T.C. Weber's Blog, page 4
March 13, 2020
Tips on writing a thriller
These are some questions and answers from a thriller panel I was on:
1. Pacing -- What does it mean to you and how do you maintain it?
A thriller has to be generally fast-paced. That’s part of the thrilling experience. In my books, and I think this applies to most books, not just thrillers, every scene should move the plot forward. In proactive scenes, the POV character has a goal, there’s a conflict that gets in the way, and a setback, where the character doesn’t get exactly what he or she wants. In reactive scenes, the character is reeling from something bad that’s happened, he or she has to decide what to do next, there may not be any good options, but he or she decides to do something, picking the least bad option. Not all scenes should be packed with action, you need some variety. So that’s where the reactive scenes and character development come in. I end each chapter with something unresolved, something that will lead the reader to the following chapter. In The Wrath of Leviathan, the villain is getting closer and closer to the heroes, so showing the villain’s progress as the last scene of a chapter builds tension. Finally, I would say cut out anything you don’t need. Start your scene as late as possible and end it as early as possible.
2. Character sketches. Who are your characters and do you come up with them before you start a novel or do you develop them as you go along? Have you ever tried doing the opposite of what you do?
In The Wrath of Leviathan, my main characters are two sisters, Waylee, who is an unemployed bipolar journalist and musician, and Kiyoko, who is much younger, and is a virtual reality addict and designs game environments and real-world costumes for a living. There are a lot of other characters also. The main villain is a divorced ex-cop who’s now a mercenary. He cares about his kids, who he’s not allowed to see anymore, but everyone else is just a means to an end. I create detailed profiles for my major characters, fleshing out their goals, personalities, backgrounds, appearances, etc. These may change while drafting the story, but usually not a whole lot. I try to make the characters interesting, and different from each other. The characters themselves change during the course of the story, following an arc that’s integrated with the events of the story; in other words, the character affects the story and the story affects the character.
3. Much has been said about the plotter vs. pantser debate. Do you work from an outline or do you fly by the seat of your pants. How did you choose this method and have you ever tried another way.
I typically write short stories seat of the pants, more or less, but I always outline novels. They’re too long and complex to really get right without some kind of road map. I follow Randy Ingermanson’s Snowflake method and Larry Brooks’s Story Engineering, more or less. The first step is to brainstorm story ideas and pick one worth writing about. I turn this into a “what if” question (e.g., “What if nearly all information was controlled by a powerful elite? Could ordinary people overturn such a system?”) and a one-sentence novel summary (e.g., “An unemployed journalist and her friends try to stop a power-mad CEO from controlling the world.”) The next step is to expand that sentence to a full paragraph describing the story setup, major plot points, and ending of the novel. Then I develop the main characters and their goals, motivations, back story, etc. I weave the character arcs into the plot and write a short synopsis followed by a long synopsis. I convert this to a scene list in Scrivener, with a virtual index card for each scene (ideally with the scene arc outlined). Then finally I start writing, starting with the opening scene and writing usually one scene/day. As I write, the story changes, sometimes quite a bit, but at least I have a roadmap to follow.
4. Chronology: when you write do you proceed in chronological order or do you jump around? How and why do you use this method?
I try to proceed in chronological order, but in the BetterWorld series, whenever the characters are separated, they follow different threads, and often I’ll be so into that thread, what that character is doing, that I follow it for several chapters before going back and working on a different thread.
5. What are some techniques you use to create and maintain suspense?
First, I like high stakes that are both broad and personal. For example, in the BetterWorld trilogy, MediaCorp’s information monopoly makes them essentially the most powerful dictatorship in history. And Waylee, the main character of the first book, will do anything to stop that, and is further driven because MediaCorp had her fired from her newspaper and blacklisted.
Second, make the villains more powerful than the heroes. The heroes of my trilogy are talented, but are essentially normal people, with no money and not much influence, but they’re up against the most powerful corporation in history and a government that does their bidding. Then I add missions that seem impossible, like recording secret conversations with the president, or taking over the Super Bowl. How on earth will the heroes pull that off? And if they don’t pull it off, the world is screwed.
Third, pile on the problems. Whenever things seem bad, make them worse.
And then have a ticking clock, deadlines that the characters have to beat.
6. Let's talk a bit about Point of View. What POV do you prefer? When it comes to thrillers, which POV is better? Why? What are the advantages and disadvantages to the various POV's?
I prefer third person close, so the reader can get inside the character’s head. I wrote a dystopian novel titled Born in Salt in first person, which I did just because I like to try different things. In first person, the reader is even more in the character’s head, but it’s harder to tell a story that way because you can only show things that are happening to that one particular character.
7. POV Shifts-- Generally, third person limited, using one character's POV per scene with a break between any POV shifts, is the preferred method for writing thrillers. Do you subscribe to this technique? Why or why not?
Yes. Film and TV have advantages over books in being able to show the setting more easily. But one advantage of books is that the reader can really get inside the characters’ heads, and I think that’s a crucial part of the immersive process.
8. Sex and Violence-- Ah, now that I have your attention, let me ask you. What should writers keep in mind when writing scene with the two aforementioned topics.
First, keep your audience in mind. If you’re writing for kids or teens, obviously you can’t be graphic. Then, unless you’re writing erotica or torture porn, neither of which are my thing, don’t go overboard with the details. Just show what matters most to the characters and the plot development. Too many details get boring. We don’t need to read about every squeeze and thrust, or every punch or gun shot. Just give a taste, enough where the reader can fill in the details.
9. How important is the concept of time in the writing of a thriller?
Critical. Having a ticking clock, a deadline that the characters have to beat, adds a lot of tension. In The Wrath of Leviathan, both the heroes and villain have deadlines. For example, Kiyoko, the main character, has to help her friends before they’re extradited. In Sleep State Interrupt, Waylee, the main character, has to figure out how to infiltrate a closed New Year’s Eve event and get everything they need to get inside and collect the information she needs, before Dec. 31. Then, they have an even bigger challenge to sneak into this high-security broadcast center and broadcast a video during the Super Bowl, and they have to figure all this out before the game starts. Then they have more problems after the game starts and are running out of time.
1. Pacing -- What does it mean to you and how do you maintain it?
A thriller has to be generally fast-paced. That’s part of the thrilling experience. In my books, and I think this applies to most books, not just thrillers, every scene should move the plot forward. In proactive scenes, the POV character has a goal, there’s a conflict that gets in the way, and a setback, where the character doesn’t get exactly what he or she wants. In reactive scenes, the character is reeling from something bad that’s happened, he or she has to decide what to do next, there may not be any good options, but he or she decides to do something, picking the least bad option. Not all scenes should be packed with action, you need some variety. So that’s where the reactive scenes and character development come in. I end each chapter with something unresolved, something that will lead the reader to the following chapter. In The Wrath of Leviathan, the villain is getting closer and closer to the heroes, so showing the villain’s progress as the last scene of a chapter builds tension. Finally, I would say cut out anything you don’t need. Start your scene as late as possible and end it as early as possible.
2. Character sketches. Who are your characters and do you come up with them before you start a novel or do you develop them as you go along? Have you ever tried doing the opposite of what you do?
In The Wrath of Leviathan, my main characters are two sisters, Waylee, who is an unemployed bipolar journalist and musician, and Kiyoko, who is much younger, and is a virtual reality addict and designs game environments and real-world costumes for a living. There are a lot of other characters also. The main villain is a divorced ex-cop who’s now a mercenary. He cares about his kids, who he’s not allowed to see anymore, but everyone else is just a means to an end. I create detailed profiles for my major characters, fleshing out their goals, personalities, backgrounds, appearances, etc. These may change while drafting the story, but usually not a whole lot. I try to make the characters interesting, and different from each other. The characters themselves change during the course of the story, following an arc that’s integrated with the events of the story; in other words, the character affects the story and the story affects the character.
3. Much has been said about the plotter vs. pantser debate. Do you work from an outline or do you fly by the seat of your pants. How did you choose this method and have you ever tried another way.
I typically write short stories seat of the pants, more or less, but I always outline novels. They’re too long and complex to really get right without some kind of road map. I follow Randy Ingermanson’s Snowflake method and Larry Brooks’s Story Engineering, more or less. The first step is to brainstorm story ideas and pick one worth writing about. I turn this into a “what if” question (e.g., “What if nearly all information was controlled by a powerful elite? Could ordinary people overturn such a system?”) and a one-sentence novel summary (e.g., “An unemployed journalist and her friends try to stop a power-mad CEO from controlling the world.”) The next step is to expand that sentence to a full paragraph describing the story setup, major plot points, and ending of the novel. Then I develop the main characters and their goals, motivations, back story, etc. I weave the character arcs into the plot and write a short synopsis followed by a long synopsis. I convert this to a scene list in Scrivener, with a virtual index card for each scene (ideally with the scene arc outlined). Then finally I start writing, starting with the opening scene and writing usually one scene/day. As I write, the story changes, sometimes quite a bit, but at least I have a roadmap to follow.
4. Chronology: when you write do you proceed in chronological order or do you jump around? How and why do you use this method?
I try to proceed in chronological order, but in the BetterWorld series, whenever the characters are separated, they follow different threads, and often I’ll be so into that thread, what that character is doing, that I follow it for several chapters before going back and working on a different thread.
5. What are some techniques you use to create and maintain suspense?
First, I like high stakes that are both broad and personal. For example, in the BetterWorld trilogy, MediaCorp’s information monopoly makes them essentially the most powerful dictatorship in history. And Waylee, the main character of the first book, will do anything to stop that, and is further driven because MediaCorp had her fired from her newspaper and blacklisted.
Second, make the villains more powerful than the heroes. The heroes of my trilogy are talented, but are essentially normal people, with no money and not much influence, but they’re up against the most powerful corporation in history and a government that does their bidding. Then I add missions that seem impossible, like recording secret conversations with the president, or taking over the Super Bowl. How on earth will the heroes pull that off? And if they don’t pull it off, the world is screwed.
Third, pile on the problems. Whenever things seem bad, make them worse.
And then have a ticking clock, deadlines that the characters have to beat.
6. Let's talk a bit about Point of View. What POV do you prefer? When it comes to thrillers, which POV is better? Why? What are the advantages and disadvantages to the various POV's?
I prefer third person close, so the reader can get inside the character’s head. I wrote a dystopian novel titled Born in Salt in first person, which I did just because I like to try different things. In first person, the reader is even more in the character’s head, but it’s harder to tell a story that way because you can only show things that are happening to that one particular character.
7. POV Shifts-- Generally, third person limited, using one character's POV per scene with a break between any POV shifts, is the preferred method for writing thrillers. Do you subscribe to this technique? Why or why not?
Yes. Film and TV have advantages over books in being able to show the setting more easily. But one advantage of books is that the reader can really get inside the characters’ heads, and I think that’s a crucial part of the immersive process.
8. Sex and Violence-- Ah, now that I have your attention, let me ask you. What should writers keep in mind when writing scene with the two aforementioned topics.
First, keep your audience in mind. If you’re writing for kids or teens, obviously you can’t be graphic. Then, unless you’re writing erotica or torture porn, neither of which are my thing, don’t go overboard with the details. Just show what matters most to the characters and the plot development. Too many details get boring. We don’t need to read about every squeeze and thrust, or every punch or gun shot. Just give a taste, enough where the reader can fill in the details.
9. How important is the concept of time in the writing of a thriller?
Critical. Having a ticking clock, a deadline that the characters have to beat, adds a lot of tension. In The Wrath of Leviathan, both the heroes and villain have deadlines. For example, Kiyoko, the main character, has to help her friends before they’re extradited. In Sleep State Interrupt, Waylee, the main character, has to figure out how to infiltrate a closed New Year’s Eve event and get everything they need to get inside and collect the information she needs, before Dec. 31. Then, they have an even bigger challenge to sneak into this high-security broadcast center and broadcast a video during the Super Bowl, and they have to figure all this out before the game starts. Then they have more problems after the game starts and are running out of time.
February 12, 2020
Making Tech Entertaining
This is from a conference panel I was on about the role of technology in fiction, and how to make it entertaining instead of boring.
1. How do you make sure tech doesn’t overwhelm the story, i.e., that it doesn’t become the focus over plot and character? Or do you plan it that way?
The story comes first for me, which means plot and character arcs. The technology is part of the setting--what’s at the characters’ fingertips. For example, instead of people browsing Facebook or Twitter on their two dimensional screens, in the BetterWorld cyberpunk trilogy, they’re immersed in realistic three-dimensional virtual reality. Of course, having 2 billion people spending a big chunk of their time in virtual reality has all sorts of social consequences, like loss of interest in the real world. And if one company controls this entire virtual reality, they control every aspect of your existence.
2. One of the “Moscow Rules” is that technology will always fail. Give an example of how you’ve used tech failure to heighten tension in one of your books.
Most of the tension in my books comes not from equipment failure, but from the bad guys outsmarting the heroes, like out-hacking or tricking them. I like having villains who are more than a match for the heroes. But here’s an example of tech failure: The heroes use stun guns in some situations to avoid killing anyone. Trouble is, they’re not terribly reliable, in that a person might be incapacitated for a couple of minutes, or only a few seconds. It depends on the target and a lot of other factors. And in one scene, the people they’re up against have a conductive layer inside their armor that grounds the E/M pulse and makes the stun guns useless.
3. Is the tech in your books based on the state of the art now, or do you extrapolate “future tech?”
My cyberpunk series is set in the near future. I tried to extrapolate what computer and other technology would be like in a couple of decades. I did that by doing research on technology trends, and where things are expected to be headed. So, for example, virtual reality was just starting to take off when I wrote Sleep State Interrupt. I invented BetterWorld based on poking around Second Life and World of Warcraft, which are 2-dimensional massively multiplayer environments, and so I made a 3-dimensional version in realistic virtual reality. Since the book was published, VRChat was launched, which is kind of a low-res version of BetterWorld. That’s the danger of writing near future stories--eventually they’ll become alternate history. I also envisioned a pervasive surveillance state, with advanced drones both large and tiny. That’s just a matter of time too. Artificial intelligence is also an integral part of the world in my trilogy, and that’s advancing all the time also.
4. If you extrapolate, is it important to make that future tech believable?
I think for fiction, your world has to be believable, or at least follow consistent rules. For a reader to become immersed in a story, and for it to have a powerful impact, they have to forget that it’s not true while they’re reading it. So the more realistic you make everything seem, the less the reader will think, ‘wait a minute, this is impossible,’ and get pulled out of the story. I think you can have some unrealistic elements as long as they’re heavily outnumbered by realistic elements.
5. Who are some tech-heavy writers who have inspired you and how?
My cyberpunk trilogy was inspired by William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, and Neal Stephenson, the classic cyberpunk authors. And also some anime series like Ghost in the Shell and Psycho-Pass. That’s why I decided to write a cyberpunk series. I’m working on other books also--alternate history and contemporary satire--that have a completely different focus, but none of those contain advanced tech, so that’s why I’m just focusing on the cyberpunk here. Since my series is set a lot closer to the present than any other cyberpunk I’ve read, I drew most of my inspiration from real world trends rather than works of fiction. I did try to incorporate the general feel of classic cyberpunk, though--of powerful mega-corporations, a huge divide between rich and poor, main characters who are outcasts... Wait--most of that sounds like the real world too.
1. How do you make sure tech doesn’t overwhelm the story, i.e., that it doesn’t become the focus over plot and character? Or do you plan it that way?
The story comes first for me, which means plot and character arcs. The technology is part of the setting--what’s at the characters’ fingertips. For example, instead of people browsing Facebook or Twitter on their two dimensional screens, in the BetterWorld cyberpunk trilogy, they’re immersed in realistic three-dimensional virtual reality. Of course, having 2 billion people spending a big chunk of their time in virtual reality has all sorts of social consequences, like loss of interest in the real world. And if one company controls this entire virtual reality, they control every aspect of your existence.
2. One of the “Moscow Rules” is that technology will always fail. Give an example of how you’ve used tech failure to heighten tension in one of your books.
Most of the tension in my books comes not from equipment failure, but from the bad guys outsmarting the heroes, like out-hacking or tricking them. I like having villains who are more than a match for the heroes. But here’s an example of tech failure: The heroes use stun guns in some situations to avoid killing anyone. Trouble is, they’re not terribly reliable, in that a person might be incapacitated for a couple of minutes, or only a few seconds. It depends on the target and a lot of other factors. And in one scene, the people they’re up against have a conductive layer inside their armor that grounds the E/M pulse and makes the stun guns useless.
3. Is the tech in your books based on the state of the art now, or do you extrapolate “future tech?”
My cyberpunk series is set in the near future. I tried to extrapolate what computer and other technology would be like in a couple of decades. I did that by doing research on technology trends, and where things are expected to be headed. So, for example, virtual reality was just starting to take off when I wrote Sleep State Interrupt. I invented BetterWorld based on poking around Second Life and World of Warcraft, which are 2-dimensional massively multiplayer environments, and so I made a 3-dimensional version in realistic virtual reality. Since the book was published, VRChat was launched, which is kind of a low-res version of BetterWorld. That’s the danger of writing near future stories--eventually they’ll become alternate history. I also envisioned a pervasive surveillance state, with advanced drones both large and tiny. That’s just a matter of time too. Artificial intelligence is also an integral part of the world in my trilogy, and that’s advancing all the time also.
4. If you extrapolate, is it important to make that future tech believable?
I think for fiction, your world has to be believable, or at least follow consistent rules. For a reader to become immersed in a story, and for it to have a powerful impact, they have to forget that it’s not true while they’re reading it. So the more realistic you make everything seem, the less the reader will think, ‘wait a minute, this is impossible,’ and get pulled out of the story. I think you can have some unrealistic elements as long as they’re heavily outnumbered by realistic elements.
5. Who are some tech-heavy writers who have inspired you and how?
My cyberpunk trilogy was inspired by William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, and Neal Stephenson, the classic cyberpunk authors. And also some anime series like Ghost in the Shell and Psycho-Pass. That’s why I decided to write a cyberpunk series. I’m working on other books also--alternate history and contemporary satire--that have a completely different focus, but none of those contain advanced tech, so that’s why I’m just focusing on the cyberpunk here. Since my series is set a lot closer to the present than any other cyberpunk I’ve read, I drew most of my inspiration from real world trends rather than works of fiction. I did try to incorporate the general feel of classic cyberpunk, though--of powerful mega-corporations, a huge divide between rich and poor, main characters who are outcasts... Wait--most of that sounds like the real world too.
February 5, 2020
The deck is stacked in the U.S. federal justice system
Here are some interesting facts I learned while researching the U.S. federal justice system for The Wrath of Leviathan:
• Defendants do not have a right to a preliminary hearing. The government opts for a grand jury indictment instead.
• The defense is excluded from grand jury proceedings, and grand juries indict almost 100% of the time. (Unless it’s a police officer being indicted, in which case the percentages are reversed).
• The federal government has a 99% conviction rate.
• The federal system has mandatory minimum sentences and no parole.
• The judge sets the rules in the courtroom and these can be harsh depending on the judge.
• There’s a concept called jury nullification. Jurors have the power to acquit defendants if they disagree with the law, even if they believed the defendant committed the crime. The Constitution gives you the right to vote your conscience. If a law isn’t just, or is being used unjustly, you can reject it. Juries rejected the return of slaves in the 19th century and have acquitted peace activists. Prosecutors and judges have no power to retaliate against the jurors. The problem is, judges will not allow anyone to mention this power to the jury.
• A necessity defense is a similar concept. It argues that the defendant had to break the law in an emergency situation, to avoid a greater harm from occurring. For example, driving with a suspended license to take someone to a hospital. Very occasionally, a judge will allow it. In 2018, a Boston judge acquitted 13 pipeline protesters on the grounds that the climate crisis made it necessary for them to commit civil disobedience. This is extremely uncommon, though.
• Defendants do not have a right to a preliminary hearing. The government opts for a grand jury indictment instead.
• The defense is excluded from grand jury proceedings, and grand juries indict almost 100% of the time. (Unless it’s a police officer being indicted, in which case the percentages are reversed).
• The federal government has a 99% conviction rate.
• The federal system has mandatory minimum sentences and no parole.
• The judge sets the rules in the courtroom and these can be harsh depending on the judge.
• There’s a concept called jury nullification. Jurors have the power to acquit defendants if they disagree with the law, even if they believed the defendant committed the crime. The Constitution gives you the right to vote your conscience. If a law isn’t just, or is being used unjustly, you can reject it. Juries rejected the return of slaves in the 19th century and have acquitted peace activists. Prosecutors and judges have no power to retaliate against the jurors. The problem is, judges will not allow anyone to mention this power to the jury.
• A necessity defense is a similar concept. It argues that the defendant had to break the law in an emergency situation, to avoid a greater harm from occurring. For example, driving with a suspended license to take someone to a hospital. Very occasionally, a judge will allow it. In 2018, a Boston judge acquitted 13 pipeline protesters on the grounds that the climate crisis made it necessary for them to commit civil disobedience. This is extremely uncommon, though.
January 18, 2020
Final cyberpunk book coming out Sep. 1!
Zero-Day Rising, the final installment of the BetterWorld near-future cyber-thriller trilogy, is coming out on Sep. 1 on See Sharp Press.
In the first book, Sleep State Interrupt (a finalist for best first speculative fiction novel), a giant media corporation has taken over the Internet, created an addictive virtual reality called BetterWorld, and controls nearly all information. Politicians do their bidding and a brainwashed humanity serves a privileged few. Waylee Freid, an unemployed Baltimore journalist with ever-worsening bipolar disorder, is the only hope for a brighter future. She and her countercultural friends bust a notorious teenage hacker out of jail and sneak into a closed presidential fundraiser at the Smithsonian castle, where they hope to record incriminating admissions that will wake up the world. Hunted by Homeland Security, Waylee and her friends must reach a sufficient audience by broadcasting their video during the Super Bowl. But to do so, they'll have to break into one of the most secure facilities ever built.
In The Wrath of Leviathan, the second book of the trilogy, Waylee faces life in prison for daring to expose Media Corporation’s schemes to control the world. Her reality-challenged sister Kiyoko, her increasingly unhinged boyfriend Pel, and juvenile hacker genius Charles are hiding in São Paulo, Brazil, and trying to challenge MediaCorp’s monopoly over virtual reality and commerce. But a team of ruthless mercenaries and corrupt cops are after the trio, and are closing in fast. Meanwhile, MediaCorp and their government allies seek to quash the rebellion Waylee started, and tighten a grip over the world that could last for millennia.
In Zero-Day Rising, the final installment of the trilogy, Kiyoko resolves to free her sister and bring down President Rand and MediaCorp. However, MediaCorp unleashes its ultimate plan: direct mind control with cerebral implants. Can Kiyoko and Waylee’s team stop them? Can they penetrate MediaCorp’s networks and end the company’s grip over humanity? All while eluding the biggest manhunt in history, in a country where everyone and everything is under surveillance?
Sample chapters, related short stories, and character profiles are available at https://www.tcweber.com/
In the first book, Sleep State Interrupt (a finalist for best first speculative fiction novel), a giant media corporation has taken over the Internet, created an addictive virtual reality called BetterWorld, and controls nearly all information. Politicians do their bidding and a brainwashed humanity serves a privileged few. Waylee Freid, an unemployed Baltimore journalist with ever-worsening bipolar disorder, is the only hope for a brighter future. She and her countercultural friends bust a notorious teenage hacker out of jail and sneak into a closed presidential fundraiser at the Smithsonian castle, where they hope to record incriminating admissions that will wake up the world. Hunted by Homeland Security, Waylee and her friends must reach a sufficient audience by broadcasting their video during the Super Bowl. But to do so, they'll have to break into one of the most secure facilities ever built.
In The Wrath of Leviathan, the second book of the trilogy, Waylee faces life in prison for daring to expose Media Corporation’s schemes to control the world. Her reality-challenged sister Kiyoko, her increasingly unhinged boyfriend Pel, and juvenile hacker genius Charles are hiding in São Paulo, Brazil, and trying to challenge MediaCorp’s monopoly over virtual reality and commerce. But a team of ruthless mercenaries and corrupt cops are after the trio, and are closing in fast. Meanwhile, MediaCorp and their government allies seek to quash the rebellion Waylee started, and tighten a grip over the world that could last for millennia.
In Zero-Day Rising, the final installment of the trilogy, Kiyoko resolves to free her sister and bring down President Rand and MediaCorp. However, MediaCorp unleashes its ultimate plan: direct mind control with cerebral implants. Can Kiyoko and Waylee’s team stop them? Can they penetrate MediaCorp’s networks and end the company’s grip over humanity? All while eluding the biggest manhunt in history, in a country where everyone and everything is under surveillance?
Sample chapters, related short stories, and character profiles are available at https://www.tcweber.com/
November 30, 2018
Jair Bolsonaro
My new novel, The Wrath of Leviathan, is set largely in São Paulo. Tragically, since the release of this book in September, a far-right demagogue was elected as Brazil's president. How did this happen and what does it mean?
Like other countries, Brazil was historically controlled by a wealthy elite. It has one of the most unequal distributions of income in the world. There was a U.S.-backed military dictatorship from 1964-1985. Then Lula da Silva, a co-founder of the Workers Party, was elected president in 2002, and Brazil was headed by a champion of the poor. He increased the minimum wage and created a Zero Hunger program. He served two terms and was succeeded by Dilma Rousseff, the country’s first female president. She had been a torture victim under the dictatorship.
President Rousseff was removed in a parliamentary coup, impeached for breaking budget laws by allocating funds without Congressional approval. Lula was the overwhelming favorite to win the 2018 election, but was jailed for receiving favors from a construction company, and thereby barred from running. The charges were dubious, and, some allege, politically motivated.
Coupled with a bad recession, this left Jair Bolsonaro, a fascist former army captain, the frontrunner, and he won the election. He is nostalgic for the military dictatorship and has called for the killing of leftists and the subjugation of women, LGBT people, and minorities. He wants to end environmental protections, pull Brazil out of the Paris climate accord, and open up the Amazon for clearcutting and mining. His economic adviser is a neoliberal from the University of Chicago who wants to follow the Pinochet model, selling off public assets to multinational corporations.
There are a lot of parallels between Bolsonaro and Trump, but Bolsonaro is far worse, and difficult times are ahead in Brazil. Another worry is that ideologies are contagious, and more countries may embrace far-right extremism. The world was at such a crossroads in the 1930’s, teetering from democracy toward fascism. Let's hope democracy wins again.
Like other countries, Brazil was historically controlled by a wealthy elite. It has one of the most unequal distributions of income in the world. There was a U.S.-backed military dictatorship from 1964-1985. Then Lula da Silva, a co-founder of the Workers Party, was elected president in 2002, and Brazil was headed by a champion of the poor. He increased the minimum wage and created a Zero Hunger program. He served two terms and was succeeded by Dilma Rousseff, the country’s first female president. She had been a torture victim under the dictatorship.
President Rousseff was removed in a parliamentary coup, impeached for breaking budget laws by allocating funds without Congressional approval. Lula was the overwhelming favorite to win the 2018 election, but was jailed for receiving favors from a construction company, and thereby barred from running. The charges were dubious, and, some allege, politically motivated.
Coupled with a bad recession, this left Jair Bolsonaro, a fascist former army captain, the frontrunner, and he won the election. He is nostalgic for the military dictatorship and has called for the killing of leftists and the subjugation of women, LGBT people, and minorities. He wants to end environmental protections, pull Brazil out of the Paris climate accord, and open up the Amazon for clearcutting and mining. His economic adviser is a neoliberal from the University of Chicago who wants to follow the Pinochet model, selling off public assets to multinational corporations.
There are a lot of parallels between Bolsonaro and Trump, but Bolsonaro is far worse, and difficult times are ahead in Brazil. Another worry is that ideologies are contagious, and more countries may embrace far-right extremism. The world was at such a crossroads in the 1930’s, teetering from democracy toward fascism. Let's hope democracy wins again.
November 27, 2018
Some Ways to Support Your Favorite Writers
(abridged from Jenna Moreci)
1. Tell your friends about books you like.
2. Follow the author on social media.
3. Mention their work on blogs or social media.
4. Ask your local library to carry their book.
5. Request the book at your local bookstore.
6. Review the book on Goodreads and Amazon (this is critical!)
7. And of course, buy their books!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLX9h...
1. Tell your friends about books you like.
2. Follow the author on social media.
3. Mention their work on blogs or social media.
4. Ask your local library to carry their book.
5. Request the book at your local bookstore.
6. Review the book on Goodreads and Amazon (this is critical!)
7. And of course, buy their books!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLX9h...
August 8, 2018
Net Neutrality
Imagine an Internet where you could only read blogs affiliated with Verizon, Comcast, or AT&T. Imagine that you could only watch Verizon-owned shows or movies, and this choice was limited. Imagine much steeper fees to access the Internet, send texts, or make phone calls. Imagine political opinions having to be approved by a corporate censor board.
This is what could happen now that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), headed by former Verizon lawyer Ajit Pai, has overturned net neutrality.
What is net neutrality? It’s the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) transmit all data equally, instead of intentionally favoring some websites and content over others. Net neutrality has always been a key principle of the Internet. It preserves our right to communicate freely online. It enables free speech. It is also crucial for small businesses and entrepreneurs (including authors and bloggers), who rely on an open internet to launch their businesses, advertise, and reach customers. Net neutrality promotes innovation, competition, and job growth.
None of this is protected now.
Sleep State Interrupt, the first book of the BetterWorld trilogy, and a Compton Crook finalist for the best speculative fiction novel of 2017, is set in a near-future world where net neutrality has been eliminated. A huge corporation (MediaCorp) works with the U.S. and other governments to upgrade the Internet with ultra-fast fiber optic lines, more efficient switching, and better security. In the process, MediaCorp spreads money to the right people and gains control of the Internet backbone. They use that to prioritize their own data flows or those companies that pay them a premium. Their stock goes through the roof, they crush or buy out their competitors, and MediaCorp gains control of nearly all information. Politicians do their bidding if they want to win elections. Most people are kept in the dark or misled. MediaCorp also creates an addictive virtual reality called BetterWorld, which becomes so popular, it overtakes the physical economy.
In the book, Waylee Freid, an unemployed journalist, decides to challenge this threat. She’s frustrated because no one’s voice can be heard except MediaCorp’s. She’s an idealist who believes in freedom of information. And she bears a grudge against MediaCorp for buying out her paper and firing her. With the help of hackers, she attempts to end MediaCorp’s monopoly by exposing their machinations to the world and bringing down their corrupt political supporters.
In the real world, things haven’t gotten this bad. Yet. But already the concentration of media and the decline of journalism threaten independent, critical thought and democracy. Imagine if there was only one source of news, and that news was sophisticated pro-government propaganda. Then imagine how much worse things would be.
What can you do?
Congress has the power to reverse the FCC’s vote. Urge your lawmakers to use a “resolution of disapproval” to overturn the FCC’s decision. The Senate has done this already and the House must follow. Support state and city laws to protect equal and fair access to the internet. And tell others about this.
This is what could happen now that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), headed by former Verizon lawyer Ajit Pai, has overturned net neutrality.
What is net neutrality? It’s the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) transmit all data equally, instead of intentionally favoring some websites and content over others. Net neutrality has always been a key principle of the Internet. It preserves our right to communicate freely online. It enables free speech. It is also crucial for small businesses and entrepreneurs (including authors and bloggers), who rely on an open internet to launch their businesses, advertise, and reach customers. Net neutrality promotes innovation, competition, and job growth.
None of this is protected now.
Sleep State Interrupt, the first book of the BetterWorld trilogy, and a Compton Crook finalist for the best speculative fiction novel of 2017, is set in a near-future world where net neutrality has been eliminated. A huge corporation (MediaCorp) works with the U.S. and other governments to upgrade the Internet with ultra-fast fiber optic lines, more efficient switching, and better security. In the process, MediaCorp spreads money to the right people and gains control of the Internet backbone. They use that to prioritize their own data flows or those companies that pay them a premium. Their stock goes through the roof, they crush or buy out their competitors, and MediaCorp gains control of nearly all information. Politicians do their bidding if they want to win elections. Most people are kept in the dark or misled. MediaCorp also creates an addictive virtual reality called BetterWorld, which becomes so popular, it overtakes the physical economy.
In the book, Waylee Freid, an unemployed journalist, decides to challenge this threat. She’s frustrated because no one’s voice can be heard except MediaCorp’s. She’s an idealist who believes in freedom of information. And she bears a grudge against MediaCorp for buying out her paper and firing her. With the help of hackers, she attempts to end MediaCorp’s monopoly by exposing their machinations to the world and bringing down their corrupt political supporters.
In the real world, things haven’t gotten this bad. Yet. But already the concentration of media and the decline of journalism threaten independent, critical thought and democracy. Imagine if there was only one source of news, and that news was sophisticated pro-government propaganda. Then imagine how much worse things would be.
What can you do?
Congress has the power to reverse the FCC’s vote. Urge your lawmakers to use a “resolution of disapproval” to overturn the FCC’s decision. The Senate has done this already and the House must follow. Support state and city laws to protect equal and fair access to the internet. And tell others about this.
August 5, 2018
Why Your Reviews Matter
Why Your Reviews Matter
by Chaz Bufe, publisher See Sharp Press
Your reviews matter, probably more than you realize.
There has been a drastic decline in the numbers of magazines and newspapers over the past two decades, and an even more drastic decline in the number that carry book reviews. The number of daily papers in the U.S. dropped roughly 15% over the past quarter century, and a great many of those remaining have reduced or entirely eliminated their book review sections. (This is in line with their overall reductions in news and feature coverage during the same period due to huge, presumably Internet-caused, revenue drops.)
The status of weekly papers is perhaps even more dire. Forty years ago there were independent weeklies in almost every major and mid-size city in the country, and a great many carried reviews. Since then, those that survived have been, and are still being, gobbled up by media conglomerates, the New Times chain being emblematic. That chain bought weeklies in half of the country’s largest markets, and the New Times papers I’m familiar with (and probably all or nearly all of the rest) do not review books.
The situation here in Tucson is a case in point. Six years ago, Arizona’s oldest daily newspaper, The Tucson Citizen, went under. The remaining Tucson daily, The Arizona Daily Star, now devotes only a half-page to reviews in its Sunday edition (no space at all in the others), and the formerly independent Tucson Weekly has been bought twice over the last 15 years by small media conglomerates. It used to carry weekly in-depth reviews of books by local authors. No more. Following its most recent sale, it stopped carrying book reviews and almost everything else that made it worth reading. It’s now little more than an advertising sheet of use only as bird cage liner (which is, literally, what I use it for — I normally don’t even bother looking inside it).
Magazines are in somewhat similar shape. Circulation (especially news stand circulation) has been declining simultaneously with the ascent of the Internet, and revenue has been plummeting: from $48.3 billion in 2007 to $27 billion in 2015. Two specialty magazines, Guitar Player and Bass Player, owned by the same company, are a case in point. From their glory days in the 1990s, their circulation has dropped by roughly half, and a few years ago they combined their staffs in a cost-cutting move. The end result of all this is that magazines have cut back their coverage, and it’s harder than ever to get reviews. (Bass Player and Guitar Player are exceptions to the rule, and are still very good about reviewing books.)
Compounding all this is the explosion in the annual number of new books over the past 25 years or so. The number of new titles reported by Books in Print, the best source for information on physical books, more than doubled over the last 15 years; the current total of new print books exceeds 300,000 per year. Add in e-books, and the number is likely over 1,000,000. (No one really knows how many e-books are published annually.)
Add this all up, and you have far more books competing for far fewer reviews in the remaining magazines and newspapers (the situation is similar with online review sites, which are overwhelmed), and for what little shelf space remains in bookstores.
The number of independent bookstores, where readers in decades past could discover books that received few or no reviews, has declined drastically over the past half-century. At present, they account for only 10% of the book market. So, that channel for readers to discover books has all but disappeared.
To make matters even worse, the large-circulation magazines tend to ignore books from small presses and to review primarily, often only, books from the half-dozen conglomerates that dominate the book publishing industry, and both television (and syndication-dominated) radio talk shows tend to book only the authors published by those same conglomerates.
What’s left for small publishers? Reader reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, Kobo, B&N, and other online retailer sites.
If you read a book that you like issued by an independent publisher, please consider writing even a one- or two-sentence review for Goodreads or any of the online book retailers. It’ll help both the author and the small publisher. And it’ll help other readers discover books they would enjoy.
Your reviews are more important than you think.
(reprinted from https://seesharppress.wordpress.com/2...)
by Chaz Bufe, publisher See Sharp Press
Your reviews matter, probably more than you realize.
There has been a drastic decline in the numbers of magazines and newspapers over the past two decades, and an even more drastic decline in the number that carry book reviews. The number of daily papers in the U.S. dropped roughly 15% over the past quarter century, and a great many of those remaining have reduced or entirely eliminated their book review sections. (This is in line with their overall reductions in news and feature coverage during the same period due to huge, presumably Internet-caused, revenue drops.)
The status of weekly papers is perhaps even more dire. Forty years ago there were independent weeklies in almost every major and mid-size city in the country, and a great many carried reviews. Since then, those that survived have been, and are still being, gobbled up by media conglomerates, the New Times chain being emblematic. That chain bought weeklies in half of the country’s largest markets, and the New Times papers I’m familiar with (and probably all or nearly all of the rest) do not review books.
The situation here in Tucson is a case in point. Six years ago, Arizona’s oldest daily newspaper, The Tucson Citizen, went under. The remaining Tucson daily, The Arizona Daily Star, now devotes only a half-page to reviews in its Sunday edition (no space at all in the others), and the formerly independent Tucson Weekly has been bought twice over the last 15 years by small media conglomerates. It used to carry weekly in-depth reviews of books by local authors. No more. Following its most recent sale, it stopped carrying book reviews and almost everything else that made it worth reading. It’s now little more than an advertising sheet of use only as bird cage liner (which is, literally, what I use it for — I normally don’t even bother looking inside it).
Magazines are in somewhat similar shape. Circulation (especially news stand circulation) has been declining simultaneously with the ascent of the Internet, and revenue has been plummeting: from $48.3 billion in 2007 to $27 billion in 2015. Two specialty magazines, Guitar Player and Bass Player, owned by the same company, are a case in point. From their glory days in the 1990s, their circulation has dropped by roughly half, and a few years ago they combined their staffs in a cost-cutting move. The end result of all this is that magazines have cut back their coverage, and it’s harder than ever to get reviews. (Bass Player and Guitar Player are exceptions to the rule, and are still very good about reviewing books.)
Compounding all this is the explosion in the annual number of new books over the past 25 years or so. The number of new titles reported by Books in Print, the best source for information on physical books, more than doubled over the last 15 years; the current total of new print books exceeds 300,000 per year. Add in e-books, and the number is likely over 1,000,000. (No one really knows how many e-books are published annually.)
Add this all up, and you have far more books competing for far fewer reviews in the remaining magazines and newspapers (the situation is similar with online review sites, which are overwhelmed), and for what little shelf space remains in bookstores.
The number of independent bookstores, where readers in decades past could discover books that received few or no reviews, has declined drastically over the past half-century. At present, they account for only 10% of the book market. So, that channel for readers to discover books has all but disappeared.
To make matters even worse, the large-circulation magazines tend to ignore books from small presses and to review primarily, often only, books from the half-dozen conglomerates that dominate the book publishing industry, and both television (and syndication-dominated) radio talk shows tend to book only the authors published by those same conglomerates.
What’s left for small publishers? Reader reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, Kobo, B&N, and other online retailer sites.
If you read a book that you like issued by an independent publisher, please consider writing even a one- or two-sentence review for Goodreads or any of the online book retailers. It’ll help both the author and the small publisher. And it’ll help other readers discover books they would enjoy.
Your reviews are more important than you think.
(reprinted from https://seesharppress.wordpress.com/2...)
August 4, 2018
First Blog Post
Greetings out there!
This is my first blog in many years. I will post here periodically. You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, where I'm more active. And you can visit my website at
http://savethereefs.wixsite.com/tcweber, where I've posted short stories, book excerpts, and drink recipes.
My wife and I also have a travel blog at http://www.mytripjournal.com/globalyawp, describing our around-the-world adventures in 2004-5.
Cheers,
Ted
This is my first blog in many years. I will post here periodically. You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, where I'm more active. And you can visit my website at
http://savethereefs.wixsite.com/tcweber, where I've posted short stories, book excerpts, and drink recipes.
My wife and I also have a travel blog at http://www.mytripjournal.com/globalyawp, describing our around-the-world adventures in 2004-5.
Cheers,
Ted
