Sara Ryan's Blog, page 10

A useful reminder

You know, what with things.

It’s a little hard to tell from the photo at that size, but the K nicely incorporates a chimney.

Rose City Comic Con

I’m at the Rose City Comic Con this weekend.

Saturday at 11 AM I’m speaking on this panel:

Dark Horse Originals: Dark Horse celebrates great creators with original visions!  Find out about the latest comics and books coming out in the unique Dark Horse Originals line.  Don’t miss special guests Paul Tobin and Colleen Cover (Bandette), Sam Humphries (Sacrifice), Damon Gentry (Sabertooth Swordsman), and Sara Ryan (Bad Houses).

Saturday at 3 PM I’m signing at the Dark Horse booth.

Otherwise I’ll be sharing a table with Steve Lieber in the Periscope Studio area.

See you there!

 

 

Four useful character motivation questions

The brilliant Dylan Meconis recently shared four character motivation questions with me. I found them really helpful so I’m passing them along. For each one, I’ve suggested some things that your answers might include, but I’m sure there are many other possibilities!

Answer in the voices of your characters:

What do I have? 

Objects significant to the plot, personality characteristics, skills, knowledge, close relationships, enemies.

What do I need?

Of course a character may need to acquire any number of Plot Coupons. But beyond that, they can be at any position in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, working their way up — or down, if your plot involves them losing jobs, social position, close relationships, etc.

Who do I want to see in power?

Perhaps particularly well suited to a plot that involves some level of political intrigue, but depending on what constitutes politics in your setting, this question can cover a lot of ground.

What am I most afraid of?

Could include phobias, individuals (someone who represents an active threat to the character,  someone the character is terrified of disappointing, someone the character is terrified of losing), groups,  specific situations.

Bonus round: if your plot involves the machinations of larger entities (provinces, nations, worlds, academic departments, etc.), answer the questions in the ‘voice’ of each entity as well.

Catch-up day

It took a long time for me to realize that going back to work immediately after traveling was a recipe for glazed-eyed unproductivity.

But now whenever possible I slot in a recovery day during which I put no greater demands on myself than doing laundry, acquiring groceries, and petting the uncharacteristically affectionate cat.

Oh and blogging I guess. Case in point.

We had a swell and busy time tabling at the Cincy Comicon. I did not take pictures at the actual show but I took a bunch inside the Cincinnati Union Terminal aka the Cincinnati Museum Center aka the Hall of Justice, where there was a fine reception associated with the con and we got a behind-the-scenes tour. As is my usual practice these photos do not include humans but I enjoyed the company of the humans present as well.

That last one is from inside the cave that is inside the museum. Yes you read that right.

Other notable sights:

This door, which was not at the museum or the con but simply visible during a walk:

I took it as quickly as I could since it seemed likely whomever lives or works behind said door would not react positively.

Then the detail of this other door, which I took both because of the incredibly snazzy knob & push plate (a term I had to look up) and because it is the entrance for Otto’s, a restaurant we liked very much.

 

And this chalk art:

And I have managed to write this in the exact amount of time it’s taken for the dryer to finish its cycle, so that’s what’s next.

Taco Dan’s, Granville, Ohio

If my Bad Houses character Anne Cole visited this place, she would be torn between delight at its offerings and panic at their astonishing profusion. It is a house that contains both a restaurant serving tasty Mexican food and a vintage shop. I did not take photos of the food but here are a bunch of the shop, which is spread out over several rooms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taco Dan’s. Should you find yourself in Granville, Ohio, you should go.

Cemetery walk

I restrict myself to photographing graves where the names have been effaced by time.

A more panoramic view.

The gate, to enter or leave.

And the steps of the place I’m staying, carved from the same stone.

Black Hole and Bad Houses

Bad Houses, like any creative work, has multiple inspirations.

One of them is two panels from Black Hole by Charles Burns.

Here we have two characters approaching an innocuous house.

I say ‘innocuous’, but when you look more closely there seems to be some trash on the lawn and street, and lumpy shapes on the front porch that might be garbage bags. But on my first read, I didn’t take in those foreshadowing details.

Here’s what we see when the characters go in:

Haze of smoke. Full ashtrays. Beer cans on the table, floor, and in bags that reduce the space in an already crowded room. Psychedelic Family Dog Commune and Jimi Hendrix posters, underscoring the Here Be Drugs vibe. Remnant of another poster to which the floor lamp with its snake-like cord seems to be pointing. We don’t know what that poster might have been, but we can see it was thumbtacked or nailed up; no one here is worrying about the condition of the walls. The jaggedness of the remnant also suggests that the poster was ripped down — in anger or to mess with someone or in a simple moment of casual destructiveness.

Display cabinet that instead of china or Hummel figurines or high school trophies is full of mugs and goblets and bottles. Not the collectible kind.

Armchair where the torn vinyl has been duct taped. When you sit in that chair it’ll make an embarrassing noise. You’ll sink farther down than you thought you would. It’ll be hard to get out. If you’re wearing shorts or a short skirt, your legs will stick.

And what is that thing on the coffee table? A polished slice of tree stump with condensation rings from the beer?

Not everything is battered. The couches are sturdy and stiff. The non-duct-taped armchairs also appear to have some structural integrity. No one has ripped up or graffitied the curtains or deployed them as garments.

But the room as a whole tells the reader what we’re already learning from the story. Things are falling apart, or changing, or both.

Those two panels made me think about all the times I’ve entered a house or apartment for the first time and my understanding of the people who live there subtly recalibrated or lurched violently in a new direction.

What you see from the street; what’s inside.

Oregon City has a municipal elevator.

Last night I went to Oregon City and experienced its municipal elevator, also the Promenade accessible therefrom.

The view is grand.

Of course, I was also compelled to document the sticker art. I like the fact that the half-skull person appears to be looking up at the angelic figure.

Book recommendations from the BGL retreat

I’m just back from the BG Literary annual retreat; as always, inspired, happy to meet new folks & catch up with friends, sorry to miss seeing people who couldn’t make it this year. And like last year, one of the discussions was about recent books we’d enjoyed/admired/otherwise appreciated and endorsed. Here they are.

Wig In The Window, Kristen Kittscher

The Golem and the Jinni, Helene Wecker

The Different Girl, Gordon Dahlquist

, Elizabeth Wein

The Fault In Our Stars, John Green

The Bedlam Detective, Stephen Gallagher

The Rook, Daniel O’Malley

Cold Cereal, Adam Rex

The Night Circus, Erin Morganstern

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Karen Joy Fowler

The Lucy Variations, Sara Zarr

The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls

Prince of Cats, Ron Wimberly

Life After Life, Kate Atkinson

Proxy, Alex London

The Shambling Guide to New York City, Mur Lafferty

Tenth of December, George Saunders

All That Is, James Salter

The Fish Wife, Kim Antieau

House of Rumour, Jake Arnott

September Girls, Bennett Madison

The Summer Prince, Alaya Dawn Johnson

Ghost Hawk, Susan Cooper

The Best of All Possible Worlds, Karen Lord

2312, Kim Stanley Robinson

YOU: a novel, Austin Grossman

Alif the Unseen, G. Willow Wilson

Saga, Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Still Life, Louise Penny

Dodger, Terry Pratchett

Redshirts, Jon Scalzi

Bad Houses Is On NetGalley

Alert! Alert! Bad Houses Is On NetGalley.

Permit me to quote from the NetGalley site, in case you are not yet initiated to its ways:

Do you love to spread the word about new books? Do you review and recommend books online, in print, for your bookstore, library patrons, blog readers, or classroom? Then you are what we call a “professional reader,” and NetGalley is for you. Registration is free, and allows you to request digital titles to read on your favorite device.

I believe that a number of you reading this are, in fact, professional readers, so you know what to do!