So, I've gotten myself addicted to digital scrapbooking. I suppose it was only a matter of time, because I've tried to do it many times, only the technology wasn't there. And my computer kept crashing and I've lost all my early efforts.
But then I found Shutterfly and used their generic template to scrapbook our honeymoon, and then I looked at the other albums other people had posted. They looked so cool that I started poking around for places to learn the craft, and I found Jessica Sprague. I've taken most of her classes and am slowly working through the latest batch.
My problem is that I've never been good at visual arts, so I'm reading her handouts and doing my assignments, trying to retrain my brain to grasp at least some rudimentary design concepts. And yes, that's my excuse for not writing as much as I should have today (but I did write.)
Friday, July 31, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Finding the balance in mythic science fiction
I guess I should define my terms. To me, mythic science fiction is a legend or creation myth retold with science fiction conceits. I'm not sure if that's the generally agreed upon definition, but I'd say that my Coyote Discovers Mars story fits it, as does the story I just wrote for the Chinese themed anthology. What's interesting about writing in this subgenre is that it is hard to balance the myth and the science.
First of all, the stories are pretty light on science, going instead for cinematic images and fantastical moments rather than being grounded in our physical universe. And yet, I find that when I workshop these stories, a certain percentage of people will grab hold of one scientific inaccuracy and want it corrected.
In my short story for the anthology, the line was pretty clear once the editors pointed it out. There is a storyline that takes place in the modern day told alongside a legent. The legend can be fantastical. The modern day parts need to pass scientific muster.
But in other circumstances, it's hard to say what it is that strikes a reader as so much fun they don't care if its accurate versus something that knocks them out of their suspension of disbelief. My hunch is that the parts that capture their imagination are easily forgiven, while the parts that don't get scrutinized.
Anyway, just my random thoughts. Please do add your own, as I love writing these types of stories and would love to sell more of them.
First of all, the stories are pretty light on science, going instead for cinematic images and fantastical moments rather than being grounded in our physical universe. And yet, I find that when I workshop these stories, a certain percentage of people will grab hold of one scientific inaccuracy and want it corrected.
In my short story for the anthology, the line was pretty clear once the editors pointed it out. There is a storyline that takes place in the modern day told alongside a legent. The legend can be fantastical. The modern day parts need to pass scientific muster.
But in other circumstances, it's hard to say what it is that strikes a reader as so much fun they don't care if its accurate versus something that knocks them out of their suspension of disbelief. My hunch is that the parts that capture their imagination are easily forgiven, while the parts that don't get scrutinized.
Anyway, just my random thoughts. Please do add your own, as I love writing these types of stories and would love to sell more of them.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
When nothing new is happening
Well, here's the thing about writing full time, sometimes when I'm at my most productive, I have very little to say. I'm in the early stages of a novel, and I'm not sharing details not because they're oh so secret, but because they're bound to chance. A lot. I'm not one of those writers who can do only a couple of drafts. I literally do a dozen or more - yes, literally. I'm constantly rewriting and tearing scenes out and switching characters around. I can only see what will work by testing out all possibilities.
The process doesn't make for very interesting blog posts, I don't think. Though for what it's worth, I've written about 10,000 words and will probably rip out the first 6,000 or so and do pared down scenes. Often when I write the beginning, I start too early and move too slow while I'm getting my bearings in the story. This project is a YA fantasy novel. My last round of agent submissions netted me some really wonderful feedback from a couple of agents that I would just love to be repped by, but as they explained to me (not in so many words) I need something new, fresh and much more demonstrative of my currents skills. My other project was years old, and I may still go back to it again someday, but it was starting to get a worn, thin feel to it.
And in other news, my World of Warcraft character got her motorcycle with sidecar today :-). I took nearly a year to save up the in-game materials for it. People think computer games are always played by nutty addicts, but I've been gaming since high school and, though I've gone through my addictive phases, I usually enjoy spreading the content out. There's no rush to get that new cool item, just work towards it slowly, and I find that I'm still loving the game while many of the other players are burned out and gone.
The process doesn't make for very interesting blog posts, I don't think. Though for what it's worth, I've written about 10,000 words and will probably rip out the first 6,000 or so and do pared down scenes. Often when I write the beginning, I start too early and move too slow while I'm getting my bearings in the story. This project is a YA fantasy novel. My last round of agent submissions netted me some really wonderful feedback from a couple of agents that I would just love to be repped by, but as they explained to me (not in so many words) I need something new, fresh and much more demonstrative of my currents skills. My other project was years old, and I may still go back to it again someday, but it was starting to get a worn, thin feel to it.
And in other news, my World of Warcraft character got her motorcycle with sidecar today :-). I took nearly a year to save up the in-game materials for it. People think computer games are always played by nutty addicts, but I've been gaming since high school and, though I've gone through my addictive phases, I usually enjoy spreading the content out. There's no rush to get that new cool item, just work towards it slowly, and I find that I'm still loving the game while many of the other players are burned out and gone.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Anthologies, and invites to them
All right, all writers will already know this; this is the final post in a series explaining some jargon I've been using. When you've got a book of short stories by one author, that is a collection. When there are multiple authors, that's an anthology, or an "antho". Anthologies range from really poor rip offs that pay nothing to the writers and sell no copies to very prestigious (that still don't pay a ton to the writers), such as the Year's Best anthologies edited by Gardner Dozois (Science Fiction) and Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link, and Gavin Grant (Fantasy and Horror). Big name authors can make decent money on their short stories because they will often be the selling point for the anthology.
There are two different kind of anthologies, invitation only, and well... there isn't a name for the other kind. They're the kind that anyone can send a story in to. (The Year's Best anthologies are a little different, because there all of the stories have been previously published, and thus are written well before the anthology selection begins.) The invitations for the invitation only ones can be quite coveted, especially if there is a big name author or two included. Invitations come in a few flavors: 1) a request for an already written story (happens if it's a famous story), 2) invitation and we'll buy anything you write (happens if you're a famous author) and 3) invitation and we'll consider what you've written. I have only ever qualified for this third kind, when I've qualified at all. My first pro sale was to an invitation only anthology in which it was advertized that only one unpublished author would get a slot. I'm not sure if that ended up being the case, but if it was, I was that unpublished author.
Anthologies nearly always have a theme. I.e. Alien Sex, random words from the National Spelling Bee finals (I'm serious), educational science fiction, etc. My first sale was to one on polar science. There have also been a few ethnic anthologies, i.e. Dark Matter, for black sf authors, Wandering Stars, for Jewish ones, etc. I was invited to the Chinese themed one, currently titled The Dragon and the Stars. We'll see if I manage to land a place in it. The word limit was 6,000, which is a stretch for me, because my natural length for a short story is 7,000-ish. But anyway, I wrote the best story I could and sent it in. Samantha Ling, one of my Clarion West classmates, submitted one as well, and we critted each other's. It would be very cool to share a table of contents with her, and with our classmate Susan Yi, who was also invited.
That, I hope, reads a little more clearly than my weeks' old post that confused some people on Facebook.
There are two different kind of anthologies, invitation only, and well... there isn't a name for the other kind. They're the kind that anyone can send a story in to. (The Year's Best anthologies are a little different, because there all of the stories have been previously published, and thus are written well before the anthology selection begins.) The invitations for the invitation only ones can be quite coveted, especially if there is a big name author or two included. Invitations come in a few flavors: 1) a request for an already written story (happens if it's a famous story), 2) invitation and we'll buy anything you write (happens if you're a famous author) and 3) invitation and we'll consider what you've written. I have only ever qualified for this third kind, when I've qualified at all. My first pro sale was to an invitation only anthology in which it was advertized that only one unpublished author would get a slot. I'm not sure if that ended up being the case, but if it was, I was that unpublished author.
Anthologies nearly always have a theme. I.e. Alien Sex, random words from the National Spelling Bee finals (I'm serious), educational science fiction, etc. My first sale was to one on polar science. There have also been a few ethnic anthologies, i.e. Dark Matter, for black sf authors, Wandering Stars, for Jewish ones, etc. I was invited to the Chinese themed one, currently titled The Dragon and the Stars. We'll see if I manage to land a place in it. The word limit was 6,000, which is a stretch for me, because my natural length for a short story is 7,000-ish. But anyway, I wrote the best story I could and sent it in. Samantha Ling, one of my Clarion West classmates, submitted one as well, and we critted each other's. It would be very cool to share a table of contents with her, and with our classmate Susan Yi, who was also invited.
That, I hope, reads a little more clearly than my weeks' old post that confused some people on Facebook.
Monday, July 13, 2009
RIP Charles Brown
I was rather shocked today to learn that Locus founder Charles N. Brown passed away yesterday. His obituary is here. I met him several times, and spent the most time with him at the Williamson Lectureship in Portales, New Mexico. He came several years, and was usually accompanied by Connie Willis, who kept him in line. He had a talent for winding her up, and one year she threatened to tie him to the roof of her car for the rest of the drive down to Portales.
He gave science fiction its trade magazine, Locus, and I'll miss seeing him at conventions.
He gave science fiction its trade magazine, Locus, and I'll miss seeing him at conventions.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Critiques
So, I'm continuing to explain some of the jargon I used a few posts ago. I had been assuming that only my fellow writer friends and the occasional relative was reading my blog, but I now know that isn't the case. Several people have popped out of the woodwork to comment either to me or on my blog and it's been rather a surprise for me to learn they are reading it. Anyway, let me go ahead and explain what a critique is.
Critiques are opinions given by fellow writers on what is and isn't working in a story. The slang term for them is "crits", and many professional writers are members of crit groups. Mine is called Critical Mass (yes, I know, very punny) and is probably one of the best ones out there right now because of its longevity (we're going on, what? 9 years) and the success of its members. For example, S.M. Stirling had a solid career when he started, and is now hitting the NYT extended list (means it's a bestseller, but not yet in the top ten) and his last contract was for precisely one and a half craploads of money. Melinda Snodgrass, Ian Tregillis, and Daniel Abraham had all either not sold a novel ever, or in Melinda's case, hadn't since their previous writing career (many people have a few rounds of moving in and out of the business.) All three have sold multiple novels to major publishing houses. I hadn't sold a single thing, ever. I was admitted to this group, which is pros only, under the Clarion exception, meaning I could play because I was a graduate of the Clarion West workshop. I remain their least accomplished regularly attending member, with only a few short story sales and some small press novels. I don't mind being below average in such a group :-).
Anyway, how do crits better people's careers? The obvious answer is that they show people their weaknesses and explain fixes, but there's quite a bit more to it than that. Science fiction and fantasy have some longstanding crit techniques that can be traced back to (to my knowledge) the Milford Workshop, and this same technique is used at the Clarion workshops and most critgroups and forums. It works like this: You write your story or book and turn it in to the group by a deadline. The group members all read and then you meet for critiques or post them on a forum. In a face to face meeting, everyone has a time limit and you go around the circle. People present their crits orally and may also give the writer written notes. Crits can be quite brutal and demoralizing. Once they are presented, the writer may do three things: 1) ask for clarification of points 2) ask for suggested fixes and 3) thank the critiquers. What they may not do is argue with a crit. Readers rule in writing. If the reader didn't get it, you didn't write it, regardless of what you think. You can't call up an editor who rejects your story or your readers and argue with them. What's on the page is all you have, so you have to get it right.
The Clarion Workshops are six weeks of constant writing and critiquing, as is Odyssey. Viable Paradise, Taos Toolbox, Orson Scott Card's Literary Boot Camp and others are shorter, but the same idea. If you aren't sure you want to do one of these, or don't have the time, and there's no regular critgroup in your area, then you ought to go to the Online Writer's Workshop ("OWW") or Critters (also online). Both have produced professional authors and have many adherents who swear by them. If you don't write science fiction or fantasy, well, that's a little harder. This form of critiquing is almost unique to the genre.
I run my science fiction and fantasy through Critical Mass first, and then my insanely loyal friend, Char. CM gives me crits from the writer perspective, and Char from the reader perspective. Others have also done the reader crits, but Char remains constant because a) she's always honest. We used to be roommates and so there's no artificial politeness there. If it made no sense or irritated her, she'll tell me. And b) because she's got some sort of weird literary deprivation syndrome that makes her crave the written word, even if it's my awful, rough draft prose. She reads voraciously, and is usually wanting way more than I can produce. Other members of CM use her as well. My LDS fiction goes straight to Char and my husband. I'm not sure why it works better that way, it just does. If I had to guess, I'd say because the LDS market has its own conventions and rules that are foreign to CM. Other writer friends and I will also swap crits, meaning send each other stories and each crit the other's, when that's convenient. So, Ben Rosenbaum and Samantha Ling critted Time and Eternity, Ling critted the short story I just submitted to an anthology, and I critted hers (written for the same anthology), and that kind of thing is pretty common.
Anyway, that, I hope, explains critting. If you want to write in the genre, consider finding a critgroup. I'll just add one caveat. Critting isn't for everyone and many pros don't do it. If the dampening effect of all that criticism interferes with your ability to get up the energy to write, then it probably isn't for you. Every writer has to find their own way. For me, critting has been essential and I've maintained a lot of the contacts that I have through critting, so I can't imagine launching a career without it.
Critiques are opinions given by fellow writers on what is and isn't working in a story. The slang term for them is "crits", and many professional writers are members of crit groups. Mine is called Critical Mass (yes, I know, very punny) and is probably one of the best ones out there right now because of its longevity (we're going on, what? 9 years) and the success of its members. For example, S.M. Stirling had a solid career when he started, and is now hitting the NYT extended list (means it's a bestseller, but not yet in the top ten) and his last contract was for precisely one and a half craploads of money. Melinda Snodgrass, Ian Tregillis, and Daniel Abraham had all either not sold a novel ever, or in Melinda's case, hadn't since their previous writing career (many people have a few rounds of moving in and out of the business.) All three have sold multiple novels to major publishing houses. I hadn't sold a single thing, ever. I was admitted to this group, which is pros only, under the Clarion exception, meaning I could play because I was a graduate of the Clarion West workshop. I remain their least accomplished regularly attending member, with only a few short story sales and some small press novels. I don't mind being below average in such a group :-).
Anyway, how do crits better people's careers? The obvious answer is that they show people their weaknesses and explain fixes, but there's quite a bit more to it than that. Science fiction and fantasy have some longstanding crit techniques that can be traced back to (to my knowledge) the Milford Workshop, and this same technique is used at the Clarion workshops and most critgroups and forums. It works like this: You write your story or book and turn it in to the group by a deadline. The group members all read and then you meet for critiques or post them on a forum. In a face to face meeting, everyone has a time limit and you go around the circle. People present their crits orally and may also give the writer written notes. Crits can be quite brutal and demoralizing. Once they are presented, the writer may do three things: 1) ask for clarification of points 2) ask for suggested fixes and 3) thank the critiquers. What they may not do is argue with a crit. Readers rule in writing. If the reader didn't get it, you didn't write it, regardless of what you think. You can't call up an editor who rejects your story or your readers and argue with them. What's on the page is all you have, so you have to get it right.
The Clarion Workshops are six weeks of constant writing and critiquing, as is Odyssey. Viable Paradise, Taos Toolbox, Orson Scott Card's Literary Boot Camp and others are shorter, but the same idea. If you aren't sure you want to do one of these, or don't have the time, and there's no regular critgroup in your area, then you ought to go to the Online Writer's Workshop ("OWW") or Critters (also online). Both have produced professional authors and have many adherents who swear by them. If you don't write science fiction or fantasy, well, that's a little harder. This form of critiquing is almost unique to the genre.
I run my science fiction and fantasy through Critical Mass first, and then my insanely loyal friend, Char. CM gives me crits from the writer perspective, and Char from the reader perspective. Others have also done the reader crits, but Char remains constant because a) she's always honest. We used to be roommates and so there's no artificial politeness there. If it made no sense or irritated her, she'll tell me. And b) because she's got some sort of weird literary deprivation syndrome that makes her crave the written word, even if it's my awful, rough draft prose. She reads voraciously, and is usually wanting way more than I can produce. Other members of CM use her as well. My LDS fiction goes straight to Char and my husband. I'm not sure why it works better that way, it just does. If I had to guess, I'd say because the LDS market has its own conventions and rules that are foreign to CM. Other writer friends and I will also swap crits, meaning send each other stories and each crit the other's, when that's convenient. So, Ben Rosenbaum and Samantha Ling critted Time and Eternity, Ling critted the short story I just submitted to an anthology, and I critted hers (written for the same anthology), and that kind of thing is pretty common.
Anyway, that, I hope, explains critting. If you want to write in the genre, consider finding a critgroup. I'll just add one caveat. Critting isn't for everyone and many pros don't do it. If the dampening effect of all that criticism interferes with your ability to get up the energy to write, then it probably isn't for you. Every writer has to find their own way. For me, critting has been essential and I've maintained a lot of the contacts that I have through critting, so I can't imagine launching a career without it.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Enjoying the freewrite
Well, I didn't mean to ignore my blog for a week, but I knew things would be hectic. We were in Wyoming last week, at a family reunion on the Tippetts' side, and that was really, really great. I managed to get sick, though, and missed out on the family camping trip, and then I passed the virus along to my husband and son. Trevor was home from work today, sleeping, and my son had to go to the emergency room last night. He's fine, but because he'd thrown up a few times they wanted to make sure he wasn't dehydrated.
So, anyway, I was rambling on about freewriting last post. As I've gotten back into freewriting with this latest project, I'm remembering that one of the biggest challenges is enjoying the process. That isn't to say that freewriting is especially hard or arduous. Really, it's rather a lot like running off at the mouth, only writing it down, and hey, who doesn't excel at that? Enjoyment is necessary, though, or else all you end up with are pointless ramblings on a page. I can derive enjoyment from venting anger, working out a sticky problem, or just being whimsical. All that is essential is that I'm doing something that keeps me interested and engaged, because if it doesn't interest and captivate me, it surely won't interest anyone else.
When writing, I always assume there's a multiplier effect (yes, I was an econ major in college :-). If my interest is 1 (say that equals: "hmmm, yeah, okay, I'll keep going with this") the audience interest is .1 (which equals: "okay, bored now. Wonder what other books are on this bookstore shelf?") .1 may even be a little generous. It's necessary to be passionate about what you're writing because people will pick up the essence of that passion when they read. It doesn't matter what sparks the passion, only that it's there, and I use freewriting to empty myself out and find what gets my emotions rolling. I've had some success over the past few months with projects I plotted and planned out, and that's great. They sold, and they feel very complete and polished to me, but I'm remembering how important it is to not let myself sink too deeply into that groove. What I've written is a complete mess, but it occupies my mind even when I'm not writing it, which means I'm on to something and ready to see where it takes me.
We'll see if it results in something publishable!
So, anyway, I was rambling on about freewriting last post. As I've gotten back into freewriting with this latest project, I'm remembering that one of the biggest challenges is enjoying the process. That isn't to say that freewriting is especially hard or arduous. Really, it's rather a lot like running off at the mouth, only writing it down, and hey, who doesn't excel at that? Enjoyment is necessary, though, or else all you end up with are pointless ramblings on a page. I can derive enjoyment from venting anger, working out a sticky problem, or just being whimsical. All that is essential is that I'm doing something that keeps me interested and engaged, because if it doesn't interest and captivate me, it surely won't interest anyone else.
When writing, I always assume there's a multiplier effect (yes, I was an econ major in college :-). If my interest is 1 (say that equals: "hmmm, yeah, okay, I'll keep going with this") the audience interest is .1 (which equals: "okay, bored now. Wonder what other books are on this bookstore shelf?") .1 may even be a little generous. It's necessary to be passionate about what you're writing because people will pick up the essence of that passion when they read. It doesn't matter what sparks the passion, only that it's there, and I use freewriting to empty myself out and find what gets my emotions rolling. I've had some success over the past few months with projects I plotted and planned out, and that's great. They sold, and they feel very complete and polished to me, but I'm remembering how important it is to not let myself sink too deeply into that groove. What I've written is a complete mess, but it occupies my mind even when I'm not writing it, which means I'm on to something and ready to see where it takes me.
We'll see if it results in something publishable!
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