Writtenwyrdd

Possible cover art

Vamp Chix had a link to this site, Killouettes.  They are darling little macabre, Victorian-style silhouettes with topics that shock and amuse.  I think they would make wonderful cover art. 

Sistene Chapel, virtually - and implications for worldbuilding

One of the coolest things about technology is how the internet allows you to share cultural things like music and art.  I remember the moment I first realized the potential of the internet: in 1992 or 93 when a friend showed me how you could look at the Dead Sea Scrolls online. 

Now, you can do things like see the cleaned and restored Sistene Chapel.  This is just amazing.  Thank you, Vatican Museum (Musei Vaticani) for sharing.

When you're creating your spec fic world, don't forget that your dark urban fantasy landscape can have some awesome, even joyful, sides.  Technology is not, by nature, dour; it's how you use it.

I like it when a writer shows both sides, doesn't essentially preach progress is evil.  I like it when the world is amazing and the tech is magical, even though the problems humanity faces may be the same.  Sometimes it's valuable to show the tech is neutral, just like religion should be.  Sometimes you can show it as the problem...But I think that we often see the portrayal of our technology as essentially evil like a virus that's killing its host...when the real issue is the things inside mankind that has us using this really great stuff in ways that are shortsighted and harmful.

Here's one way to look at it.  If you use the point of view that tech itself is the problem, you are painting mankind as helpless against the things it creates, like that stuff forces us to make it, use it, become dependent upon it.  But if you show the choices mankind makes to use, create or depend upon technology, and show those issues as flaws or poor choices or stubborn irrationality (or what have you) you are making a more realistic choice that has more options in terms of plot or theme.

Of course, when talking theme, a little goes a long way.  It should (mostly) all be subtext anyhow. 

If you haven't read The Silver Metal Lover  or Biting the Sun by Tanith Lee, I recommend you do so.  Ms. Lee has created two seemingly utopian societies with magic-like technology--and two protagonist who struggle to define themselves against their worlds.  You'd think that, in a world that denied you nothing and allowed you to explore any avenue, you would have a utopia...But it isn't, which is why the self-derailment of the main character's lives is so true.  Both stories pretty much exemplify my thoughts on the matter of how a writer can use gorgeous technical developments and yet show the failures, too.  These books ARE a bit theme heavy, though, which books from the 70s and 80s tended to be; but they don't quite beat you over the head. 

And, you know--perhaps my long-winded point is that future tech doesn't have to be cyberpunk depressing with cesspools of toxic waste dripping down the crumbling walls of the inner city.  It can have bunnies and butterfiles, too.  Really, though, it's better if you find a more realistic happy middle...rather like we live in here.

Which brings me back to the Sistene Chapel.  We can have really wonderful things like being able to study the art of the ages virtually, and still have cybercrime and identity theft.  There are ups and downs to tech, and we should embrace all the possibilities in our stories.  We dont' need to show them all; but a reasonably mix to make the world feel real is a good idea...don't you think?

 

Cool site: Margie Lawson's blog

courtesy of Jaye Wells, I found a site by a writer and psychologist who offers workshops and online classes that Jaye says are super fantastic.  Margie Lawson's blog is here, and her web site is here.

Check out Jaye's post on her recent workshop with Ms. Lawson for more details.

Poetry as a teaching tool

"Theodore Roethke said that "Form is not regarded as a neat mould to be filled, but rather as a sieve to catch certain kinds of material", which seems to me one of the most profoundly true statements about art anyone's ever made, and why people who think that it's not poetry unless it rhymes and scans, and it is poetry if it does, are so wrong: they're mistaking the sieve for the meal. But traditional poetic forms are very clear, well-proportioned sieves."  Emma Darwin on her blog, This Itch Of Writing

It is my firm belief that, more than any other teaching tool, poetry can teach a writer how to use the language well.   

But one of the tendencies of those not too familiar with poetry and its myriad forms is to presume iambic pentameter or other unsubtle (and, in my opinion, rather sledge hammer-like) rhyming schemes are what defines that genre.  And if that's what you think makes poetry, I can see why you might scoff at my premise. 

Poetry, however, is a distillation of language.  It takes a lot of know-how and understanding of the underpinnings of word meaning and the interplay of sound and texture and even what the words look like on the page.  It's painting with words, but painting that lays the brush strokes in the reader's mind to evoke all the senses. 

As that's something we seek to do in great prose writing, it behooves we writers to learn something about this ancient form. 

Ask.com has a rather good definition:

One of the most definable characteristics of the poetic form is economy of language. [my emphasis]  Poets are miserly and unrelentingly critical in the way they dole out words to a page. Carefully selecting words for conciseness and clarity is standard, even for writers of prose, but poets go well beyond this, considering a word's emotive qualities, its musical value, its spacing, and yes, even its spacial relationship to the page. The poet, through innovation in both word choice and form, seemingly rends significance from thin air.

Economy of language... Yep, that's pretty much it in a nutshell, and you can see how learning to hone your writing ability in that regard can be an invaluable tool for the prose writer.

And, if nothing else, discovering poetry will open your eyes to a vast body of literature.  And training your poetic ear really is a great tool for your writerly toolbox.

Poetry links.

Sites about poetry:
Poets.org Lots of information and links here.
Dmoz' list of poetry organizations.  Rather comprehensive.

Information on poetry forms: 
51 Poetry forms
Wikipedia's poetry forms page, which has well over 200 links to varying poetry articles
Poetry Base/ Poetry Gnosis: A Resource for Learning & Teaching Poetry 

Miscellaney:
The Pose Poem defined.  Prose poetry is an interesting cross between prose and poetry in that it has the sensibility of poetry and the structural rules (more or less) of regular writing. 

Poets I particularly like:
Robert Frost
Mekeel McBride 
Billy Collins
Langston Hughes
Shakespeare
Brian Turner

Psychedelic future?

"LSD and ketamine, two powerful hallucinogens, are also potential cures for depression, OCD, and anxiety. Two studies published this week, in Science and Nature, confirm that hallucinogenic drugs stimulate healthy brain activity, even promoting the growth of neurons."  io9 "Two new scientific studies reveal hallucinogens are good for your mental health"

An article at io9 (a very cool site for interesting science and spec fic world news) has me thinking of past tropes from 70s and 80s fantasy and sf, as well as humming along to weird tunes in my own brain.  To whit: What if you needed to take drugs like ketamine to operate a space ship through hyperspace (or whatever the hop-skip-and-jumper method you use to ftl travel.)

Ideas. 
As I generally do.  I have a few ideas where this concept could be used.

• Merely a background note.  Psychedelic drugs perform some useful function such as providing enhanced psychic or ftl piloting abilities.  (This makes them just a background note, nothing that drives the plot.)
• Good stuff...until it isn't.  Psychedelic drugs are used for a specific purpose, but they have a nasty side effect that wasn't initially discovered.  (I'm thinking the horrors of Thalydamide or other drugs like that.  Or even the unfortunate effect on women who take testosterone in order to build muscle.)  (This would have the potential to drive the plot, or there could be a resultant group who either wants the drugs back for some important purpose--such as to get off planet and they need a pilot; or there's a group whose resulting problem that drives the plot (handicap?) is caused by the drug.)
• Mixed bag of results.  One race of humanity (say, from Earth) is using a drug.  They run across another race of humanity from a pre-existing colonial period of humanity, and when that group tries the drug (or vice versa) there are unexpectedly awful or interesting consequences.
• Potential for possession.  Drugs that 'improve' human neurological function make the brain easier to take over by things like demons, ghosts, alien entities, etc.  Thus the supernatural world gains power/dominance over the merely human.
• Jekyl & Hyde.  Drugs that 'improve' human neurological function give rise to the dominance of the subconscious, some heretofore hidden personality, or it creates one.
• Magic mushrooms.  You could have the drug be a magical creation.  Say the faeries are planning an invasion and they dose the human waterways with their version of lsd, rendering humans blind to them. 
• Faked magic.  The ol' hoodwink.  Lots of what is magic in fairy tales can be explained away by technology, these days.  So you could use the appearance of magic and have it be technology instead. And a drug is the means of duping people into believing that the aliens/invaders are faeries. 

I'm sure you can think of more.

And I already have a story begun where I could use this bit of information. Hmmm...

Cool site: OF Blog of the Fallen

Did a bit of link-clicking and ended up at a nicely written and interesting site: OF Blog of the Fallen, "Eclectic and striving never to follow paths into ruts, the OF Blog focuses on essays, reviews, interviews, and other odds and ends that might be of interest to fans of both literary and speculative fiction." 

This blog is rather literary discussion forum for speculative fiction.  Cool stuff. 

UPDATE:  link is now fixed.  [Sorry, I'm an idiot.  How was it I was a high level admin person for so many years?  Hmmm....]

Cool site: Workforced

A bit ascerbic and at times even harsh, Workforced is a blog that has a lot of truth behind the whip-crack of its office-themed humor.  If you like Dilbert but want more of an edge, go check it out here.  If I'm feeling mean because Management has been being jerkwads, this site makes me feel vindicated. 

Cool Steampunk site for writers and readers

Steampunk is a subgenre that is upwelling in big, huge, roiling, boiling laval masses of volcanic spew all over the fiction landscape of late.  Yeah, it seems to be to be that big a deal.  I've never been that interested in writing the stuff, and I hadn't really read it until I grabbed up Steampunk, the anthology by Ann & Jeff Vandermeer.  I have a few other things (Boneshaker, by Cherie Priest; The Parasol Protectorate books by Gail Carriger, etc.) but not a whole lot.  I was more fixated on cyberpunk than steampunk. 

But I'm being won over, at least in reading tastes.  I'm not inclined to try writing the stuff...yet.  But there are some surprizing things that are considered steampunk-- for example China Mieville's On Perdido Street Station (another in the tbr pile.)  Matthew Delman, proprietor of the blog Free The Princess, terms Perdido Street Second-World Steampunk, defined (loosely) as a post-apocalyptic world with steam technology.  Second World stories are presumably NOT defined by the political definition (e.g. part of the former USSR and it's satellites.)  I'm having a hard time finding the term 'second world' in any other context besides that one and world wars; but it appears from context in the cited article to be a post-apocalyptic or collapsing world, a world that's experienced or is experiencing a fall like that of the Roman Empire. Anyhow, read the article, it's really interesting.

Interestingly, my current main work in progress, Magus of Athlinar, has similarities in its world to Mieville's novel.  So perhaps I'm writing steampunk after all--just Second-World Steampunk!  The only thing that makes me equivocate for not being steampunk is that there really isn't much in the way of Victoriana or clockwork and brass tech.  Mostly it's biological and magic blended.  So perhaps I am wrong.

But back to Steampunk in general.  If you want to read some great sites by writers in the genre, you couldn't do better than to read the blog Free The Princess.  There, you will find a lot of historic information, steampunk links, and a lot of other information that is steampunk friendly.  The proprietor, Matthew Delman, states that the blog is a "practical literary guide to writing Steampunk."  I whole-heartedly agree. [Also, a great article on multiculturalism in steampunk, guest posted on FTP by Ay-leen the Peacemaker, proprietress of Beyond Victoriana.

Another cool Steampunk blog.  Adam Heine's blog, Author's Echo, is also very informational and dedicated to steampunk.  I particularly like his post on how to talk like an air pirate.

Additionally, Booksmugglers had quite the interesting discussion on steampunk here.

And also, a reminder about my currently running flash fiction blog contest.  Submissions close Sunday, August 22nd. Please see here for the details.

photo removal tool

Laughingwolf has a cool link to a "junk removal" tool for your photos.  Check it out here.

Interesting bits of info here:

A cool site to explore: Factoidz.  I particularly like this article, on alternative uses for common household products. 

Useful research sites for ambiance and local flavor

If you have some need to either decide on a plausible setting for your story or make it sound plausible, check out all the statistical data available on www.census.gov/qfd/states .

And if you've never been to an area but want to use it as a location, you can get a decent look at many places (in the US anyhow) by using google maps. Just look up a place, then scroll in as far as you're able. That should drop you into street level view, where you can click an click/drag your way about the streets of a distant locality. That's so cool!

Other ways you can tell the flavor of a town is to look up chain retail establishments and see where they are or aren't. If having a hipster wannabe disgruntled with her home of record, you likely wouldn't find too many places like Hot Topix (sp), Starbucks, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, S&M clubs or even legal prostitution.

I'm just sayin'. Besides, it can be pretty funny seeing what comes up on weird searches. (Fair warning, though: I recall one time I looked up a fact to answer a debate at work, and it involved the wrestler China. Let me just say that some NSFW pages do not appear to be NSFW on google page.)

Also, a link to a site with resources for writers on the internet.

So use that writerly, idea-creating brain of yours to let your fingers do the clicking through the interwebs.

Additionally, just a reminder about my currently running flash fiction blog contest.  Please see here for the details.

Census of Marine Life

One of the coolest things about living in this time is that there is so much discovery going on, and I get to see it via our technology.  I love National Geographic channel, History, Science and Discovery channel shows that talk (albeit in rather pseudointellectual style) about things that are going on in science and what we know about the universe around us.  Cool beans.

But pictures and videos of sea life a mile or more down absolutely rivet me.  So I find it completely bozoid of me (that's my version of Bozo-like, thanks very much, meaning oblivious) that I hadn't yet heard about the Census of Marine Life.  Their final report of a ten-year study is due out in October.

Check out the site here.  And National Geographic has a ton of cool photos you can see as well.

And a contest prep request.  Please see Sunday's post and drop me a contest suggestion here.  And spread the word so we can have more fun, if you would.

Picture of this new species of copapod via the NatGeo site.

Evil Editor talks conjunctions

I don't comment often on Evil Editor these days, but he's as funny as ever.  Read this query commentary if you really want a laugh (and to learn something about grammar.)

Resource to mine: Usenet

Interesting sources of datas or discussions on miscellaneous topics can be found on Usenet archives.  to find them, google the string "usenet topic" without the quotes (which nets you a search that has the words within quotes as a string in the search text.) 

One interesting archive is here.  
History and info on Usenet archives on Google is here.
And UsenetArchives.org.

These are are just a few ways to find old Usenet archives.

The thing I need help with, though, is on how to set it up to read these things NOW.  (Can anyone guide me to an idiot-friendly site with instructions?)

Cool Site redux

Here ya go, for ideas about Stupid Human Tricks, try the Darwin Awards site.  Go have fun, y'all.

Technology can date you...and that's not with candy and flowers (Repost)

Reposted from December 27, 2006. 

The paranoia.
Have you heard of "mobile bugs"? Check out the CNET article talking about how the FBI is using our cellular phone microphones to listen in on us.

You might want to check out this site in order to be certain you aren't having your thoughts read, either! Foil helmets never go out of style.

The idea.
Well, this is an interesting little techno ditty to use in a modern-day urban fantasy. One could have a sleuth who discovers this factoid, who gets an FBI pal to exploit this idea, or whatnot. It is not a big, plot changing bit of tech, but it might prove interesting to use someplace, someday.

The downside.
However, my recent observation is that technology can date your writing and reduce its longevity or believability.

It's amazing how fast that can occur, too. I was just reading "The Stainless Steel Rat Sings The Blues," by Harry Harrison--written in 1994-- and, in this book, satellite communications were hush hush...in a spacefaring society, no less. That dated it for me. Not to mention, the mic is stuck as a false fingernail on your pinkie, and the speaker is on the forefinger nail. You see, you stick your first finger in your ear and talk into the pinkie... Yuh-huh. What was funny back then is dated today.

Thank ye gods for the internet

Okay, I'm sitting here, working on a story (the same one, the never ending one.) And I have bits of world creation needs as I go along. This time, I need a name for a type of sigils or magical characters used by a future group of magicians who are a combination of middle eastern, eastern european and african peoples that mushed (yeah, that's my technical term) together in the nearly two thousand years post an event that changed the way the world works. 

So I needed to look up ancient alphabets right quick, and a google search let me to the coolest site, Omniglot.  On it, you can look up ancient alphabets and even Klingon or Tolkien Elvish.  And there are pronounciation guides as well as other useful info, such as historic information on that language.  Definitely a cool site a writer should bookmark. 

Thank ye gods for the internet.  Instant gratification.

750 Words, a way to keep you writing

Sylvia of Can't Backspace posted a link to 750 Words, a site that reminds you to write 3 pages every day. It's a nice concept. Check it out here: http://750words.com/

Cool Site: Alphabet photography

Asite where you can form inspirational words via photographs.  Check it out here.   

Cool site: Daily Squee

Of course, Cute Overload is the best site for cuteness evahr...but the Daily Squee is pretty amusing as well.

On a personal note, No, I haven't been writing lately.  Shame on me, I know.  I'm presently working six weeks with only one day off in there (happens to be next Saturday) so I'm sort of occupied with getting the summer house and yard stuff accomplished when I get home from work.  And knitting.  I'm finding knitting is making me happy at the moment, more so than reading or writing.  But I have a lengthy to-do list: major things like sealing basement concrete, rewiring the basement, organizing the basement, putting together the flower bed in back (for which I have several plants in pots, sod to dig up, mulch and edging to put in), making my drafting table/art center in the office, general yard work and house upkeep, and doing a 'spring cleaning' of the mudroom and tool room.  And if I'm feeling really energetic, I plan to put in a bunch of landscaping ties and make a bed along the base of the bank that edges my property as well as dig up the sod for a patio behind the house.  (I'm nothing if not overly ambitious.)

Cool site: Ridiculous Poses

Doing my blog reading and came across Mynfel's post citing Ridiculous Poses.  Hi-larious and weird.  You can go there to practice your doggie head tilt. 

You should also check out Mynfel's post on this for totally 'redonkulous' pictures of the 'manicorn.'

Character design: the artistic approach

"When you don't know anything about your character, it's hard to determine what kind of lines, shapes, proportions, or anything else to use to describe that character.  So what you end up with is a hodgepodge of decisions that don't lead the viewer toward any conclusions, which usually results in a less appealing character just because the chances of finding a great combination of elements at random aren't very high."  and "If I was doing this character design for work I'd probably do about 20 more iterations to improve the idea and replace (where possible) stereotypical elements with more surprising ideas that filled the same purpose." Sam Nielson, graphic artists and proprieter of Sam's Tasty Art blog

I've mentioned this blog by a digital artist (who does animation work for some Major Company or other).  And I find that the observations about artistic choices work just as well for writing as they do for any other sort of representational art like painting or drawing.  Just substitute the words of an artist with the words relevant to a writer and it's really the same thing, or a close approximation thereof. 

Because it's all about how you think about the project.  The approach.  We've all experienced a character in a novel that filled us with emotions--brought us to tears, joy, sadness, pride, whatever--as if they were real flesh-and-blood beings.  You know that when that reaction is achieved, the author has gotten it right.

Meticulous biographer or pantser?
Some schools of thought have you writing scenes, drafting up detailed character worksheets, or inventing copious background information on your character before you even begin to write the story.  Others just pluck details out of the air when they have a need for a particular type of character (male/female, certain look, ethnicity, career, etc.) and drop that character into their story without much thought, filling in details as they require them.  I suspect most of us do a mix in varying proportions of both, meeting someplace near the middle. 

Regardless, the basic need is that you need to know the characters well enough to make them fit into your story and to make their actions feel believable and realistic given the circumstances of plot and setting.  The tools you use for this are basically part of a thought process, the artistic choices you make that are the "lines, shapes, proportions or anything else to use to describe the character." 

But, getting back to my main point, it's how you think about the relation between your characters and their world/situation/plot/others that leads you to writing them excellently well.  And that's essentially conscious decision making, paying attention to what choices you are making and why you are making them. 

Keeping track of the details.
As a suggestion, In addition to harnessing the most important tool--your brain--keeping track of your character data is just as vital...unless you have an eidetic memory. Your system doesn't have to be complex; but if you keep note of the decisions you make about the character for future reference.  If you call him blond in one scene, it's nice to recall that when you come back to him later.

Be the artist.
Getting into the lovely artistic mindset that makes your word and plot choices flow effortlessly is wonderful.  If you have ever gotting into that Zone, you know what I mean.  It's a place where ideas and words seem to pour from your fingertips onto the keyboard, where instead of thought as words you have shapes and inspirations and godlike knowledge of what should go where.  You feel the shape of things in your head and it seems like instinct when you make choices, and most of the time they are the right choices...but you need to train yourself to get to that place.  You need to figure out the process that works for your character building and internalize it.

Because when you are in the habit of considering your characters and plot elements on the fly, when things are flowing like that, there is no better feeling.

Of course, when your feet touch the ground again after the first draft, you still have to edit. 

Happy writing!

Such a beautiful site!

Love Gives Me Hope is an incredible site.  Short, tweetable incidents ending with GMH for Gives Me Hope.  Srsly, they make me cry.

Thanks to Charles Gramlich for the link via FB.

Musical Monday is a how-to

You know how annoying embedding You Tube videos can be, especially with the choices available, such as the new format (wide screen) and high definition versus the less-bandwidth-hogging old style?  well, here's a site that can show you how to adjust the url for the embedded video so that you can start where you want, increase the density, and etc.  Check it out here.

Cool site to look up slang

Thought you would like this site, the Online Slang Dictionary.  It's along the lines of Urban Dictionary, but is specifically for slang words and phrases and is not devolving into a free-for-all of definition add-ons from anyone and everyone like the Urban Dictionary has become IMO.

Magic realism

William Hammett has a nice article on Magical Realism on his web site, which is very interesting.

I posted on the topic a while back here.  Magic or Magical Realism is one of those hair splitting endeavors that I cannot figure out, like 'slipstream.'  Both are vague and I think a bit pretentious.  It's fantasy. Fantastic elements make it fantasy.  If someone could point me to something that really makes it clear for me other than saying 'anything by Charles deLint' I'd be very grateful, though.

I like what Billy has to say.  I'm just a bit old school in my preferences, I guess.  I don't like it when you have to be so nice in your book category definition that it is/isn't sf or fantasy because of an almost arbitrary (and definitely subjective) mental weighing of various opposing factors in order to label it correctly.  I really prefer my definition:  Anything with a fantastic element in it is fantasy; anything with a science-based element in it that is possible or could be possible is sf.  And speculative fiction, my favorite label, encompasses anything at all that falls into either camp.  It includes horror, as well.

"...this entire tangle calls for a major creative effort to make the American legal system, which is based largely on individual and property rights, somehow accommodate the communal, nature- and place-based belief systems of many Native (and other) people. It is interesting that Christians are beginning to invent something called Creation Theology, which sounds a lot like what goes on at Bear Butte.  [Bear Butte is a place sacred to Native Americans.]...It is possible, however, that the ecological havoc in store for us from global warming will push the law in this new direction, as private and public property vanishes under the encroaching waves and ownership of all sorts of resources is rendered moot."   From "Sacred Ground" Native People's magazine online

I was looking up various things that struck my fancy and ran across Native Peoples magazine's site, which has both online and print editions.  There are many articles about current causes, events, and other related things, and I highly recommend it if you want to keep apprised of ecological issues, as many of the proposed environment-raping actions are being fought by native peoples. 

The other things I found interesting in the "Sacred Ground" article were in the above quote. 

Firstly, the interesting way of looking at so-called creation science where the writer saw a legitimate and realistic assessment of how the world works/was created in the concept.  This with no separation between science 'fact'-- because in scientific processes, there is no such thing as fact, there is only theory, e.g. what has yet to be disproven-- and religious explanations for how the world was made.

The native writer was apparently seeing in creation science a parallel vision to how native peoples see the world; and that what Western science quantifies/ describes with the rules of science is either not the important thing, or it is another aspect that is disregarded by mainstream Western science.  (I rather feel the writer was thinking that the scientific method is more like the dissection of a dead body to define life versus the examination and treatment of a living being by a doctor.  But I tend to disagree with the statement in that creation science is highly flawed and is attempting to use an inappropriate framework to define itself, one that actually takes away from the beauty of religion; and that while the comparison with native religious belief that the land is a living entity has some similarities, it is a strange and incorrect correlation to make a comparison between creation science and native belief systems.  Between religious elements, yes; but not between a pesudo science and a religion.  I suppose if you are looking at shamanic practices as science...but it seems to be off the mark.  (But that's me, and that's a discussion for another forum. :)

The point being that the article illustrates an interesting perspective that would make a fascinating jumping off point for character building.

Secondly, I really like the mention of what Global Warming might do to change property ownership and rights in the future.  You can take all sorts of directions with that.  If a Native American model was adapted, dictating that the world's resources were not owned, but were to be respected and used sustainably without damage to the environment... that would be interesting, especially if you had a hard-line standard where people made do or they did without, even and unto death by starvation, lack of water, or poor shelter. 

I believe it was Charles DeLindt in Svaha that had the Hopi or Navajo nations (forgive me, it's been years since I last read this book) being the leaders of technology and sustainable high tech in a quasi-post-apocalyptic world.  And Karen Travis had that hardline do or die attitude in the culture of her aliens in the Wess'har series, with hard-line aliens who believe all life is sacred--unless you are threatening other life yourself.  In which case, they will act on behalf of the helpless life you are trouncing, be it the things you kill to eat the meat of, or the raping of the environment.

So the latter idea has been used somewhat; yet it's an intriguing way of looking at the future, and it could be used many more times, whether in an upbeat tale or a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk tale of tech gone wrong and the morass that Western culture has fallen into.  You could make it from teh point of view of a native person, or from an African tribal person, or any number of folk from 3rd world or oppressed cultural groups.  [I've taken that tack somewhat in a world I'm building.]

Interesting stuff. 

 

Lovely lovely

Lovely photos of Sea Glass beach--sun and surf! Yay!--to cheer you up here.

Want a tee shirt?

Bewitched and Betrayed
by Lisa Shearin
Ace Books – $7.99

Lisa Shearin's newest installment of the Raine Benares series hits the shelves Any Second Now, and I've really enjoyed the first three books in this series, so I'm looking forward to reading the fourth book.  Debuts & Reviews mentions it here, which is what brings me to this post:  Lisa Shearin has some great series-related tee shirts for sale.  I'm sorely tempted, but I have enough tees.  So I share them with you.

I'm particularly fond of this one:

 

Cool site for steampunk fans

If you are into steampunk, which appears to be a rapidly expanding category of things to include writing, visual arts, clothing, and live role playing a la the SCA...here's a site you ought to know about (if you don't already):  Dieselpunks.org.  And they have many, many links and a forum. 

Upcoming event for May 2010

Just checking out the latest Weird Tales (the Steampunk Spectacular issue!) and found a couple of things worthy of mentioning to you all who read my blog. 

First, this is a good issue.  Even though they *cough* lacked the wisdom to purchase the story I sent them, they have great stories. 

Second, there's an interesting new FREE horror 'magazine':  Pseudopod.  They are voice, and you can get the stories downloaded to your MP3 player or emailed to you.  Check it out at www.pseudopod.org for a subscription.

And Third (yes, it's a rather long 'couple of things') is a cool-sounding event, the "2010 Steampunk World's Fair." I would love to go; but since I can't I'll urge those of you who can to attend.  It's in New Jersey, which is surreal in and of itself, so the show should fit right in.  Yep.  Uh huh. 

Oh, you want details?  May 14-16 at the Radisson Hotel in Piscataway, NJ.  "Attendees will enjoy a full schedule of musical performances and art exhibitions--and a Lovecraftian murder mystery!--and Weird Tales will be hosting the "Library of Lost Literature," featuring readings by authors including Ellen Kushner..., Ben H. Winter..., and Ekaterina Sedia...., and many more."  For information go to www.steampunkworldsfair.com

And now my public service duties are done for the day.  Have a lovely time at the SWF and send me pics if you go.  I don't mind feeling jealous.  Really. 

An author's experience with her writing

Mind Games by Carolyn Crane.

I'm not going to review it, but I liked the book.  It takes a special way of thinking to be able to use a hypochondriac as a heroine and make it work! I'm looking forward to book 2, Double Cross.

Carolyn is also the blogger behind The Thrillionth Page, which I've followed for a long time now, and she has a great guest post over at cool spec fic blog Wicked Jungle.

I definitely like the cover, but if you ask me, the knife is a bit much and doesn't really fit the story.  It's either weapons or tattoos, though, I guess.

Sentence Diagramming

A while back I posted a link to a sentence diagramming software that enabled you to do them electronically.  The catch was that you needed to know how to do diagram to use the software.  So I thought that I would share the sentence diagramming rules.

I'll give it to you in the very VERY basic format. 

Rules for diagramming:

• Object of the Subject and the Verb FORM THE MAIN HORIZONTAL LINE.
• Adverbs, Adjectives and other misc. words like articles (definite and indefinite) are attached directly by lines attached to the main line where they occur.
• Lines for additional clauses and phrases are attached below the main line where they occur in the sentence BUT GET THEIR OWN HORIZONTAL LINES.
• Modifications to the dangling lines are attached to them as well.

A useful link with diagrams is here.   It makes more sense than my explanation.  I found the image on that sentence diagramming site.  (And my rather simplistic explanations are admittedly a bit simplistic.)

I am not sure what purpose sentence diagramming has except to frustrate and confuse kids in school.  I have an English degree, and I assure you, that even in the Masters level courses I took when I was dumb enough to study for a teaching degree* I NEVER ever applied knowledge of sentence diagramming to anything.  So I think it's a waste of time, as you have to know parts of speech in order to apply it.  So it's not a teaching tool per se, but a way for a teacher to come across all snobby.  (My apologies to those of you out there who like sentence diagramming.  You will never convince me it's useful.)

*dumb because I'm not suited to it, not because it isn't a noble and useful profession.

The Character Therapist

Liana Brooks had a cool link list roundup a couple weeks ago, which included a cool site, The Character Therapist.  Lots of good stuff there.  Check it out!

Informative site: Behler's blog

"[T]here comes a time when you need to wear your characters like a coat and dig deep to assume their personalities. Only in that place can you find the magic of dimension to make your characters come to life."  Lynn Price at Behler's Blog

From the publishing side of the house, a blog that is informative and interesting.  Check this out, their character development articles.  And there's more good stuff where that came from.

The fascinating properties of silver

Patricia Briggs has an excellent article on silver, ancient beliefs about silver, and the difficulties in making silver bullets.

Entertain yourself here.

Monster research on the web

I'm researching monsters, primarily because with the whole plotting out Blood Shot I have to come up with a list of potential paranormal entities that hopefully are new(ish) and thus fresh(ish) in the urban fantasy scene.  I'm trying to be somewhat unique and bring a twist to the story via the cast of characters.  One tries one's best, anyhow. 

I have several books on monsters and a ton of mythology books that are really useful to look things up in, but they don't have everything, or they take a lot of time to plow through.  And so I went trawling for web sites that can give you instant gratification.

Asian beasties, grouped by the animal upon which they are based at Himmapan; Wikipedia's list of legendary creatures with links; and of course Monstropedia, a huge database of the mythical and monstrous.

I love you...madly

From Post Secret, Sunday, February 7, 2010

This is a sweet idea.  I sometimes do or want to do random nice things, like putting a quarter in an about-to-expire parking meter--nothing too life altering, but just a nice thing that brightens someone else's day and makes me also feel good about myself.  (Let's be honest, being kind is in part about feeling good about oneself.)  Anyhow, onto the idea section of this little jaunt.  Seeing this particular card gave me the kernal of an idea.  An idea about misunderstandings.

The idea.
What if you have a nice, friendly, innocuous neighbor who sees a young gal over time, over random glimpses as she comes and goes.  This accidental watcher decides that the person, with whom he's rarely interacted except to exchange anonymous hellos or waves, is depressed or needs cheering up.  Perhaps he has seen her break up with her lover.  Perhaps he notices that she has had some other troubles.  But he decides to start cheering her up and to that end begins to do small things to make her life better. 

So say our one man cheering squad just sends her random postcards that say, for example, "You are loved."  Or, "Someone thinks your kind heart brightens the world."  Whatever.  A note like that can be incredibly innocuous if received from someone with a face, someone known; but the recipient might not take anonymous notes well if the phrasing is unfortunately such that it sounds like something stalkerish or related to some other issue is going on...such as, say, a crazy ex-boyfriend whom our recipient of cheer happened to murder to get away from.  If, for example, your kind neighbor drives her over the edge of sanity with his attempt to make her feel better, it would be an interesting set up for a horror story, especially one told from the perspective of a well-intentioned person who is too lacking in sense to see what he is doing to the poor woman/victim.  And even more interesting to write the story so that the old guy doesn't realize that he is the cause of her eventual breakdown.

Even better, what if the 'helpful' neighbor is revealed at the end to be doing all this deliberately?  Nasty.

Now, if I could only think of a speculative element to toss in there, it might be something I'd tackle.  Maybe there's a fairy tale that it can be cross-pollinated with. [Okay, spec element potential: a psychic vampire that feeds on fear is one possibility; but it's a bit overdone and I want to find something obscure.]

If anyone wants to use this sort of set up, I'd love to beta read.  Moi, I have enough on my plate.  (You know I just bring up these ideas so I don't go off and start one more project I have to abandon so I can work on the ones that are closer to my heart, right? So I don't care if someone takes an idea and runs with it?  Really.  Glad to be of service.  Besides, it isn't the ideas, it's the execution that makes the writing.)

Information round up for EMS and Fire information

Every once in a while I run across some really fascinating blogs, in particular those that are meant for a particular niche or group.  Today, via some Facebook comment or link (to a man who blew himself up by strapping what was essentially a pipe bomb to his back in order to rocket propel a snow tobbagan) I found the following to article-laden sites about EMTs and Firefighters. 

The reason I post this is that article from a while back where I quoted someone who said there are never any firefighters in science fiction.  I of course cannot find that post, but I vaguely recall some Great Voice in science fiction said something about that fact, meaning that mundane things like public services and general things we see every day can be overlooked in the worldbuilding department by authors.  And one place we all know that spec fic can fail big time is in the lack of small details that scream reality to the reader.  So by reading up on emergency responders' problems and travails, you might pick up some bit of business that can inform your story. 

Just a thought. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AND A NEWS ALERT:  THERE IS A FOURTH DEED OF PAKSINARRION BOOK "OATH OF FEALTY" IS DUE TO BE RELEASED SOON. Woot!  If you like epic fantasy, this is probably the only epic fantasy series I would say is a must read.  It's better than Jordan.  Seriously.  (And, well, not so freaking endless.  I love Jordan's Wheel of Time, but it's daunting to try and reread it.)

Revisiting another wonderful resource

via Overheard in New York, Jan 26, 2010

Guy #1: Wow, they indicted five cops in that beating last year in Shenandoah.
Guy #2: Yeah, it was a hate crime.
Guy #1: The victim was gay?
Guy #2: No, dude, he was Mexican.
Guy #1: What? Since when is it a crime to be Mexican?
Guy #2, after pause: Everyone on this train thinks you are a fucking idiot, and I agree with them.

Ah, yes, Overheard In New York, a blog that provides both humor and ideas for ridiculous, too-bizarre-to-work-in-a-novel dialog.  Still, I like to call it idea fodder when I peruse.

Places to find cultural information

I'm presently working on a story that is set in what was once India, more than a thousand years in the future.  And to that end I've had to immerse myself in some of the culture of the Hindi, Jainists, Muslims, etc. of the Near, Middle and Far East.

And one site I found that is worth reading regularly just because it has interesting snippets of information is Original Wavelength, a self-proclaimed blog about "cross-cultural issues, culture, comparative religion, psychology, inter-cultural management and communication, international business, team-working and human resource development and management (HRD and HRM)."

What an author does and doesn't control

Cherie Priest has an excellent post on what an author does and doesn't control.  Very lucid and helpful.

I found the link and reference on John Scalzi's Whatever blog, which is one that I highly recommend reading. I love his voice (a bit snarky and yet balanced, lol) and he touches upon both important current events and issues regarding writing.  I rarely find an article that hasn't got something interesting. 

Sleep Talkin' Man blog

Just learned about a seriously funny blog called Sleep Talkin' Man.  Apparently the husband (Adam) talks in his sleep a lot.  And he's so darned funny with his non sequitirs and strange dream logic, his wife (karen) started recording him and posting them on her blog.  And it went viral.  They have now been on the Today show, and there will likely be more such appearances.

Check it out.  You will waste endless amounts of time, but you will enjoy yourself thoroughly.

(And you can buy tee shirts.  I will have to buy some of those tee shirts.  I love tees that make people do a doggie head tilt.  And my old ones are so large on me the shoulder seams are halfway to my elbows (I'm not kidding) so I have an excuse!

Out-of-order tense or causation

"Good, linear prose takes the reader directly from event to event in sequence through time. Yes, sometimes we break that line on purpose, as with a flashback. But in general, we want events to proceed in a direct line through the chronology of events."  Theresa (guest blogging from Edit Torrent)

Romance University blog had an article last week regarding out-of-order actions or causation in description.  I thought I'd share, as this is something I've found when critiquing the writing of other writers.  I don't know why, but I don't think I've ever had a problem with this, barring the occasional oversight.  But newish writers in particular seem blind to this problem and do it over and over. 

I won't reinvent the wheel when the article is so clear and concise, but the basic idea is this:  You need to place the elements of description or action in either chronological or logical order.  Consider the timing, consider what causes what, what must happen first (e.g. cause precedes reaction, slipping precedes falling down, etc.), and check to see that things that can't be done before something else is perceived or done follow instead of lead.  You must do this, or the reader will have to either go back and reread or puzzle over what you meant.  It is a bit jarring, pulls them from the story, and this is not a good thing. 

Check out the Ask An Editor articles on the Romance University's site.  No matter what genre you write, there's something to learn.  Also, you might read Edit Torrent blog for daily reminders and information on grammar and writing skills.

Cool site: Notes On The Art Of Writing

I thought I'd share a link with a blog site I found today, Notes On The Art Of Writing.  The author, Bellavida, has a lot of great and helpful links in the sidebar.  In particular, I liked her list of writing definitions here.  (But I disagree with some of them.)

Today, a fistful of links

"The reason to use a subplot isn’t as important as ensuring there is at least one subplot in a manuscript. Otherwise, the novel will read more like a long short story, instead of a multi-layered book like those readers are accustomed to buying."  Lynnette Labelle

Here are some great articles to read for you all:

First, we have the Rejectionist, who has a gathering of links on writing people of color.  This is a discussion that I've been having with myself ever since last year's racefail webstorm.  Or should I call that a twitterfest?  Dunno.  Irrelevant.

Vampire Chix blog (a Cool Site you might want to bookmark) has a blog about how the various subgenres of vampire books are being falsely labeled.  (Don't you just hate it when you think you have an urban fantasy and it turns out to be a romance, or when a supposed romance turns out to be horror or UF?) 

Blood Red Pencil's guest blogger, Shon Bacon, has two excellent posts on Using Characters & Scenes to Trim the Fat from Your Story, parts one and two at the links. 

Magicalworlds.net, another WAY cool site, has a great reminder:  Did you save?  (Please, go save NOW.)

Orbit Books blog has a useful post on How A  Story Works.  Lots of food for thought there.

And Lynnette Labelle has a great short post on why you might consider using subplots. 

Basic human needs in your writing (repost)

Reposted from March 30, 2009

1001 Things to do Before You Die has an amusing sf-related rant about the lack of fire departments in futuristic movies.  He has a point: I don't offhand recall any movies set in the future with a fire department, in action or otherwise, shown on screen. 

Which reminded me of something I've long thought:  Sometimes failure to mention certain obvious human needs or institutions can draw attention to the lack and work against the author. 

For example, how many times have you read a book and thought, don't they ever go to the bathroom?  In instances where the facilities are an issue, such as being tied to a bed for three days with no indication the poor victim has soiled him or herself or of their having been taken out and allowed the use of the facilities, it can look pretty lame.  Or when a character must sit for an entire day and yet is allowed no breaks, such as in a courtroom.  As an example of a piece that distracted me, I just read a book I really liked where the heroine had to sit during a festival for about 12 hours with no mention of a potty break.  Yes, she was a high lady of her people, but she still had to pee sometime!  The mere mention of a couple of breaks when the author mentioned giving the woman water and food would have kept me from being distracted; no need to mention she actually used a bathroom, just the opportunity.  As it was, I kept thinking, She's up there how long?  When does she go to the bathroom? Which spoiled this momentous scene for me somewhat.

In such cases, the story clearly requires at least an allusion to the base needs of life, or of basic human institutions like a fire department. (Well, no fire department for someone tied to a bed...unless it really was that messy.  But you know what I mean.)

And sometimes shit needs to be mentioned because it's expected or the scene won't feel right.  If you drop a character down the oubliette, a mention of fecal matter is pretty needful, it being part of the (for lack of a better word) ambiance. If, however, your character is going through daily regular life, it's not always necessary.  An occasional mention of using the bathroom instead of a wholesale avoidance might be good as a reality builder or it might be TMI (too much information); but the lack, if it doesn't call attention to itself, is okay.

And don't get me started on epic fantasy quests where the characters don't have any money, pack animals or wilderness experience.  Puhleeze.  You need lots of water, grain for your horses, more food than you think--and you have to give the animals a break once in a while.  I'm no expert on horses and endurance trail riding, but I do know you can't keep a horse going forever without dealing with foot problems, like worn or split  hooves, especially when they are not shod, exhaustion due to not enough time to feed themselves (grain will only go so far) and adequate rest and time without carrying extra weight.  There was a reason knights never rode their war horses except during battle: so they were fresh. 

And then there's the walking forever in the same set of shoes and no foot rot.  If they get wet feet, trench foot can occur.  Boots that are soaked will wear out faster.  Wet leather pants (or bustiers) will CHAFE.  (Personally, Epic Fantasy Girl finds her chainmail bikini quite comfortable even after riding Dawnstorm, my mare, for 900 miles straight over the Plains of Kathuselum with neither saddle nor bridle nor pad, neither kit nor bedroll nor coat... but then I'm Super Epic Fantasy Chick and YOU'RE--excuse me, got carried away there--WE are not.) 

There are a lot of areas in stories where basic facts are glossed over, and I think most of the time this is wise compression on the part of the author.  Occasionally, however, a judicious nod to the facts of life like pack horses and their vulnerabilities, human waste disposal, weevily bread and trench foot need to be considered. 

Short story tips

"The ultimate crime in writing is to be boring.  You risk that every time you are careless with your plot."  p7, Creating Plot by J. Madison Davis. 

I'm sure you all are aware that short stories differ somewhat from novels.  Not including length, of course.  And then there are the varieties of short stories, to include flash fiction (which can be of various lengths from 100 to 1,000 words, generally); short stories; novellas; and the mid-range category between short story and novella length, the .

I've been considering this topic all during NaNo November, because one of the difficulties with working on my WIP was that I have plot issues.  I think that A Lighter Shade Of Pale needs to be reconsidered some, and it's making me stick at the point where the story is supposed to be heading into the confrontation.  Things are off, and it's a plot issue.  So, unless I can figure a way to avoid rewriting the story and keep most of what I've got written, I'm going to have to rewrite the whole blankety blank thing at some point to make it work.  (But I think the ace in the hole is that I can expand the story and keep what I've got by making it a full on novel.  We shall see.)

Anyhow, this bunch of forehead-bunching think sessions has caused me to look around for information and thoughts on short story writing.  I like the three-act format, but it isn't the be-all and end-all of plot structure.  And it's not working to help me get the kinks out of ALSOP. 

Tips on constructing a short story.  I borrowed this from Kate Kelly's excellent post on the subject, here.

1. Stick to a single POV. Multiple POV short stories can be made to work, but if a story can be told from a single perspective it’s better to do so.

2. Avoid preamble. You don’t have much space so get into the story and your character’s head right from the very first sentence.

3. Make every word count – a short story should be tight.

4. Minimise number of settings – try to keep the number of scenes down – only those that the story actually needs.

5. Minimise number of characters – you don’t have the space to develop a wide cast of interesting and varied characters, so keep these to the bare minimum.

6. Keep it consistent – this goes for voice and rhythm as well as POV.

7. Finish with a punch – make your last line really memorable to that it resonates with the reader after they have stopped reading.

8. Don’t write on beyond the story’s natural end – this is so easy to do. Come back to it later and check whether where you have ended it is the best place or whether it would have more impact if you finished it a couple of paragraphs earlier.

9. Edit it – let it rest for a few days, then come back to it with a critical eye. Rewrite if necessary – I’ve been known to turn a story completely about!

10. And finally enjoy it!! Writing short stories is fun.

 And remember:

"One spectacular scene after another does not make a novel.  They must be connected."  Ibid, p10

 

Writer's lexicon

I just found a great site for writers, Tameri, which boasts some great articles on story structure and a  comprehensive lexicon for writers.  Check it out and learn a few new terms. 

Online book catalog

Over at Debuts & Reviews blog, they have a cool link to an online book catalog database, the Eidelweis search tool.  You can find upcoming new releases there, which is handy.  You do have to join first, though, which requires you give a phone number and email addy.