 10 PM I have to be showered, fed, and mentally prepared to write. Shortly after that point I need to be online. Why? I’ve arranged to do a 2 hour word war with a friend from my website YoungWritersOnline.net. Note: A word war, if you don’t know (and I have talked about it before) is basically a “battle” between any number of people to write the most in a given period of time. Generally they aren’t 2 hours long (15 minutes is normal). You set up a time with whomever you want to write with, with a time limit, and then for that period, you just write, nothing else, period. At the end, you come back and every says how many words they wrote and the person with the most wins (though technically anyone who wrote wins). Prior to this there will be a brainstorming session. It’s quite likely that we will either get tired of something and switch, or finish a couple stories all at once. So, we’re going to brainstorm for probably an hour beforehand. After all this, I’ll likely be dead. If I don’t reappear soon, expect my brain has exploded. It’s going to be intense and insane. Yeah. (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this!)
Stories Finish: Now What?
I’ve been working on two short stories as of late: Dreams of Priory and Nobody Gives a Crap About Compsagnathus (working title, I think). Both clock in around 8,000 words (the latter a little shorter, if memory serves me correctly). Both stories are drastically different too. The first story is a bizarre take on life, death, and the afterlife, with aliens thrown into the mix, and the other is about reverse engineering chickens into dinosaurs, which is meant to be mildly humorous (and which the girlfriend really doesn’t like even though she hasn’t read it because she asserts, given her genetics background, that such things are simply impossible…even though I got the idea from a news article).In fact, the first story is really hard for me to pin down to a specific genre. I started writing it with aliens and the supernatural together, perhaps “future urban fantasy” would be a sufficient title. The problem is that I don’t know what to do with it. I’ll be editing it pretty soon and hopefully submitting it. I don’t know if this story should go to WOTF or if the dino story should. I had fun writing both and I like both stories, but Dreams of Priory has a special place in my heart for some reason. Maybe it’s because the story is confusing. It’s never entirely made clear why the main character (Sol) is the way he is. I try to explain, it but I didn’t want to have huge loads of exposition or dialogue where another character pulls an as-you-know-Bob. So, there is explanation, but I left it a little ambiguous. I don’t know if that was a good thing. I personally like stories that make me think about the ambiguity, and make a few of my own guesses too, but that’s not necessarily what I write (perhaps because I might not be good at the whole ambiguity thing). Still, I like the story. I intend to edit both of these and figure out what to do with both of them. I have less than nine days to get one of them off to WOTF though.Now that I’m done with these two stories, I’m left wondering what to do next. I have a quota to meet every day, but I also have a lot of stories I’d like to edit first, some of them a bit on the long side, plus a novel to finish up (I have about 60,000 words left). But I also have a bunch of new story ideas (short stories mostly) that I’d like to work on as well. I like writing short stories now that I have them sort of figured out.So, part of today was spent mulling over what to do next. I started to write a little in The White, but in doing so meant I needed to refresh myself more with the story. I took a while to do that and spent a lot of the day thinking. The result was that I only wrote 744 words. Part of that was from editing the previous chapters for The Spellweaver of Dern because I had left a character out. Yeah, lots of thinking today. But, I’m not going to hold any of that against myself, since I did do quite a lot of work in regards to brainstorming, etc. Tomorrow should be more productive though.We’ll see. (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this!)
Books, Books, Books!
Well, everyone else is talking about the books they have received, and I figure I might as well too. I have a LOT of books, as you can tell. These are all for review. Perhaps if you want to see everything else (a.k.a. my disorganized, but lovely library) I could take some pictures for your perusal. Just ask. Now, to the books I have for review. There are currently forty-three books in my review library. That’s, well, a LOT of books. I am currently reading Marsegury by Edward Willett, which isn’t pictured.So, here we go (reading from left to right, top to bottom): The Books of Pellinor (The Naming, The Riddle, and The Crow) by Alison Croggon (Candlewick Press) White Chapel Gods by S. M. Peters (ROC) Sentinels: When Strikes the Warlord by Van Allen Plexico w/ Chris Kohler on Illustration The People of the Pole by Charles Derennes (translated by Brian Stableford of Black Coat Press) Sly Mongoose by Tobias S. Buckell (who deserves a hug for giving me a print copy) Saint-Germain: Memoirs (Tales of the Vampire Saint-German) by Quinn Yarbro (ESP Press) Turnskin by Nicole Kimberling (Blind Eye Books) Tangle (Edition XY: Fiction With a Twist) edited by Nicole Kimberling (Blind Eye Books) Wicked Gentlemen by Ginn Hale (Blind Eye Books) Blue Moon by Cindy Lynn Speer (Zumaya Publications) The Strange Cases of Rudolph Pearson by William Jones (Chaosium Inc.) Horrors Beyond: Tales of Terrifying Realities edited by William Jones (ESP Press) Hardboiled Cthulu: Two-fisted Tales of Tentacled Terror edited by James Ambuehl (ESP Press) High Seas Cthulu edited by William Jones (ESP Press) Horrors Beyond 2: Stories of Strange Creations edited by William Jones (ESP Press) Napoleon’s Gambit by Eric Goldman (the author is sending me an updated version of this) Valor’s Trial by Tanya Huff (DAW) The Prefect by Alastair Reynolds (ACE) Galaxy Blues by Allen Steele (ACE) Astropolis: Earth Ascendant by Sean Williams (ACE) Grimspace by Ann Aguirre (ACE) Empress by Karen Miller (Orbit) Mech Warrior–Dark Age: To Ride the Chimera by Kevin Killiany (ROC) Future Americas edited by John Helfers & Martin H. Greenberg (DAW) The Sacred Book of the Werewolf by Victor Pelevin (Viking) Saga: A Novel of Medieval Iceland by Jeff Janoda (Academy Chicago) The New Mars: A Family Vacation by John L. Manning, Jr. (Authorhouse) The New Mars by John L. Manning, Jr. (Authorhouse) Into This Mind by Lisa Nevin (Unlimited Publishing) Paradise Island by John L. Manning, Jr. (Authorhouse) Where Angels Fear by Ken Rand (Fairwood Press) Foundling by D. M. Cornish (Speak/Penguin)(SQT also has this book, but I told her since I bought it I’d review it too) Ignore that Whitechapel Gods is in there again. Not sure why I took two pictures with that book in it. Honeycomb by Israel Del Rio Witness (Book One of All Prophets Are Liars) by Bill Blais (iUniverse) An Idle King by J. W. Benford (Lulu) The Cleansing by John D. Harvey (Arkham House) The Soulstealer War (Book One: The First Mother’s Fire) by W. L. Hoffman (Dog Ear Publishing) The Far Side of Nowhere by Nelson Bond (Arkham House) Evermore edited by James Robert Smith & Stephen Mark Rainey (Arkham House) And this one just came in Wednesday:Quills and Kings by Joel Reeves (Leucrota Press) And this one came in yesterday:The Viper of Portello by James C. Glass (Fairwood Press) I am extremely excited about a great deal of these titles, which makes it very hard to figure out what order to go in. I’m also please that quite a few small presses were willing to send me review copies of their books (ESP sent me SIX books!). I know you guys don’t have a whole lot of money as it is (neither do I, to be honest), but if my reviews help bring awareness to you, then great! I’ve already read works from Aio, Fairwood, and Edge, and I have to say that any negative associations with small, legit presses are unfounded. Aio has published some exceptional work on a highly literary quality (which is a treat for me, because you don’t find a lot of literary style speculative fiction). Fairwood has done well to bring an amazing collection of stories by Paul Melko together (one of my favorite books this year, by the way), and Edge has proven to be an excellent small Canadian press producing good commercial fiction (I don’t mean commercial as in popcorn fiction that shows up in all the grocery stores everywhere, though it would be nice if they had that kind of exposure, but commercial in the sense of highly entertaining speculative fiction that still tackles the tough issues!). So I look forward to being involved with other presses as well. Thanks to everyone who has sent me books and thanks in advance to any books someone else sends me or wants to send me. If any of you know any small presses looking for reviewers, feel free to mention my name. My genre wants/likes are very open as you can see from looking to the top left column (click the link and it’ll take you to my wants, etc.). Alright, no more babbling from me!
Writing Is Sometimes Sad
I just realized while listening to the theme from the movie Sunshine that one of my characters in my novel in progress The White (or The Lies of Venicia) is going to die… And it almost made me cry. I really like that character. In fact, he is one of my favorite characters because it’s gritty, rough, and sweet all at once. But I realize that for him he’s going to have to make a sacrifice and that sacrifice will have to be his life…So I’m a little bummed at the moment. On a happier note: the quarter is almost over and I should be back to normal by the middle of next week. Yeah. Normal. (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this!)
Spring Quarter 2008 News
I didn’t update much about last quarter or this quarter, which officially started on Monday. Some of you actually care and some of you don’t, but I’m rather excited about this quarter, so deal with it.First, to last quarter. I officially have grades, thankfully, and they are pretty good: British Canon I: B Colonial American Literature: A Scifi in Multicultural America: A- Not bad, though I probably could have done a big better in the British Canon course. Still, that puts my grades at one A+, two As, two A-s, and one B. Not bad at all. (No, I’m not bragging. I just take my grades very seriously at this level of work because, well, this is my future, and the better I do…the better. So, if you think I’m just trying to show off, I’m not. I just want to succeed, you know?) Now for this quarter! Boy is it going to be intense. There are required courses for every literature major here at UC Santa Cruz. One of those required courses is Lit. 101, which is basically a writing intensive course that digs deeper into a particular aspect of literary theory. I’m taking Lit. 101 and the theme is Animal Theory. I’m not entirely certain what that means or even what it is, but it is going to deal a lot with aspects of evolution, human involvement with animals, the human as an animal, and even ideas of creation. I’m writing about a paper a week for that course, but I think I’m going to be okay. The first paper, as I understand it, actually has us creating our own origin stories! If it’s really what I think it is I’m going to have a LOT of fun.The second course I’m taking is Global Fiction, which was originally going to focus on Caribbean fiction, but now seems to be focused entirely upon African literature from the African continent. It sounds somewhat interesting and certainly will teach me a few things, although I’m finding that a lot of the non-fiction we’re reading is heavily Marxist, which tends to annoy me because I find Marxist politics to be absurd and ignorant.The final course is the one I’ve been praying I could do: an independent study. I managed to swing it! Yes! I’ve decided to do a course entirely upon Philip K. Dick (author of a whole lot of books and short stories, some of which inspired movies such as Blade Runner, Next, Minority Report, Total Recall, and Screamers, among others). This is going to be wicked awesome, if I’m allowed to use such a phrase. I’m excited and amazed at this bit of news and am grateful I can do it!Now for the books this quarter. I skipped over what had to be read last quarter partly because I forgot and partly because there were only about six books and a couple readers, all of which were rather small and unimpressive. This quarter though…insane. I give you a picture first:First things first, I’m missing a book. There’s one more that hasn’t come yet called July’s People by Nadine Gordimer for my Global Fiction course.Of the books in the picture (going from top to bottom, left to right): 2 Lit. 101 Readers (filled with lovely articles and short stories) The Animals Reader by Kalof and Fitzgerald (Lit. 101) Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala (Global Fiction) The Companion Species Manifesto by Haraway (Lit. 101) The Lives of Animals by Coetzee (Lit. 101) LTWL 115A Reader (Global Fiction) Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga (Global Fiction) Country of My Skull by Antjie Krog (Global Fiction) Houseboy by Ferdinand Oyono (Global Fiction) Ways of Dying by Zakes Mda (Global Fiction) Lies, Inc. by Philip K. Dick (PKD Course) Ubik by Philip K. Dick (PKD Course) Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (PKD Course) The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick by Lawrence Sutin (PKD Course) The Philip K. Dick Reader by Philip K. Dick (PKD Course) That’s my entire reading list for this quarter. Yes, it is a lot larger than my previous two quarters. The result is that I’m struggling to readjust my schedule. Once I get it squared away–this week actually–I’ll get right back into my writing groove.So now you know what I’m reading this quarter.
England, Here I Come (Plus My Ramblings Again)
This will be my last life-intensive update for a while. I will be returning to regular blogging once finals are over and I’m back from my trip. I apologize if you’re expecting lots of well thought out posts or grand ruminations on the state of science fiction or fantasy in the world of literature. Finals are, to put it simply, somewhat more difficult this quarter than last considering that I actually have tests this time around, instead of essays. I am, by nature, far better at writing essays than taking tests because I feel I have more to offer from a writing perspective–when it comes to the material read–than I do from a memorization perspective. I learn far more from forcing myself to write essays than I do from forcing myself to cram information into my head that will, in a few months past, be largely forgotten. As such, I am generally against the idea of testing beyond quizzes or the occasional refresher to make sure one is actually reading. In any case, expect regular blogging to resume soonish. Now to the big news first. I am going to be gone from the 21st to the 31st. Why? Because I’ll be in England. This is two fold: part of it is to visit my girlfriend and the other part is to speak with Prof. Andy Sawyer of the University of Liverpool about the program he runs (MA in SF Studies). Finances have been, fortunately, better of late than they were before in part because I didn’t have to move when I originally thought I had and in part because Uncle Sam decided to grace me with the tax return I’ve deserved for quite some time (I worked for most of last year, so I get some money back of course). This means my trip is largely free. I also received a scholarship from UCSC that offset some of my educational costs (namely, my laptop, which I wouldn’t have needed if I lived ON campus, but do need because I live OFF campus and spend all my time ON campus due to my transportation situation–riding the vanpool). So, my trip is actually pretty much free and I’m not going to be starving, which is good. I also am planning to return to my regular scanning schedule for my cancer, since I can afford it and because I am most fortunate, thanks to you taxpayers, to have extremely good insurance through the university. That being said, this means I may or may not be able to do much blogging between the 21st and the 30th of March. I’m hoping to arrange some guest bloggers, but there’s no guarantee on that happening of course (update on that is that I should have two guest bloggers and I’m happy to have more). We’ll see I suppose. Now, to writing and reading news. I’ve started reading two other books as you can see on the right. One of them is a book for review. I started Rolling Thunder last night because I was finding it a little difficult to get into Whitechapel Gods (I think I may reread the beginning because I must have missed something and I think it’s one of those books that you have to read when you’re very much awake). Rolling Thunder is a rather interesting novel. I’m not far into it but I’m loving it already. The first chapter is rather witty and fun. I’ve also started reading some critical work on science fiction, as you can see. Mr. Roberts’ book is actually quite entertaining and I expect to talk about it in some detail here because it does have some fascinating insights into SF as a literary form. On the writing front, I am doing relatively well. I will have Interstellar Realty ready to go out at the beginning of this week to Writers of the Future. I think that title will stick with it, unless I can think of something more appropriate. I have also started another project called Mazer Shift, which seems to be taking itself in direction I hadn’t expected and may get put aside for more short fiction. Then I wrote a story on Friday and Saturday on a complete whim and I rather liked it. It’s short and to the point, and rather interesting in my opinion. I really want to write more short stories due to my love of the form, which has been, in part, inspired by Paul Melko’s novel Ten Sigmas, which was reviewed here. I think the richness of his stories has really inspired my SF mind on the short form, which is a wonderful thing. My girlfriend has done a lot of inspiring as well, which has less to do with the fact that she’s my girlfriend and more to do with that fact that she challenges my brain as good friends should and makes me suddenly think of things I might not have thought of before. So, I’ve been really churning out a lot of short fiction, or semi-short fiction. I don’t know if this is also due to the idea that it is somewhat ‘common’ among some of the great SF authors to start with short fiction and work their way up to novel length stuff, but it does seem, to some extent, a good possibility that that is what I am doing. I do want to write and publish novels, but there is a part of me that just loves the short form and prays it never dies. There are things you can do with the short form that you can’t do with the novel, not to mention my sudden love for Harlan Ellison, which was brought up to me when I discovered there is a documentary about him, which I must see and is entitled Dreams With Sharp Teeth. If anyone knows if that film will be released on DVD, please tell me where because I would love to see it in full. The