Gwendolyn's comments (member since Feb 02, 2009)

Gwendolyn's comments from the Goodreads Sci-Fi/Fantasy Authors group.

... because they help pay the bills and let me spend more time working on my own stories... so that someday I won't have to be anyones ghost writer... and NO! I don't do biographies or autobiographies.

Patients love to pitch story ideas... especially their own, to their doctors, because "you all write books too, eh Doc?" My ears are still smarting from that one.

I tried explaining once that what I mostly write is Fantasy Fiction, but all they heard was the word "Fiction."

"Oh, like those Who-Done-It murder mysteries? Which Tee-Vee show you write fer, Doc?"

After that I stopped speaking about it.

My partner writes for the children's book market (MG & YA), but when people kept asking "which pitcher books are yours..." she starts replying "Hey! How about them Yankees..."

After awhile, when they find out your a writer and ask you what you write... you begin replying "nothing you'd be interested in" and find a way to escape as rapidly as possible.

Maxwell Wrote: Fantasy is anything that cannot happen. Magic, Dragons, Pixies, Santa Claus.

Ack! Sob! Say it ain't so!

Jumps up on Puff's tail and sails hurriedly away with him

Sorry... couldn't resist.

I'm a fantasy writer as well. I rarely wander into that deep pond of Science Fiction, save for my own amusement or as a co-writer.

I'm not a quantum physicist, but it seems to me that they were projecting the idea of FTL (Faster Than Light) drives back when I was a teenager (1950's) ... and since a 'warp drive' is for all intent and purpose just such an FTL device, it has at least a basis in Theoretical Science.

.. and I would point out that there are engineering teams within aerospace company labs that are being paid to develop such ideas.

Science Fiction or pay-check?

The same with 'hyperspace' ... which I've always understood as the manipulation of higher dimensional space in some relative time... which relates to some function of quantum mechanics.

As to Parapsychology and it's ganglia... an entire psuedo-scientific field of study depends more, I think, upon whether you believe the concept that there are higher-function areas of the human brain that are capable of such things if only we can learn how to 'turn them on'.

On this I reserve judgement... for how do twins always seem to know what their other twin is feeling... or when something has happened to the other twin?

How are some people better able to heal themselves than others? Is it simply genetics or does the mind have a say in it as well?

As a physician, I've seen enough occurrences over the years to leave me open to the idea that there might be something to it, although I doubt I would define it as 'telepathy' or 'psychokinetic' 'ability'... if we're using the generally accepted definition of the words.

The bottom line here is that in a 'real' sense, I think they're more theoretical science than anything else.

If I wave my hand at a wall and then walk through it;

Is it magic?

... or is there some form of particle excitation device imbedded in it that has 'dematerialised' the wall?

... or did someone just use a particle beam weapon to disintegrate it?

... or did the stage hand behind the black drape just pull the rope that slid it aside when I signalled by waving my hand at it in a particular way?

My point?

How they're 'used' by an author, and the setting in which he or she places that use, might determine whether it is Science Fiction or Fantasy.

But the real question is ... why does it matter?

It is, after all... fiction.

We, the authors, pull this stuff out of our minds or the ether or wherever it is we gain our inspirations.

We build the worlds our stories are based in or on, and we decide how the physics and everything else in that world is going to work.

It doesn't have to all work the same from one story by one author to the next.

There is no 'standardised playbook' or 'book of rules' for SF or Fantasy or some combination thereof.

Greenleaf has a very good reputation in the industry. They're careful, selective and honest.

Leslie;

Something else to consider; and this in regards to B&N and Borders. Other than the on-line stores, these two appeared at the time (and I think still are) to be the two biggest 'chain stores' for books in this country.

These stores have what they refer to as their 'local author' wall. Most of the stuff on it is tourism or local histories, but they also have space that a 'local' author might, if they can successfully negotiate with the store manager, arrange to inventory copies of their books.

We 'primed the pump' with books at both the nearest stores in both chains here and near our vacation home in Florida and arranged to do readings and signings of the book at those stores as well as several local independents.

Between word of mouth and some good reviews, the book sold well enough given the size of it's niche market... and we did make it into the inventory system of both chains, which put the book into their on-line catalogue.

We then proceeded to occasionally 'nudge' the system by doing exactly what Janny described.

It's still out there and the stores still get orders. Occasionally the sales numbers move rather radically up the scale, then slowly settle back down.

James wrote: "Extra-dimensional, super-smart raccoons determined to control the international production of corn-dogs ..."

You've got to be careful with corn-dogs. The last time we had a run in with them they turned out to be hyper-intelligent pan-dimensional beings on a quest for global domination. We tried everything to rid the galaxy of them... ketchup. mustard, mayonnaise... we even tried malt vinegar.

Nothing worked until we dunked them in beer until they staggered drunkenly into a conveniently placed packing crate... which we quickly sealed and had launched into deep-space along with a thousand gallons of lager.

What the heck... It would would probably make a great children's book... all except the beer and getting them drunk part...

Looks over shoulder

Oh, I'm sorry Paul. Did I just give away the plot from your latest novel?

Returns to original comments

Seriously though, the idea that everything is somehow a derivative of something else would mean that there are no original ideas left.

Following that thought...

Because it's made of wood, a wooden whistle is a derivative of a tree... and therefore jazz is a derivative of all previous forms of music.

Say what?"

The devil is always in the details.

They can always apply to use the same name but with a "dot net", "dot org", "dot biz", "dot info" or "dot asia" because those domain names are as yet unclaimed.

What I do not like about authonomy is the sniping and rude comments that some of the 'gamesters' over there post. They think they're going to win some sort of popularity poll, even if they have to hijack 'libraries' to falsely inflate their own popularity, as if it's a 'Survivors for authors'.

I don't know yet what HarperCollins track record is on optioning electronically published books (e-books) or POD (Print on Demand) books, but lately I've noticed their optioning of self-published first works that have sold well.

In other words, show us you have viable marketability and we'll consider you.

FLYCON 2009

You are cordially invited to attend the first Internet Science Fiction Convention.

... and the best part is that you don't need to leave your "comfy" chair in order to attend.

Activities will be scheduled to occur during the peak hours of every time zone, beginning midnight, Friday March 13th, in Australia.

The convention will include panels on all areas of the speculative fictiondom, podcasts readings, author chats, a dealers room, and much more.

Added activities will be scheduled as the event approaches. There will be a number of sites hosting forum and chat space, with everything co-ordinated through the Live Journal community

Visit here to join the fun.

http://community.livejournal.com/flycon2...

Julianne wrote: "Gwendolyn;

I didn't write the List of Rules. That was Gary. I don't lay down lists of rules...as a rule..."

OOOPS... Didn't read back far enough. Sorry.

As to DOC/DOCX/RTF/TXT ... Whatever the agent, publisher, editor, or client wants, they get.

My agent wants paper most of the time, DOC sometimes, and RTF other times.

(Keep 'em guessing, I guess). Yikes... Weasel Words.

Gwen

Regarding Julianne's List of Rules ...

On the subject of backups; we use Mac's. The programme we use most for general creative writing and editing is CopyRight, which has a built-in version control and backup/archive utilities.

We also use TimeMachine which backs up to a TimeCapsule (as well as being archived to a much larger set of machines.)

On the road, as long as I can establish a WIFI or wired connection to the internet, my backups get to where they're supposed to go.

On editors... I know corporate America has the MicroSlop IV in it's arm, but that is changing.

Although I do use it occasionally for business and to keep up-to-date with the the changes, I wouldn't use MS Word as writing tool if you paid me. It's still too buggy, it still crashes far too often and the damn thing is still a CPU and memory hog, and it still 'litters' the system with it's 'temporary' files that don't go away when they're supposed to. The user interfaces are inconsistent, change with every version, and the tools nd their controls keep moving around.

There are plenty of open-source alternatives that work just as well, if not better, support a broader range of platforms ... and they can all create 'doc' or 'docx' files.

I agree that RTF is still a much more portable format for most people. It also has another advantage...

The actual process of type setting involves converting those 'doc' files to Tex or to LaTex , the formatting language used by most large presses... even the digital ones... to produce postscript formatted output files. RTF is a much closer cousin and easier to import into layout.

Converting proprietary formats such as 'doc', 'docx' (and the list goes on) is time consuming and a pain, especially because they keep changing and adding proprietary extensions.

On the subject of merged documents, the advantage of a merged file is that a single continuous document is easier to 'strip' of 'word processing' commands as it goes to pre-press.

There it's broken into lots of fragments and re-assembled via the typesetting process. and again... this is true even in most digital formatting systems.

Gary Wrote: There used to be a website called something like, "It was a dark and stormy night." They had contests based around that opening line. It was supposed to be a little tongue in cheek. The objective was to overcome the cliché start.

'Tis alive and well.
http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/

Ah... but it takes a large number of enemies to fill a bathing pool, and by then it's gets cold.

Yuck... who wants to bathe in cold blood... even if it is good for the complexion.

*Wicked Grin*

Hi Kelly;

Welcome to the neighbourhood.

Leaves gift basket of chocolates
http://everlastinggiftbaskets.com/ProdIm...

... "blood of my enemies" huh?

Hey Dee.

Another of Paul's kindred spirits?

What is it with men and the blood of their enemies... after which they promptly leave a trail of bloody footprints through the house, dump the whole gory mess of armour and clothing in a pile on he bathroom floor, blood splatter all over the shower walls...

Then go have cold brewski and leave the mess for the women to clean up...

Sigh.

At least I leave my bloody messes in the operating theatre...
Wanders off in search of morning coffee.

Good Luck with the sequel.

A good agent can be invaluable. A great agent can mean the difference between getting a mediocre deal with a small publishing house, an acceptable deal with a large publishing house or a great deal where the author has creative control and asset rights over multiple media formats.

We were lucky. The first book was sold without an agent to a small publishing house. Then, just before the publisher was about to screw their authors with a contract change that was definitely in their own interest and no one else's, we were offered representation by a really great literary agent that was able to not only get around the proposed change but also re-negotiate our contract, to our benefit.

The other positive aspect is that our agent has been able to represent us on both sides of the great pond.

On the other hand... agents are, in our experience, more demanding of their clients than editors at publishing houses. This can be both a blessing and a curse.

Now... how do you get an agent?

Well, here's one way.

http://myweirdandwelcometoit.blogspot.co...

Picking favourites in any genre is hard to do. Here's my top ten...

C.S. Lewis
Mary Stuart
Douglas Adams
Diane Duane
Isaac Asimov
Patricia McKillip
Terry Pratchett
Ursula K. Le Guin
Jonathan Stroud
Patricia Wrede

(oops... should be top 11)

How could I forget Jasper Fforde

Robin wrote: What's with those Brits and all the initials ;-)."

The short answer is ... Tradition.