Jackson Allen's Blog, page 20

Sage Scifi – Community Dangers of ‘All or Nothing’

My time on https://kbin.social/m/scifi teaches me that the dangers of an ‘all or nothing’ scifi community still exist. I’m not going to call out specific examples because I don’t want anyone to feel judged. Digging through the comments on the threads/microblogs – the pattern starts to emerge.

I’m not anyone’s dad, so do what you want. The dangers of the scifi community demanding ‘all or nothing’ have real implications for scifi creators who may easily say: ‘He’s always been an all or nothing type of fella and since he can’t have it all he gets nothing.’ Mature communities develop successful creators, every ‘successful person origin story’ includes the moments where a leader believed in their greatness.

Behind every creator is a universe of jobs – “Content creation, project management, editing, marketing, self-promotion – most creators do it all on their own. Producing content is a treadmill. Stepping off has consequences. Because platforms reward creators who post consistently, they’re often forced to pump out new content daily in order to compete.” That model is unsustainable in a genre like scifi. Science fiction is thoughtful, forward-thinking, and genuine. It takes time to tell stories with depth and authenticity.

Treating scifi creators as ‘performers who love to be heckled’ is both incorrect and destructive. What do you gain when you trash scifi actors online? What purpose is served when you drag scifi directors for ‘not being enough?’ Do you think those actors, directors, and creatives go ‘oh wow, thanks for all that negative feedback – I’mma go back to my workshop and do something to make you even happier!’?

My background of dysfunction and abuse lets me answer that last question with authority: Nuh-uh! Creators don’t thrive when you beat them down like J.K. Simmons in Whiplash. If anything, they leave and go do something else. Many an intellectual feast was destroyed by the ‘if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen’ crowd. Congratulations, you proved that you can criticize people until they break – enjoy the scifi equivalent of a TV dinner.

I’ve mentioned this before and I’ll keep saying it – Scifi is both a genre and a community. To survive and thrive as a community, we should take advantage of maturity models to become community that develops our genre. When we develop our genre, we get the scifi we want, we get to say ‘we acted out of caring instead of self-serving motives.’

I’ll close by saying this – I’ve purposefully left certain alternative viewpoints out of this essay. If your only takeaway is to say ‘yeah, but why didn’t you say …’ congratulations, you both missed my point and proved it. Enjoy the scifi equivalent of a TV dinner.

 

The post Sage Scifi – Community Dangers of ‘All or Nothing’ appeared first on Inkican.

Sci-Friday #197 – Without Warning – Scifi Movie

 

Hooray – we made it to Sci-Friday – please enjoy this scifi movie ‘Without Warning,’ a remake of Orson Welles’ famous ‘War of the Worlds’ broadcast from 1994. Take a look:

Watching Without Warning on YouTube is an interesting slice-of-life, since the video includes mid-90s commercials and other ‘pre-9/11’ production elements that you wouldn’t dare to use today. Even if it’s not the most amazing scifi movie ever, Without Warning is an interesting experiment in doc-style storytelling. As professional storytellers, we can learn a few things from this blast from the past. In fact, here are some fun facts about ‘Without Warning’:

It was produced by David L. Wolper, who also produced projects like ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,’ ‘Roots,’ and ‘L.A. Confidential.’Stars include Jane “Lois from ‘Malcolm in the Middle'” KaczmarekBecause Sander Vanocur plays himself as a news anchor in this film, a few complaints were received from people who believed the movie events were real, despite repeated on screen narration and text before the start of each act‘Without Warning’ shares its name with another scifi movie: Without Warning (1980) – a campy scifi horror film featuring Martin Landau

 

If you enjoyed this discussion, please feel welcomed to dive down the rabbit hole of every other Sci-Friday I’ve published in the past couple years. Have a great weekend! 

The post Sci-Friday #197 – Without Warning – Scifi Movie appeared first on Inkican.

Notes from Eugene – 11/08/2023

Another drippy fall day in Eugene for the guy who writes scifi short stories. I pull my coat tight around my shoulders. Mason – my indoor cat – escaped into the neighborhood last night. Misty fog fills the neighborhood with mystery and danger. My kitty isn’t up for the cold, harsh realities of a post-election day America where school board campaigns run with the delirious intensity of the ’92 Clinton / Bush crusade. Innocent animals don’t thrive under the rabid, tribal violence just as grass does not grow where elephants fight.

“Mason? Mason! Here kittykittykittykitty!”

RoseMarie discreetly disposes of an empty Seagrams 7 bottle – waifish in her ratty, pink housecoat. “Your cat go missing?”

“It’s Mason, the black and white.”

Heavy, molasses-colored glass thuds into the recycling bin. “I saw something black and white last night under my window. Thought it was a skunk.”

Some might say that I should be surprised or angry at RoseMarie’s naive indifference but it’s no different than the casual insouciance surrounding all of us. Compassion gets commoditized, the vulnerable become invisible. Cold comfort compounding into apathy – our new normal is a world where Schoolkids get denied lunch over an unpaid bill, newspapers run articles on ‘using the Israel-Hamas war to fuel your weight loss,’ and elderly employees rack up credit card debt just to eat.

What did I expect? In 2023, we see children slaughtered by cousins for the sins of their grandfathers. Dinner-table dysfunction draws denominations into decimation.

I just want my cat back. Small kindnesses mean everything in a world filled with large losses. My footsteps scuff the pavement for an hour. Time to return home and warm up. The guy who writes scifi short stories must carry on until updates arrive.

I returned home, dejected and despondent. Mason was waiting for me at the front door, eager for food. None the worse for wear – he just wanted to know what the outside world looked like. The guy who writes scifi short stories could now return to his task. Peace was restored to the land.

The post Notes from Eugene – 11/08/2023 appeared first on Inkican.

New Scifi Audiobook – The Battle of Victoria Crater Part II

Hooray – so happy to announce another new scifi audiobook – The Battle of Victoria Crater Part II is online and ready to listen to. Are you interested in Mars? Do you want to know what life would really be like on the Red Planet? Click the link below and strap in – it’s more complicated than you think!

In the containing saga of the desolate Martian frontier of Victoriaville, a brave community of settlers faces relentless threats from mercenary bandits working for a powerful Earth corporation, WTO. At the same time, life as a Martian teenager comes with some interesting challenges. This time, the light at the end of the tunnel comes with grim news – not only are the bad guys on their way, so are desperate refugees and a monstrous dust storm. Pete and Martin risk everything to rescue the plucky pioneers from certain doom. Martin learns in the grinding dust and darkness that victory is something you win, one step at a time.

One of the reasons I’m so excited about The Battle of Victoria Crater Part Two? The interest we got with Part One: 14K views and 2K new subscribers to the YouTube channel. People love a good story, people love to visit far off places – it makes me happy that something I made brings readers so much joy.

If you’re interested in producing your own audio short stories, you can learn more with this blog post. Please keep in mind that Jeremiah and I are available for commissions if you’d like to hire us – contact me here.

I hope you enjoy The Battle of Victoria Crater – this new scifi audiobook is part of the Inkican Audio Books channel. Many more stories coming in the near future. Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

The post New Scifi Audiobook – The Battle of Victoria Crater Part II appeared first on Inkican.

Teaser Art – The Battle of Victoria Crater Part Two

Almost done – Please enjoy some teaser art for The Battle of Victoria Crater Part Two. We should have that live on YouTube in the next few days. Enjoy the art and some of the behind-the-scenes updates for producing a scifi audio short story:

I know I’ve talked about producing short stories before but let’s drive into some of the other parts that make it an immersive experience. You can enjoy Jeremiah’s reading by itself – it stands up great on its own – but I want you to feel like you’re actually there on Mars. That means additional audio – but what kind?

Foley is the addition of sound effects in post production, usually performed live to picture by Foley artists. Being a foley artist is actually kind of fun, I toyed with the idea of becoming one at one point but … c’est la vie. Point is, there are many royalty-free-for-a-fee sound websites out there. Here’s what you need to watch out for: there are a lot of sounds out there that are licensed under Creative Commons – that is, no restrictions, do what you want with them.

That’s important because I don’t want to misrepresent Inkican – I’m still doing this for nickels and dimes – and the last thing I need is a copyright strike on my books or a C/D letter from some law firm. So when you’re looking for additional sounds – make sure you’re using sounds that are tagged ‘Creative Commons’ – that way you’re avoiding trouble before it starts.

I’ll have more to say about this later – I hope you enjoy the teaser art for The Battle of Victoria Crater Part Two. We’re going live soon!

 

The post Teaser Art – The Battle of Victoria Crater Part Two appeared first on Inkican.

David Bowie – Advice on Creativity

No Sci-Friday this week – instead, let’s enjoy some advice on creativity from David Bowie. Bowie, the Thin White Duke, spent his entire career making innovative music, visuals, and theatrical productions. It’s no wonder then, that he would have some simple advice that works for anyone in the creativity profession – take a look:



Interesting ideas from a complicated person. I say that because although his advice seems reasonable and practical, I’m also aware that Bowie’s drive to be different sometimes took him to dark, weird places I’d never go.

But so what? The main point he’s making – which I’ve been working to embrace for myself – is that art is not about making money, it’s about understanding yourself. Simple as that, get whatever’s inside of you out – colored pencils on a blank sheet of paper, acrylic paint on a blank canvas, or in my case a keyboard and a blank screen. Just start, make something, write something down. Then you share it with others. That feedback loop helps you collect signal about your perceptions, experiences, and perspectives.

And then you do it over again. Creativity is an ongoing process that requires more, but also gives more. One day we’ll all understand what it means but in the meantime, we can be compassionate toward ourselves and each other.

Hope you enjoyed this advice on creativity from David Bowie. I’ve got a novel to write – I know you’ve got your work, too.

Write on!

The post David Bowie – Advice on Creativity appeared first on Inkican.

Everybody Starts Somewhere: Gene Roddenberry – Scifi Creativity

This article about Gene Roddenberry reminds us that scifi creativity starts from humble beginnings. Roddenberry’s proposed story, something called the “Transporter” (deep ironic foreshadowing ahoy!) teaches us a few things within typewritten lines.  You can read the original doc here.

Indiewire has more on the story: “In 1955, Roddenberry … had gotten into television writing by acting as a liaison for the LAPD, when he worked as a police officer in the early 1950s, to the show ‘Dragnet.’  We don’t get a clear picture of how or why Roddenberry made the jump from ‘procedural cop show’ to ‘groundbreaking scifi.  I agree with the article’s comment: “The Roddenberry estate believes this document to be his first-ever attempt at writing science-fiction. It’s like seeing the first-ever attempt at dripping paint on canvas by Jackson Pollack.” You can’t help connecting with the elements of scifi creativity and genius in these yellowed sheets.

I’ve talked about this before – you don’t have to be perfect at everything to be successful. These examples teach us: we don’t suck – we’re beginning! It’s okay to begin, it’s okay to learn, it’s okay to not be a master yet. Our hyper-capitalist world demands ‘all masters, no beginners, all the time.’ That’s neither fair, nor reasonable – we all deserve compassion, understanding, and nurturing when we begin.

The post Everybody Starts Somewhere: Gene Roddenberry – Scifi Creativity appeared first on Inkican.

Solarpunk Notes – Cory Doctorow: ‘Technology Isn’t the Problem’

If you have a moment, take a peek at these solarpunk notes from Cory Doctorow – he admits what we all know: Technology isn’t the problem. Rather, technology is a power in the hands of Big Tech actors. As Lord Acton was fond of saying: ‘All power corrupts.’ Let’s talk about what that means, according to Doctorow and what he thinks we have to look forward to.

Here’s why I’m writing this – Cory Doctorow’s notes are brilliant from a solarpunk perspective but we need to go deeper than ‘technology isn’t the problem.’ No, in order to understand his point you need a deep background on economics, capitalism and sadly most of us weren’t taught enough in school. So as a public service, let me provide some additional detail to help you understand what he’s saying, why he’s right, and why we should be paying attention.

All of This Has Happened Before And It Will All Happen Again

Ten points to you if you recognized the subtitle as a quote from Battlestar Galactica. It happens to be true: Using technology to coerce and control is nothing new. As Doctorow points out: our current use of apps to control workers like Amazon does with its drivers is the modern-day form of Taylorism.

But what is Taylorism? Taylorism is explained as follows: “In Taylor’s view, the task of factory management was to determine the best way for the worker to do the job, to provide the proper tools and training, and to provide incentives for good performance. He broke each job down into its individual motions, analyzed these to determine which were essential, and timed the workers with a stopwatch. With unnecessary motion eliminated, the worker, following a machinelike routine, became far more productive.”

Huh, okay. This makes sense on the surface – who doesn’t want their products produced at the maximum level of efficiency? The issue here is simple: There’s no maximum, no top end to reach. A fundamental principle of capitalism is the never-ending pursuit of growth, optimization, and improvement. If you aren’t growing, the logic goes, then you’re dying.

This isn’t just coming from me – think-tanks have long warned about the dangers of ‘persistent growth,’ recognizing that at some point you run out of new material, resources, or capital. As far back as 1798, Thomas Malthus discussed this Malthusian Limit – where population growth is exponential, resource supplies are linear – inevitably reaching a point of decline because growth can’t be maintained forever.

Technology Isn’t the Problem – Greed Is

While technology isn’t the problem, what it’s being used for – a means to force people to work harder and faster until they collapse – is. Doctorow’s examples – using regulatory capture, 21st-Century Taylorism, and insisting on growth over morals and ethics – remind us of cancer cells or viruses that grow and multiply until they’ve overwhelmed their hosts. Let’s be clear – we’re not the viruses or cancers – we’re the healthy cells. We’re being overwhelmed by a system that refuses to acknowledge it’s responsibility to maintain sustainability.

So what happens now? Doctorow has some ideas about that, too – solarpunk-y discusses abound in his upcoming book ‘The Lost Cause.’ In it, Doctorow attempts to answer a simple-yet-powerful question: ‘It’s thirty years from now. We’re making progress, mitigating climate change, slowly but surely. But what about all the angry old people who can’t let go?’

That’s one potential question to be answered. Another is: What if we put this technology to use to bring the CyberTaylorists to heel? That’s something I’ve been thinking about – I’m going to answer it in an upcoming short story.

I’m not saying Doctorow has all the answers but he’s certainly asking good questions. These Solarpunk notes from Cory Doctorow are worth reviewing and reminding ourselves: Technology isn’t the problem.

The post Solarpunk Notes – Cory Doctorow: ‘Technology Isn’t the Problem’ appeared first on Inkican.

Back on the Horse-Ish

Thanks for waiting to hear from me – I’m back on the horse-ish. Let me tell you what’s going on. All this week, I’ve been re-writing Mike.Sierra.Echo in response to some feedback and soul-searching. Am I willing to put the time in? Is this the best that I can do?

Going back to the well again required a lot of time and energy – not only to manage the work but manage emotions. I really wanted to believe I was done with the project, however it was clear that Mike.Sierra.Echo was not done with me. Sometimes I feel like Sisyphus, rolling the stones back into place over and over again. Other times I’m like ‘I can’t believe I didn’t figure this out before!’

The good news is that this work is making MSE better than it was – I’m cutting the story down to what it always should have been. By my calculations, I’ve written over 300K words to make MSE into a 65K word-novel you’ll enjoy reading. One of these days I’ll figure out how to make this process more efficient and I’ll share with you some best practices once I know what they are.

So yes, back on the horse-ish. I don’t really feel like blogging right now, but you deserve to know what’s going on. My best wishes to you for your personal success and happiness.

The post Back on the Horse-Ish appeared first on Inkican.

Why I’m Not Blogging – 10/13/2023

Here with a quick ‘Why I’m Not Blogging’ for 10/13/2023 – if you were in my apartment this morning you would have seen me scribbling a number of story diagrams. What *is* the story of Mike.Sierra.Echo and am I telling it in the most effective/efficient way possible? Those are the questions I’m struggling with, which leaves little room for blog topics and other nuggets of wisdom.

Thank you for your patience – I’ll be back around when the dust clears. Enjoy your weekend!