Monica Valentinelli's Blog: booksofm.com, page 77

On the Words “Strong Female Characters”

There’s been a rash of people talking about “strong female characters” for a while. The phrase really grates on my sensibilities because many have used it to describe the fact that their characters are feminist. And then my head explodes.

Descriptors are adjectives on a character write-up. Class: Barbarian. Sex: Female. Primary trait: strong. So yes, in that case the character is strong and female. Whoopie. In order for her to be feminist or strong or whatever, she’d have to be characterized as such. Ah, grasshopper, therein lies the crux of my description problem: character traits versus characterization. No character has internal strength that’s visible to the reader unless they are thrown into a scenario where that shines through that scene or set of scenes. But, even then, there’s a character arc that follows through the story that provides her with the opportunity to change. So some characters may start out as “weak” and wind up “strong” through the heroic journey. We may not like change in real life but a story has to have it. Has to. Conflict of all sorts is what drives the characters to go forth and do.

Feminism, on the other hand, has been grossly misrepresented in my opinion. In recent years, this term has come to mean “a fierce, independent woman.” This, cats and kittens, is NOT what feminism is. Let me quote this definition from the Feminist Majority Foundation: “Feminism n. the policy, practice or advocacy of political, economic, and social equality for women.“

So how exactly is a “strong, female character” a feminist? She’s not, because you can have a strong character who doesn’t give a flying fig about feminism nor does she live up to those ideals. The woman who stands by her misogynistic man can be strong. A female character who subjugates other women to save herself can also be characterized as “strong.” A woman who believes in the precepts of feminism but doesn’t really do anything that speaks to her ideals can be strong, too.

The nature of strength, like any other internal attribute, is relative. The term is about as useful as saying a character has blonde hair. What I feel is “strong” may be different from what another author or reader does. This (like the treatment of women) can also be cultural depending upon where you live, what family you hail from, etc. This is where the story becomes crucial to shape a character, regardless of whether or not she’s iconic.

That’s not to say I ever want to be antagonistic about the use of the terms “strong, female characters” or “feminism” — especially within the context of fiction. What I’m trying to convey is that perhaps talking about strong, female character types warrants more discussion about feminism, and not be simply thrown into a line to placate the crowd based on a common perception. (Though, for as much as I am complaining about the misuse of language, we’ve come a loooooooong way baby. Try reading or listening to a chronological progression of fiction featuring female characters through the twentieth century some time. It’s an ed-u-cation.)

Personally, I think it’s a disservice to any reader to lump all male, transgender, and female characters underneath the same banner. (Same goes for ANY class of human beings, really, whether its based on religion or race or profession or age, etc.) Instead of putting guilty labels on characters, I’d love to see more discussion about what an author is doing within the boundaries of that specific story. Maybe by identifying how an author is characterizing a particular character others will start learning what feminism really is — if that is their goal. Otherwise, I’ll just chalk up “strong, female characters” to what they really are: the modern-day woman.

Mood: Pulp-y with a side of OJ

Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: In recovery. (SERIOUSLY.)

Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Walk.

In My Ears: Screaming dust bunnies

Game Last Played: Battle Nations

Movie Last Viewed: Indiana Jones marathon

Latest Artistic Project: Crystal Cluster bracelet in gold

Latest Release: “Don’t Ignore Your Dead” included in Don’t Read This Book for the Don’t Rest Your Head RPG

Reasons #2,358 Why I Love Animals

March of the Penguins? Nope. Today’s post is about the funeral march of the elephants. I’ve heard about elephants doing amazing things, like painting with their trunks, but stories about their interactions with humans often elude me because I’m not well-versed in conservation news. This one struck me in the eye. In March, elephant conservationalist Lawrence Anthony passed away from a heart attack. Before he died, the elephants started walking to his home, which was over twelve hours away. Once there, they stood watch for two days. Their way of saying good-bye to their friend?

What an incredible story. Read “Saying Goodbye: Elephants Hold Apparent Vigil To Mourn Their Human Friend.”

Mood: In Awe

Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Am I supposed to confess that? Or…

Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Walk.

In My Ears: A metallic concoction of guitars and scratchy voices

Game Last Played: Battle Nations

Movie Last Viewed: Harry Potter as part of a marathon

Latest Artistic Project: Crystal Cluster bracelet in gold

Latest Release: “Don’t Ignore Your Dead” included in Don’t Read This Book for the Don’t Rest Your Head RPG

Anti-Intellectualism (Or Why We Need Teachers)

I stumbled across an article from The Guardian titled Anti-intellectualism is taking over the US and this passage induce a fair amount of anger in me:

The anti-ethnic studies law passed by the state prohibits teachings that “promote the overthrow of the United States government,” “promote resentment toward a race or class of people,” “are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group,” and/or “advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.” — SOURCE: Anti-intellectualism is taking over the US: The rise in academic book bannings and firings is compounded by the US’s growing disregard for scholarship itself

This infuriates me because books are an opportunity to teach, not censor. I read controversial books, banned books, books that could have turned me into a racist bigot — but they didn’t. Why? Because they were used to teach me about other human beings, cultures, places in the world. I learned (hopefully you think this, too) how to be a better, more tolerant, human being by reading, discussing, critiquing lots and lots of books — and I’m still learning!

We need good teachers who are experts in their field and their techniques because we can’t all be proficient at every subject matter in existence. It is possible, even outside academia, to be a student. Yes, you can acquire information from reading a Wikipedia entry or talking to someone, but I believe you can’t really learn something unless you are given the opportunity to understand it in an environment that promotes education. Memorization, terse headlines, these are the ephemera of our day. But teachers? Irreplaceable.

Mood: Feisty

Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Two with the potential for three.

Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Walk.

In My Ears: Birds chirping.

Game Last Played: Battle Nations

Movie Last Viewed: Harry Potter as part of a marathon

Latest Artistic Project: Crystal Cluster bracelet in gold

Latest Release: “Don’t Ignore Your Dead” included in Don’t Read This Book for the Don’t Rest Your Head RPG

Joining the Alliterates

Today, I am pleased to announce I have joined The Alliterates. This professional group of writers encompasses a range of talented authors from every facet of fiction imaginable. What are we up to?

Let me start with some of the other authors who have gotten back to me before I share some of my news. Matt Forbeck just released his new ’12 for ’12 Kickstarter Dangerous Games, which is a trilogy of thrillers set at GenCon. He also just released Brave New World Revolution.

Dave Gross started as lead writer over at Overhaul Games, where their first project is Baldur’s Gate: Expanded Edition.

Doug Niles is celebrating a nonfiction release called We Were Berliners – From Weimar to the Wall. He was the ghostwriter on the project.

Jeff Grubb hit the New York Times Bestseller’s List with his first Star Wars novel titled Scourge.

Stephen Sullivan has been working on short stories and there’s quite a few of them out including a few collections. The Crimson Collection is his most recent book and Front Harrow #1: Scream Lover will be an upcoming debut.

Bruce Cordell has a new novel coming out in June called Spinner of Lies, too.

My recent news is that Prime Books will be publishing Extreme Zombies. Edited by Paula Guran, the anthology will include “Tomorrow’s Precious Lambs,” a story by yours truly. Of course, I have a new science fiction novella out called Redwing’s Gambit, which is based on the Bulldogs! setting, and a new short story titled “Don’t Ignore Your Dead” which is part of the Don’t Read This Book collection put together by editor Chuck Wendig for the Don’t Rest Your Head RPG. We just got on the Stoker reading list, too! I’ll have a few more announcements as the summer goes on, but that’s about it for now.

On Amanda Palmer. The Music.

To understand what I think of Amanda Palmer‘s music, you should probably know I am a music snob. After being in and around music so long, you tend to have certain preferences or you get stuck with your favorites. Sure, I had a long, cold pause of not investigating the new and the shiny, which is why that’s pretty much all I’ve been doing lately. Only, I can’t stand auto-tuners or pre-manufactured songs that don’t fit the artist’s range. I understand why these things exist, but to me a lot of technological “bling” removes that irreplaceable personal element. I don’t want perfection. I want soul. Empathy. Humanity. Personality. I want the singer’s voice to show who they are and not turn into something we — the listeners — worship.

The artists I most admire are the ones who have a range, depth, and breadth to their repertoire. Who are not afraid to be naked up on stage in a way that makes them vulnerable, that forces us to understand our own pain and joy. To force us to plummet into the depths of ourselves and lift us up at the same time.

Being as picky as I am, you can imagine how turned off I am by any sort of hype. It’s impossible for me to embrace that shiny new release without hearing samples first or waiting a month until the reviews come out. But this time? I did something that I didn’t expect. I fell for the artist *before* I listened to her music. On the first day of Amanda Palmer’s Kickstarter, you better believe I donated. This wasn’t marketing, this was personality. This was art. This was excitement in a way that is not faked, replicated, or disingenuine. This was an experience.

Then, last week, I got the first single Do It With A Rockstar in my InBox which is the first time we’ve also heard the musical stylings of The Grand Theft Orchestra. I had no expectations mind you. None whatsoever. For all I knew, the music could have been crap, and I still would have bought it because of my views on art as Art. And then? I fell in love. With orchestration. With complexity. With vocals that weren’t auto-tuned or prefabricated, but a voice that had to sing, because in between each note was pure, unadulterated joy.

I wound up buying Who Killed Amanda Palmer the other day and heard a story embedded each song. This, even though there is marketing and commercialism and all of that necessary crap, is a true musician working with other artists who are having fun creating music as a shared experience. I imagine Amanda and the artists she’s worked with could bring to life a small stage just as much as she’d be able to light up a stadium. She’d be just as comfortable singing to herself as she would the President, too. We could all be so lucky, to live in our art in way that lights up the world. How damn inspiring.

So yes, as her website declares, she is Amanda “Fucking” Palmer.

Mood: Hell-bent on selling a novel so I can raise money for my music and art habits.

Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: I lost count.

Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Not enough.

In My Ears: Who Killed Amanda Palmer

Game Last Played: Battle Nations

Movie Last Viewed: Harry Potter as part of a marathon

Latest Artistic Project: Crystal Cluster bracelet in gold

Latest Release: “Don’t Ignore Your Dead” included in Don’t Read This Book for the Don’t Rest Your Head RPG

Need Some New Jams

Hey, so I’m looking to expand my musical horizons a bit. I have a few playlists that I created on iTunes and I definitely want to add to a few of them and stretch outside the box. First, you should know that I have a very eclectic taste in music. For the right mood, I will play the same collection over and over again, even if it’s not my usual fare. I love movie and television show soundtracks because I can get a really good, eclectic mix of songs that are usually variations on a theme. For example, The Power of One soundtrack is a gorgeous selection of typically a capella music with drums. On the other hand, the Queen of the Damned soundtrack allows me to lurk in the dark and think of vampires. Heh, heh. I tend to go for quality over popularity, too, though I really love Queen, which means I adore Muse, too. Yes, and Metallica. OF COURSE I LOVE METALLICA. For female artists, my current fav is Adelle.

The playlists I have right now are dubbed: Angst Music, Final Fantasy, High Energy, Industrial Heaven, Moody as Hell, Movie Soundtracks, New Agey De-Stress, She-Ra POWAH, and Whiny Uk-ish Boy Bands. My salsa collection is sorely lacking and my blues and jazz? Non-existent. (Also, not a fan of auto-tuning and I have enough dance music for the moment, anyway.) I am, however, getting back into punk and what I call punk-lite.

So recommend me your wildest musicians, your best albums, and your favorite artists. My playlist will thank you later. May even have to add a new one or two…

Mood: This [] close to buying a mike and a keyboard.

Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Just shoot it up my veins, man.

Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Walkin’ and walkin’.

In My Ears: Um… I don’t want to say. It’s embarrassing.

Game Last Played: Battle Nations

Movie Last Viewed: Harry Potter as part of a marathon

Latest Artistic Project: Crystal Cluster bracelet in gold

Latest Release: “Don’t Ignore Your Dead” included in Don’t Read This Book for the Don’t Rest Your Head RPG

My Balticon Schedule

Next week, I will be reading Redwing’s Gambit at Balticon in Baltimore, Maryland. I’ll also be bringing samples from Steve Jackson Games and will attend and speak on several panels. If you’re at this show, come say hello!

Here’s my schedule for Balticon 46:

G-2. Game Production from Concept To Reality

Friday at 5:30 pm in Parlor 3041

Have you ever come up with an idea for a game and wondered how to go about creating it, play-testing it, marketing it, and producing it? Come to this panel to talk to several game creators as well as someone from the manufacturing and production/marketing side of game design.

Moderator: Bill T. Levay
Speakers: Monica Valentinelli; Peter BL!X Bryant; Neal Levin; Art Blumberg

SE-9a. Friday Face Time: Meet the Guests — Mix and Mingle

Friday at 9:00 pm in Con-Suite



Mix and mingle with the Guests of Honor and Balticon 46 Program Participants.
Moderator: Con Chair Patti Kinlock
Speakers: Jody Lynn Nye (Guest of Honor)

R-67. The Generation Starship Concept As A Locus For Stories

Saturday at 10:00 am in Salon A

Since 1934, we have kept telling stories set inside those space arks, drawing a constant sense of fascination from the basic dramatic premises of the idea. Why? What is it that attracts readers and writers to generation starship stories? Also, what kind of generation starship stories would we like to write or read next?
Moderator: David Batchelor
Speakers: Monica Valentinelli; Paul D, Lagasse; Simone Caroti; Jody Lynn Nye (Guest of Honor)

G-6. What are The Best 2-Player Games?

Saturday at 2:00 pm in Parlor 3041

Do you have trouble finding more than 2 people to play games with? How many times have you looked at your game collection and wondered what game would work well for 2? Come find out what games can be great fun for only 2 players.
Moderator: Donna Dearborn
Speakers: Monica Valentinelli; Cathy Raymond; Art Blumberg; Eric B. (Hymie!) Hymowitz

Reading: Monica Valentinelli

Saturday at 8:30 pm in Pimlico

Monica Valentinelli reads from her works.
Speakers: Monica Valentinelli

R-68. The Nature of Faster-Than-Light Travel as An SF Trope

Sunday at 1:00 pm in Salon A

Some SF writers will not use it in their stories, because it may not even be possible and therefore smacks too much of the magical. Others happily use it, reasoning that what was considered impossible in the past is commonplace technology today, and the same will be true of FTL travel.
Moderator: Eric Raymond
Speakers: Monica Valentinelli; Simone Caroti; David Batchelor; Yoji Kondo/Eric Kotani

</ br>

Munchkin the Guild!

Guess what started shipping??? Munchkin the Guild!!! This 15 card booster set is compatible with any Munchkin game and it’s based on the web series The Guild. We also released two Munchkin promo cards at PAX East which you can see on our Steve Jackson Games Flickr account. Our online store, Warehouse 23, has been adding these randomly to orders.

Does the artwork seems familiar? This booster set was drawn by artist Len Peralta, who also illustrates the Geek-a-Week cards. It’s pretty cool to see these out now — especially since we debuted them early at PAX East. If you’re interested in a copy, I’m sure your Friendly Local Game Store will have one.

New Tron Series

Disney Animated is going to offer a new Tron series called TRON: UPRISING. After watching Beck’s Beginning, which I’ve embedded below, I have high hopes for what they can do. The artistic feel is still Disney, but it also echoes Ghost in the Shell. If the right audience responds to this, we’ll have a brand new audience who digs a cutting-edge science fiction series. Only good can come out of that in my book!

Mood: Aspiring and perspiring

Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Trying to be good!

Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Bendy-ness

In My Ears: Children screaming. (Kill me now.)

Game Last Played: Battle Nations

Movie Last Viewed: Harry Potter as part of a marathon

Latest Artistic Project: Cross-stitch

Latest Release: “Don’t Ignore Your Dead” included in Don’t Read This Book for the Don’t Rest Your Head RPG

Redwing’s Gambit Design Essay Round-Up and Reviews

Redwing’s Gambit has been out now for a little while. I just finished the design essay series about this story based on the Bulldogs! RPG, am knee-deep in revisions for the Kickstarter short story, and am reading a portion of the tale at Balticon this weekend. Since I covered quite a bit of the process on my blog, I thought I’d grab those links for you and a few quotes from the reviews.

One reviewer pointed out what so many other fans have told me, that Fang was their favorite character: First of all, it has an ass kicking teddy bear. How do you go wrong with that? I haven’t enjoyed reading about a teddy bear this much since The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse by Robert Rankin. The story is basically a ragtag bunch of space couriers, whose job is to deliver a “package”, which pretty much sums up the Bulldogs game….well, minus all the hijinks that can ensue.

This reviewer figured out what my goal was for the novella and then went on to talk about the characters. “Redwing’s Gambit is a pleasant mix of science fiction action and suspense. Valentinelli deftly weaves her narrative through the corridors of the Haldis. Traditional sci-fi tropes such as the mysterious ship saboteur and disappearing crew members fit well for the story that Valentinelli is telling. As someone who had no previous exposure to Galileo Games Bulldogs setting, the use of these traditional tropes helped to keep me in the story as I built my understanding of the universe.”

You can read both of those reviews beneath the Redwing’s Gambit on Amazon.com listing.

I dove deep into the design essays so you could get a feel for the process. Here’s a list of articles with excerpts for you to check out if you haven’t already:

Constructing Redwing’s Gambit: Easter Eggs – Part 5 of 5 – The goal of this story was to help you get to know the characters and based on the reviews so far? That’s what you got out of it, too. Here are a few “easter eggs” to show you how some elements in