Rachel Neumeier's Blog, page 290

Alone time

Speaking as practically the Platonic Ideal of the Introvert, I appreciated this tidbit: 25 famous women on being alone.

I most identify with this quote from Susan Cain:

“People sometimes seem surprised when I say this, because I’m a pretty friendly person. This is one of the greatest misconceptions about introversion. We are not anti-social; we’re differently social. I can’t live without my family and close friends, but I also crave solitude.”

On the other hand, as far as I’m concerned, this bit from Chelsea Handler is perhaps a bit over the top:

“It’s not just O.K. to be single for both men and women — it’s wonderful to be single, and society needs to embrace singlehood in all its splendiferous, solitary glory.”

Listen, there is no need to exalt solitude or singlehood. Speaking as a woman who’s always been single, it’s not glorious. It’s just another perfectly fine, perfectly acceptable way of living your life. It has some benefits and some costs, like every other way of living your life. I never fretted over not being married or not having children, but I would never suggest to anyone that it’s better to be single. Or non-single. Both are fine. Can we just appreciate the fact that modern society offers us so many options these days and not try to prove that whatever we’ve chosen is somehow superior?

Anyway, lots of thought-provoking full quotes at the link.

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Beware the kraken!

Via File 770, this fabulous and extremely elaborate practical joke.

I’m not normally fond of practical jokes. Too often they’re set up to make someone look stupid and feel foolish. But this one is actually pretty delightful.

Tell me you wouldn’t have fallen for this?

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Is there such a thing as quality?

That’s the question which struck me when I saw the program title: Best and Worst of Young Adult Novels

Best is no problem! But I was not going to point out “worst” — even though I come down emphatically on the “Of course there’s such a thing as quality; I knows it when I sees it” side of the fence on that question. Which is separate from questions about taste and personal preference.

Well, we didn’t discuss the question of whether quality exists and how you can objectively reach a decision about the quality of a particular work. That might have been a fun discussion, but we didn’t go there. Cole Gibson did a fine job of moderating; we talked about some of the YA works that have impressed us the most, about some of the tropes and trends we most appreciate or most dislike, and other related topics. I didn’t take extensive notes, but I know I mentioned being totally tired of sexy vampires and a couple of other panelists — Deborah Millitello for one, and I think Rich Horton — nodded toward dystopia as something they’d be glad never to see again. The other panelist, Sarah Jude, writes horror, so dark is probably not a problem for her, though I don’t recall her specific like it / don’t like it opinion about dystopia.

Still, I’d kind of like to address the question of quality. Here’s what I think:

Outside of question of taste, some books are definitely just better with regard to:

a) The actual writing

b) Worldbuilding and atmosphere

c) Clever plotting

d) Interesting, unusual character and subversion or avoidance of common stereotypes (The Brooding Bad Boy With a Sensitive Side) and cliched tropes (The prophecy that the last true heir of the throne will someday defeat the dark lord).

BUT!

When you’re talking about stories aimed toward younger readers, well, there’s one thing we can say for sure about virtually all younger readers: They haven’t read as many books as avid readers three or four times their age. Thus, I would argue, the sorts of stereotyped characters and overused tropes that annoy older readers are not as likely to bother younger readers, who simply haven’t encountered them as often.

So, when it comes to books aimed at younger readers, I would argue that (d) counts very little or not at all as a component of quality.

I may be biased, because the fact is, I myself read way fewer books than a lot of people. About 100 a year, which is paltry compared to the number of books I would read if I weren’t writing, and very paltry compared to the number a lot of avid readers get through. Thus when people say they’re tired of dystopia, I’m not. I haven’t actually read all that many dystopian stories. The same goes for most other out-of-fashion trends. Though I am tired of sparkly vampires, it’s partly or mostly because that was a hard sell for me in the first place. So I would say: If the author does a really good job with a, b, and c, almost anything *could* work for me, even if I particularly appreciate a cleverly subverted prophecy.

So I think I’m generally going to come down on the side of arguing that (d) is really not a very important aspect of quality.

What do you all think? What aspects of a book seem most important to you in terms of pushing a book up to the “Best” category, or shoving it down toward “Worst”?

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Writing supporting characters

Well, now. Surely writing supporting characters is a lot like writing main characters, yes? Only different.

I’m not moderating the panel on this topic, so I feel no need to come up with a dozen questions so I can make sure the panel keeps moving along. But I did do some thinking about this, along the lines of:

What is a supporting character, anyway?

And here’s what I came up with:

a) A supporting character *could* be a secondary pov protagonist. It depends. If he/she is a supporting character, then the pov time should be substantially less than for the actual protagonist. But it’s not unusual to give a supporting character a little pov time.

b) More often, a supporting character does not get pov time, but he or she is named and has an important role in the story.

c) Every now and then, the protagonist is not the pov character, which does weird things to the protagonist/supporting character idea. Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond Chronicles is an example. Francis Crawford is the protagonist, he centers the action and drives the plot, but he is not the pov character at any point in the series.

d) It should not be possible to mistake one supporting character for another. Aragorn does not speak or think or react like Legolas or Gimli or even Boromir, far less Samwise.

e) Every supporting character has his or her own backstory, traits, motivations, intentions, goals, attitudes, and point of view. The most important supporting characters should probably have their own character arcs.

f) And perhaps most important: Any supporting character will probably work best for avid readers if he or she is not a total cliche. By definition avid readers read lots of books. They are going to notice particular supporting characters that turn up over and over. The gay male friend of the plucky female protagonist, for example. Also the Irascible Older Mentor and The Naive Girl Who Needs Things Explained To Her.

Now, here is a related question: Is it okay to kill a supporting character? I mean, assuming the death drives the plot in some important way and isn’t just there to provide a tearjerker moment. I went back and forth on killing an important supporting character in a recently completed novel, and I guess I better not tell you which book or which side of the fence I landed on, but I will say, it was a tough choice even though I do like the way the story came out.

Okay, and last: A good clear example of supporting characters in an ensemble cast: The Wings of Fire series by Tui Sutherland. Five books in which each of the five main characters takes a turn as the pov protagonist, the others playing a supporting role in each others’s stories. What a handy thing I read that series right before being put on this panel, because I can’t think of a better series to look at if you are interested in how to handle a central protagonist and a crowd of important supporting characters.

Another, that I read years ago and really want to re-read, is the Tomorrow When the War Began series by John Marsden. That one is a little different in that the protagonist is the same all the way through and the story is told in the first person. A great choice for looking at a different way to handle supporting characters; again, there’s a number of very important supporting characters and they do all have plot arcs of their own.

That’s a MG and a YA series. Now, an adult series …

Okay, how about the Vorkosigan books? There again we get a large cast (because the series is pretty long), with various characters taking center stage and always a lot of important supporting characters, all handled very effectively.

Anybody got another book or series in mind that shows particularly good supporting characters?

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Archon #40

Archon, a small, writing-focused convention right across the river from St. Louis, is taking place this coming weekend. I always enjoy Archon — I like its size, it’s generally well-run, it’s very author-friendly, and I meet some of the same people every year, which is such a pleasure. Plus of course it’s an hour and a half away, rather than way far away.

Now, as you may have realized, I like panels — and I nearly always prefer to be on the panel rather than in the audience. I think I must have said, in the programming survey, “Sure, put me on as many panels as you like!” Because I’m on seven. That’s fine! But it sure will keep me busy.

As you will have seen if you subscribed to my Brand! New! Newsletter! — link at the top of the page, see, right up there, you can click on the link right this minute if you haven’t yet — then you already know my schedule. But of course if you subscribed after the newsletter was sent, you may not, so:

My first Friday panel is “Is “said” really invisible?” Of course I’ll be arguing vehemently that it can be EXTREMELY visible, and that other sorts of dialogue tags can be invisible — I’ll be drawing heavily on this post about dialogue tags from back in (wow) 2013. That seems really long ago now. But I still agree with everything I put in that post. I’m moderating that panel, so it’ll be my job to draw out other panelists and keep the panel on topic, and we’ll see if there’s basic agreement or (better for the energy level of the panel) strong disagreement.

Also on Friday: “Writing Supporting Characters” and a “Worldcon 74 Recap”

On Saturday: “The Science in Science Fiction: the Plausible vs. the Fantastic”

And on Sunday: “Horse Stories” and “Best and Worst in YA Novels” and . . . last one, and most interesting to me at the moment . . . “Rescuing Your ‘Trunk Novels'”

I’ll be posting on most of these topics (not the Worldcon Recap, probably), so you can watch this space for these topics.

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The most rewatchable movies

At 538, a fun post: the most rewatchable movies of all time.

What do you suppose is #1? Got a guess?

The winner — this was done with a general poll — is Star Wars.

Well? What do you think? I must admit I do not feel any desire to rewatch any part of the Star Wars franchise, not even the original trilogy, which I enjoyed at the time.

Walt Hickey provides the top 25 movies overall, then breaks the list by gender and provides the top 25 for men and women separately. Click through to see all that — it’s interesting — but here are just the top 5 movies by the respondent’s gender:

For men: Star Wars, The Godfather, TLotR, The Wizard of oz, Pulp Fiction.

For women: The Wizard of Oz, The Sound of Music, Gone With the Wind, Star Wars, TLotR.

Hmm. Hmmmmmmm.

For me, if I had to pick just from that set of movies, I would order them this way:

TLotR, The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz, no real interest in any of the rest of them, especially not Gone With the Wind.

I go back and forth between the men’s list and the women’s. Let’s see. Sticking with the two lists of twenty-five each, I think I’d pick:

1. TLotR — from both lists

2. The Shawshank Redemption — from both lists

3. The Sound of Music — from both lists (surprisingly) (or at least I find that surprising).

Aaaand … now I’m going to be girly and go for the women’s list:

4. Dirty Dancing

5. Pretty Woman

Interestingly, a couple of my own personal most-watched movies are not on either list. I’d kinda expect them on the men’s list:

6. The Hunt for Red October. Or maybe I’d expect that on the women’s list, because, you know, Sean Connery.

7. The Fugitive. I loved that movie.

Also, I really love some of the Jane Austen movies, but Pride and Prejudice wasn’t my favorite. The one I’ve gone back to is:

8. Sense and Sensibility. Great film.

Of the animated films, The Lion King and Finding Nemo make appearances on the lists. I was actually so underwhelmed by both of those. Of all animated films, the ones I’ve rewatched more than twice each are:

9. The Incredibles

10. Up.

Okay, how about you? Do any of the films from the lists belong on your most-rewatched lists? What is missing from those lists that totally should be on there?

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Late-blooming writers

Here’s a post at Clarksworld by Kelly Robson, who had her first fiction sale at age 47.

Everyone feels like it’s too late. Writers in their twenties say they feel their opportunities are slipping away. Even writers with shelves of awards and mile-long bibliographies don’t feel like they’ve made it.

Success is a receding target. Having previously written and published good stories is no guarantee of being able to write another one. Every blank page is a new challenge. Starting a new book means learning to write all over again.

So don’t give up. Don’t quit. It’s never too late—not at any age.

I think this is true — like, basically always true. Naturally I don’t find the whole article resonates for me. Like that part where she says that authors might be better off delaying publication because the delay can make them a better writer — once again, perhaps true for Robson, but obviously not true across the board. It’s important not to generalize too broadly from your personal experience. Robson does nod to this, but it’s worth emphasizing because she does seem to come down a little bit on the side of everyone-would-be-better-off-if-they-did-it-like-me.

This part resonates, though:

It’s never too late—not at any age. Find your own path, wherever it may lead. Being a late bloomer can be an incredible gift. It can lead to successes you never dreamed of.

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Public service message: Have you seen this about Chronic Fatigue?

Okay, look, I just came across this article about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Wait, I mean this article about the inexcusable, appalling so-called research upon which pointless therapies have been prescribed for a decade for people who suffer from CFS.

Which, given the article plus following links, let me say, nobody seems yet to have proposed a really good name for this condition. Jeez, people. It is not that hard. Let me do it for you: Chronic exercise-induced myasthenia. There, see? That’s quite clear as soon as you know that myasthenia means muscle weakness.

Now, listen. Apparently this big PACE study — I mean “study” — published in Lancet a decade ago suggested that improvement all the way to full recovery might be expected for patients who availed themselves of therapy plus gradually increasing exercise. To make a long and disgraceful story short, this was totally false. The “study” was so badly conducted that, get this, suffers could simultaneously suffer from a condition serious enough to be eligible for the study while also technically — by the ridiculous criteria of the “scientists” involved — already having recovered. Way to inflate your recovery numbers, moron!

You know what’s worst about this? That Lancet published this piece of crap “study” and then refused to revisit it when it was questioned, even though the “researchers” refused to release their data or methodology.

So, so. If you or someone you know suffers from chronic exercise-induced myasthenia, allow me to suggest you read through the linked article, do some browsing among the links, and if necessary insist that your doctor look for treatments that might, you know, actually address the condition you actually have rather than this all-in-your-head fake condition the PACE “study” insists you have.

You know what this makes me think of? Unfortunately, this article I read recently suggesting that the way studies are designed and funded today means that science is inevitably moving toward shoddy, poorly-designed studies that offer unreliable conclusions. Fantastic.

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Let me draw your attention to…

All right, let me point out to you all the new “Newsletter” header at the top of this page (and every page of the website). That has now gone live — I think! If everything is working as it should.

Okay, now, I’m envisioning this as about a monthly newsletter, maybe every other month or less depending on what all is going on. It’ll feature news about what I’m currently working on, what’s coming up for release or has just been released, and convention appearances. This one is for the coming October and so it includes TWO convention appearances — Archon this weekend (Seven panels! I’ll be SO BUSY) and KidLitCon in the middle of the month.

Charlotte is the program coordinator for this year’s KidLitCon and kindly invited me to participate. This will be my first year attending and I’m definitely looking forward to it!

Also, if you would care to sign up for my newsletter, you’ll notice (you *should* notice; if it’s all working you will notice) a link for a free short story. At the moment, that’s “The Master of Dimilioc,” which as you all know, was included in the first batch of Black Dog short stories. So you most likely already have a copy. When I get to it (…maaaybe pretty soon), I’ll write a new and different story that’s not included anywhere else and make that one the free story. Of course I’ll let you all know about that, and the link will naturally then be updated for the newsletter. I’m kinda hoping for a new short story every couple-three months or thereabouts.

I have a short story out on submission right now (my FIRST EVER submission of a real short story!). If that one gets turned down, hey, you’ll see it as a newsletter link, cause I wrote it for a very specific market and have no plans to submit it elsewhere. It’s the shortest thing I ever wrote, I think, less than 4000 words, but I quite like it, so I’ll be happy to see it out in the world one way or the other.

And if not, well, I do have a scattering of ideas for other stories, some Black Dog related and some not, so I’ll pick a couple and see where they go. Maybe while I’m, ahem, taking a break in October.

So! Newsletter, now available! Like all decent newsletters, it should be easy to sign up and easy to unsign-up, so check it out if you are so inclined.

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The Big Question

Series or standalone?

Here is a post at the B & N blog debating that question.

Aidan: Alright, I’m going to come out of the gates here unequivocally as a lover of standalones.

Corrina: I checked my bookshelf and it’s full of series. Oh, sure, there are a few standalone stories here and there but, mostly, I’m hooked on series.

I could not participate in this debate. Or rather, I would have to switch sides halfway through. I would do this:

Me: When I’m pressed for time, I love me a standalone!

Me (later): Nothing’s better or more welcome than a new installment in a loooong series where the author’s managed to maintain quality straight through.

I have to admit, I am slow to start a longer series and may never get to it, because so often I *am* pressed for time.

On the other hand, nothing’s better than a long series where you really have time to sink into the world and get to know the characters.

Question! Where do trilogies fall? For me, a trilogy has almost none of the “too long to start” factor. A long standalone is often about the same length as a trilogy of moderate size. Only if each book in the trilogy is like six or eight hundred pages do I start to think of it as “kinda too long for right now.”

Recent series I’ve loved:

The Wings of Fire series (five books, ten eventually). But each book is short and simple. Resistance to starting the series: no.

The Steerswoman series (four or so books, unfinished). Oooh, could not do this kind of story as a standalone! It’s too big! Gaah, I want the series to be finished! Resistance to starting this unfinished series: YES but I overcame it.

I’m sure there are other series I both started and finished (what there is of the series) this year, but I have to admit, all year I’ve been leaning more toward standalones.

Aidan and Corrina talk a lot about authorial voice and how a voice that works for you can keep you coming back to a long series, or can attract you to whatever a particular author writes by providing a sense of familiarity. Click through to read the whole thing.

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