Sarah Cypher's Blog, page 10

Conference notes, part 1: Writing tips from Naomi Wolf

The San Miguel de Allende Writers Conference wrapped up last week, along with a panoply of workshops and big-name writers headlining the conference catalogue. It was my first opportunity to hear Margaret Atwood speak in person, but I'll write about her later in this series of workshop recaps. I've needed a week to catch up on everything I left at home–work, Arabic lessons, writing, and the ryegrass jungle beyond my office window. Therefore, I am starting off with Naomi Wolf's workshop because it lends itself so well to an organized summary.

First let me say: I love this woman. She has an enormous amount of raw energy. She moved back and forth across the stage and into the front of the aisle, as if we were standing in a big town square instead of a packed lecture hall. And she's a lively and organized thinker, too, moving her talk from the intellectual atmosphere of her childhood, to the sexual harassment scandals at Yale and Cambridge, to the necessity of finding one's true voice.

So, for a seminar about political writing, she walks the talk. The talk was about shedding the invisible rules we've grown up with. (I felt the message was addressed to women, especially, but it was inclusive.) And the "walk" is powerful, persuasive writing that comes from questioning and/or rejecting those rules, speaking your truth, and using it to create change in the world.

She offer six pointers for finding your true voice, and some tips for good activist writing.

1. Get used to being weird.

2. Don't seek approval, because approval is stifling.

3. Practice the belief daily that you are entitled to your own opinion. Seek to know what you think.

4. Divest yourself of anyone who trivializes you. 

5. Avoid jargon, complications, Latinates, and hiding. 

6. Use clear structure. Logic is your friend.

Other tips include changing the frame of your opponent's argument; appealing to empathy; appealing to moral coherence; subversion, mischief, and humor; using the individual story to get at the big story; and addressing your audience, no matter who they are, as "us," not "them."

She offered the example of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s political writing as a perfect case of this last point. He used "us" even though his audience were white racists. Like him, we must practice thinking in terms of common humanity when arguing for human rights, and avoid divisive thinking.

Naomi Wolf is unabashedly principled, and unabashedly smart–qualities that give her the courage to not only engage in important political battles, but elevate the quality of argument. I read The End of America in 2005-ish, and was impressed by its succinct, ten-point argument that the Bush Administration's security policies overreached the U.S. Constitution so grossly that they constituted an existential threat to American freedoms.

She reminded me in her talk that taking a side isn't a matter of political affiliation–it's about deriving the truth from the facts around you, and having the courage to step into the ring.

In honor of Tip #6 above, here's a brilliant little reference tool for learning all about logical fallacies. If you have the mettle for tuning in to the presidential campaign rhetoric, you'll find many opportunities to practice identifying them.

On reading American news from Mexico

Before I sleep I see two news items: In the first, a bill will require a woman to get an ultrasound before aborting her fetus, so that she must see that cluster of cells in her belly before removing it. In the second, scientists have cultivated a small white arctic campion from 32,000-year-old seeds. A photo accompanies the news–on a fragile-stemmed plant, four snowflake blossoms.

I wonder at these two ghost stories, and about the relationship of seeing to survival, and regret, and extinction.

Or better yet, let me direct my question to the campion: Who was it that decided your life was an interference in the necessary order of things? And for those of us watching at home, can you give us a few brief words, after thirty-two centuries in the grave, on hope?

An abundance of English: A mishmash of new vocabulary

Enjoy these Scrabble gems shamelessly cribbed from Cormac McCarthy, an interesting book on Southwest gardening, and some other novels I've been reading. Btw, I've meant to post more on The Road–I will, when I'm back from being on the road. Until then, enjoy!

caliche: solidified calcium carbonate in the Southwest desert

anility: the state of behaving like an old woman

gryke: a half-meter vertical crack in a cliff

kerf: a slit made by cutting with a saw

privet: shrub with fragrant white blossoms and poisonous black berries

Morris paper: handmade Victorian wallpaper

harrow: a farm tool of spiky blades to break up clods

chary: cautious, wary

Queen Elizabeth: a variety of of gradiflora rose good for cut blooms

intestate: dying without a will

krugerrand: South African gold coin

tang: of a shovel

clerestory: high windows in a church, building, rail car

mastic: sap used to freshen breath or bake with

sago: ancient palm-like tree whose pulp can be scraped, dried, used as flour

excelsior: softwood shavings used for packing or furniture stuffing

baize: billiard/pool felt, or lining a box

bindle: tramp or hobo, or the sack they carry over the shoulder

travois: a two-pole sled for dragging things around

cognate: relative, either word or person

salitter: thing that holds a stamp of god's presence on earth

crozzled: crisped, burned

panicle: loose, branchy cluster of flowers, as in oats

rosette: a thing that looks like a rose, like a prize-winner's ribbon

sisal: agave fiber often made into rope, or sometimes clothes in Mexico

mescal: intoxicating liquid from an agave, sometimes another word for peyote

calliope: carousel organ with steam whistles. also, greek muse of poetry.

tare: a weed that looks like wheat when young

Review of Republic bikes

I usually don't talk about bikes here. But I still consider myself an Oregonian at heart, so where book talk is present, you may also expect to hear about coffee, beer, or bikes. So here we are now, talking about the build-your-own-online Republic bike sensation, between a conversation about typos and one about Cormac McCarthy.

Disclosure: I am not a hipster. I am not a roadie. I try to balance cost, style, and practicality, and know a thing or two about all three: I use a bike as a primary mode of transportation (yes, even here in Texas), have built my own bike from scratch before, and do most of my own repairs. I got a fixed gear because my partner wanted one, too, and she will not ride with me if I can shift gears on a hill and leave her in the dust.

At $450 plus shipping, a full, new bike is a great price. And let's face it, getting to pick your colors is nice. So is the convenience of getting a bike all in one piece (more or less) rather than piecemeal and wondering if the 25.4mm seatpost is right, or if you need a 1″ or a 1 1/8″ stem. I ended up wondering about this, anyway, but more on that in a minute.

If you are new to fixed gear riding, don't plan to race your new bike, plan to lock it up anywhere, and have the willingness to upgrade a few parts as needed, then you will agree with me that the Republic-bike-haters need to lay off the espresso. Overall, it's a fun bike, with the following modifications:

I swapped the saddle for a $17 Nashbar clearance saddle with nice lines and a cutout;
I swapped the pedals for $50 SPD mountain pedals, since I already use them for my other bike;
I ended up putting a $30 90mm +/- 7-degree Soma stem on both my and my partner's bike, because the original stem is ridiculously long for small and extra-small bikes.

I have only three gripes. One is that when I ride the bike as a one-speed, and am on a hill or otherwise putting a lot of power into the drivetrain, something clanks softly 2-3 times per pedal stroke. I'm guessing it is a cheap freehub. I could replace it with a $100 White Industries one, but now we're defeating the point of a $450 bike. When I finally turn the rear wheel around and ride it as a true fixed gear, the noise will go away.

The second gripe is that, yes, it's heavy. It is the same weight as my aluminum Klein Shimano 105 road bike loaded up with tools and water. This will make me stronger, yes, but if I see an aluminum 25.4 seatpost in the right length sometime in the future, I will replace my steel one. And maybe someday get lighter wheels–but again, at that point, I will be looking at Bianchi Pistas instead. (Note: some 2009 reviews criticized Republic for using high-ten steel in the frame–heavy and rusty–but the new frames seem to be cromoly steel = better and lighter).

Finally, the folks at Republic bike don't figure that their customer base will be making as many tweaks to the components as I have. The bikes are user-serviceable, with a a little guesswork. The spec list on their site has a few holes (e.g., leaving out the stem size, which is 25.4, the bar size, etc.). For other questions, though, they were friendly on the phone, and I imagine I could call to double-check a part with them if needed.

In conclusion: The bike is comfortable. I still look forward to riding it. My legs are getting stronger on San Antonio's hills. There are other fixie options, I know (such as the Mercier Kilo TT), but Republic has a good system going–inexpensive bikes in fun colors that make my wife happy in the midst of a grueling semester of  school. And any day on a bike is better than one in a chair, so I am happy, too.

The design...

 

...and build!

Friday humor: Writing sins

I thank my father for forwarding me some laughs on a day when they are needed! Enjoy…

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Church Ladies With Typewriters

They're back! Thank God for church ladies with typewriters, and their church bulletin bloopers. These sentences actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church services.

The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.

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The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water." The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus."

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Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.

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Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say 'Hell' to someone who doesn't care much about you.

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Don't let worry kill you off — let the Church help.

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Miss Charlene Mason sang "I Will Not Pass This Way Again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

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For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

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Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.

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Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

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A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.

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At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What Is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.

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Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.

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Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

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Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.

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The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.

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Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 p.m. — prayer and medication to follow.

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The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.

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This evening at 7:00 p.m. there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.

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Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B. S. is done.

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The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the Congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.

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Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Please use the back door.

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The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7:00 p.m. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

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Weight Watchers will meet at 7:00 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.

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The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new campaign slogan last Sunday: "I Upped My Pledge — Up Yours."

The next novel.

As a gay writer unofficially married to a member of the U.S. military, I've been preoccupied with the relationship of art, war, and technology for almost nine months. The idea for my next novel resonates with the past writing I have done about the geopolitics of the Middle East, but is something totally new and differently interesting to me.

My plan for the novel is moving toward literary cyberpunk, takes place in New Orleans, could appeal to YA readers, and may possibly work as a series. I'll say more when I'm done with a solid draft, likely late this year or early 2013. For now, the premise beneath my thought experiment is Art and war are complementary. Technology strives to make both unnecessary.

I know that statement is thorny. I would love to hear your response.

Author Interview: Sanjiv Behera, magical realist short story writer

Click to get the Kindle edition of Azad.

Sanjiv Behera's imagination is a brilliant world of Venetian escapes, mythical beasts, and mysterious dancers. Fusing his South Asian storytelling tradition with stories he made up for his children, he debuts this first collection of YA magical realist short stories as a Kindle eBook. I had the pleasure of working in a genre near to my heart–the multicultural story that dances along the borders of speculative fiction–and it is with equal pleasure that I interviewed Sanjiv about storytelling, cultures, and self-publishing.

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Tell us about Azad: A Flight of Desi Fantasy. What kinds of stories do you tell?

Azad, is a collection of six short stories, all revolving around a central theme of liberation (azad means liberation in a number of South Asian languages). In the stories, main characters break free from the confines of their lives with the help of mystical forces, artifacts, or supernatural beings with roots from the South Asian peninsula. I guess the stories would be classified as magical realism.

Is there a Desi storytelling tradition that you draw from and elaborate upon, or would you YA magical realism?

I would say that I draw from a bit of both.

Growing up (my father probably doesn't know this), I looked forward to long road trips in the family station wagon, because during the ride, he would tell stories, mainly about Indian mythology. I recall being on the edge of my seat, listening to his version of the Ramayana or tales from the Mahabharata, both classic Indian epics. These stories are so pervasive in India. Children have been exposed to them through bedtime stories, plays, and dance performances for years and years.

Also, while putting me to bed, my mother would recite Indian folktales involving some sort of supernatural phenomenon, stories that her mother told her when she was young, stories that were undoubtedly passed on by her grandmother.

Magical realism first caught my interest in my teens. I read Salman Rushdie's "Haroun and the Sea of Stories", which till this day, remains one of my favorite books of all time.

Many of the stories feature characters who are confused, confined, or oppressed by their circumstances. None of them starts out believing in the supernatural⎯but magic aids your characters anyway, helping them gain clarity or escape. Is the magic a metaphor for imagination? Or should we take it at face value?

At face value, the use of magic in my stories makes for good entertainment. But it does serve another purpose. I wanted to demonstrate how powerful and influential a helping hand can be, how it can even change the course of a life. Specifically, I wanted the reader to understand that, to a certain extent, they themselves can actually become the magic in the lives of others, especially the exploited.

I wrote these stories because I was moved by something I had read about the plight of India's trafficked children. All of my proceeds from this book are being donated to a charity in India that works to stop child trafficking there. So, those that have purchased the book already have become the magical azad in a few children's lives.

What is your cultural background? Do you think a writer has to be part of a culture in order to write about it?

I am a second generation Indo-American. My parents immigrated in the 60s, and I was born and brought up in North America. While my life outside the house was stereotypically American: going to school, playing sports, hanging out with friends, and being exposed to a variety of cultures: mainstream and sub. Inside the home, my life was very Indian: eating Indian food, speaking the language, listening to Indian music, etc. We spent the majority of free time associating with the local Indian community as well.

I don't think that a writer has to be part of a culture to write about it. But, to adequately capture all of the nuances and subtleties of a culture, one must do some extensive research. Writing about other cultures can be and has been done rather well. Stowe, Kipling, and Martel are three authors that immediately come to mind.

What advice would you offer other writers who are considering self-publishing?

Go for it! There is nothing to lose. With the advent of the Kindle, Nook, and iPad, self-publishing is now quick, cheap, and offers widespread distribution. You can literally deliver an electronic book to practically every computer, tablet, or eReader in America, England, Germany, Spain, Italy, and France. And the list of countries is growing.

Yes, you have to work hard to raise awareness about and market your book. But that is true of all books. And if you manage to sell some books, the profit margins are incredible.

Since self-publishing is gaining steam, it's best to put your best work forward. Find a great editor to make your work stand apart. Really, my editor was amazing! She helped to bring out the intricacies of my characters, which made my stories so much more compelling.

Also, have an attractive cover. With all of the choices people have these days, you really need something to draw readers in.

What are you working on next?

Currently, I'm in the process of writing a middle-grade, science-fiction novel.

Is there any question you hoped I would ask?

Well, you've pretty much hit all of the main points. Maybe how did I get started in writing?

I've always enjoyed writing stories. But, writing became more meaningful to me once I had children. I wrote my first novel when our first child was born. Now, I find myself writing for the kids constantly: constructing stories that excite them and introducing concepts that challenge their thoughts. I don't know how my stories will evolve as they grow older. But, in the end, it's all about creating something significant in their eyes, something valuable to them.

Be sure to visit Sanjiv's website, Rickshaw Publishing, for more about Azad and Vikram and the Enchanted Seals.

Next stop: Mexico

What: San Miguel Writers Conference

Where: San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

When: Thursday, February 16 to Tuesday, February 21

Details: I'm attending the conference to see Margaret Atwood speak, and to attend a variety of classes. As I work through a period of writerly soul-searching, and to combat the predictable side-effects of omphaloskepsis, I've signed up for workshops on everything from humor writing to travel writing to poetry. Travel and curiosity, two cures for the foggy mind.

More information on the conference at www.sanmiguelwritersconference2012.com.

Author Interview: Ross Goldstein, a 2011 success story

In one of my clients' biggest success stories of 2011, Mill Valley writer Ross Goldstein landed a film deal for his first novel, Chain Reaction, with Paloma Productions. I learned the news last month, and am delighted to share this interview with all you writers out there who are asking yourself if a well-written novel can truly find success if you self-publish it. Ross's story is living proof.

When I read the manuscript in 2010, I expected him to find an agent right away. The agents he queried told him that nobody in publishing wanted sports stories. (Funny thing is, I keep seeing The Art of Fielding, a baseball novel, on this year's bestseller lists. Baseball is a sport, right?) Furthermore, they were sure as heck nobody wanted to publish a cycling story, what with the seemingly endless cloud that hangs over the sport.

His novel is about proving people wrong. And in a wonderfully meta tale of publishing and self-belief, Ross is living out the same kind of story as his protagonist.

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Click to see book on Amazon

Tell us about Chain Reaction. What's the hook, even for readers who may not be cyclists?

Chain Reaction started as a cycling story. As I wrote it evolved to encompass themes and issues that extended beyond the world of cycling. The hook, I believe, is the story of one young man's efforts to come to grips with his dreams, his history, his decisions, and his acceptance of himself.

Chain Reaction is your first novel. You have an innate sense of story –the novel is full of heart and heroism. What helped you develop your sense of what makes a good story (or a good hero, for that matter)?

The two elements for me are character and narrative. I started by creating real and textured characters. Authenticity was important to me. I wanted them to be icons, but not clichés. Once the characters were developed, there were a few set pieces for the narrative that I had in my mind…the general flow of the story. But the truth is that at some point, fairly early after I came to know the characters, the characters themselves actually guided a lot of the story. I once heard Calum McCann speak about the willingness to "lose oneself" in the process of writing a story. I definitely experienced this. There were times when the characters did or said things that came as a surprise to me. The characters took control of the narrative.

When I read the novel, I was interested in Cal's two sources of motivation: He loves Daniella and wants to impress her; and he wants to put Rocco in his place. One is positive, and one is negative. Which kind of motivation do you believe makes a competitor (either in cycling or writing) dig the deepest to succeed?

There is a sweet satisfaction to crushing a rival, no doubt. But, the satisfaction of beating someone is insignificant to the satisfaction of achieving a personal goal or aspiration. The former may taste delicious at the time, but the latter is much more nutritious. Anger and revenge cause you to burn too hot…the passion to defeat someone else can be intense but destructive. After all, even if you beat someone but don't perform to your best level, what have you really accomplished?

You were a competitive cyclist, and still love the sport. Do you think a writer has to experience something firsthand in order to write well about it?

To write about it, no. To write well about it, yes. When my cycling friends, old racing buddies, told me that I had captured the essence, the feel, the authenticity of the race…the camaraderie of the peloton for example, that was some of the best feedback I got. Now, Chain Reaction isn't only about cycling. When non-cyclists told me that they appreciated the love story or the father-son conflict, that was also gratifying.

What advice would you offer other writers who know they have a good manuscript in their hands, but can't seem to attract the right people's attention in the publishing industry?

I wish I had an easy answer to that one. Don't give up is the first thing that comes to mind. I queried over a hundred agents before I got a bite. And that only came because a friend of a friend gave it to her. She liked it. Up to that point, getting a reading was virtually impossible. Agents are overwhelmed and use shorthand logic to expedite things. Chain Reaction? All of the agents told me that they weren't interested in a "cycling story." That was hard to take because I knew there was so much more to it.

A second piece of advice is to gird yourself for the rejection that is going to come. You can't take it personally, as absurd as that sounds. After all, your work is a representation of who you are. That said, understand that the process has a rhyme and reason of its own. It is designed to cut things out, not include things. There are times when you will question yourself. That comes with the territory. Maybe that is a good thing. If you don't test yourself, then you haven't really earned the right to ask others to read what you write.

What are you working on next?

Funny question. That's what my agent keeps asking. She makes the point that the people she is selling me to are "more interested in the 'jockey' than the 'horse.'" That is, they want to connect with an author, not just buy a property.

Following the blueprint of Chain Reaction, I am doing a lot of thinking right now that will go into the construction of a character that is interesting enough for me to spend the next year, at least, with. Maybe I'll write something about a sixty-something guy who writes a novel and manages to sell it to the movie industry.

Is there any question you hoped I would ask? 

Just this one, what was the contribution or role of the editor in the process? My answer is that the editor helped me with everything from concept to execution, but the most important thing that she demanded of me was character development. It wasn't just the mechanics of writing, or even the process of story telling, it was the insistence and guidance in providing a gritty reality to my characters and the encouragement to give even the second level characters a story of their own.

Thanks, Ross! Be sure to check out Ross's website at http://chainreactionnovel.com/ for more about the book and news of its progress toward the big screen.

Craft Question: Backstory and Flashbacks in Novels

I'm reading Jeffrey Eugenides's Middlesex. If you know it, you can guess why I am thinking about backstory and flashbacks. If you have not, it is a novel about a Greek hermaphrodite coming of age in industrial Detroit. Its plotting is an eccentric web of history and characters, and evokes shades of John Irving.

Most of all, the first half of its 500-plus pages is family history, and I want to know how this hippopotamus of a tome manages to dance so lightly, so entertainingly, across fifty years of history and two continents with barely a nod to its hermaphroditic narrator.

The first-person narrator adds cohesiveness, yes. The lustful lead-up to an intermarriage between brother and sister is relevant, too, yes. Yet the tantalizing hints of the original hook—the mini-scenes in present-day Berlin, the narrator's scant mention of his memories—are enough to lure us ahead but not leave us frustrated.

The struggle to insert backstory (and especially flashbacks) is an immense part of a writer's task. It means you have to interrupt the escalation of tension in a story, and shift back to something that already happened; you have to stop the story clock. You have to reassure the reader that history is more important, for a moment, than the story at hand; you have to convince her that the story at hand will be somehow incomplete and unsatisfying on its own, and urgently needs the voice of history to fill its empty spaces.

And usually, the attempt fails.

Are you a writer? Do you have a talent for moving your narrator through time? What do you pay attention to when plotting these scenes, and how do you know that the shift works?

Caffeinated spiders weave tangled webs. Maybe backstory would be a non-issue if I quit coffee.