Shanna Swendson's Blog, page 258
February 22, 2011
Short Stories vs. Novels
I was perhaps overly ambitious about how much work I'd get done the day after a convention. I went to the library and I got my weekly writing project for the medical school done, but when it came to fiction, I only managed to re-read (and tinker with) the first part of the scene I was working on and then write about five new paragraphs. But I did come up with what would happen next this morning, and while I was spacing out and wasting time I took care of a few things for the rest of the week that should save me time that I hope to apply to writing.
At one of the ConDFW panels last weekend, one of the big debates within the genre came up. I was moderating the Aspiring Writers panel, and I felt rather out of my league, as the other panelists were Brandon Sanderson, Tim Powers, Bill Fawcett and Jack McDevitt. I figured I was there strictly for moderation and possibly decoration. Anyway, the usual "what's the best way to get published?" question came up, and we seemed to get into a generational divide about the answer. The Old Guard conventional wisdom in science fiction/fantasy is that you break in by writing short stories, which gets you the credibility and attention that make it possible to sell a novel. The more senior members of the panel agreed with this and have published short stories. Brandon and I, as the junior members of the panel, were of the opinion that publishing short stories wasn't essential to publication these days and that short stories and novels are two entirely different skills. If you're not a short story writer and you try the "break in through short stories" route, you'll never break in, or at the very least you'll waste a lot of time you could have spent writing novels that might have sold.
I know I tend to think in terms of novels. I've tried writing short stories a few times, and they always turn into novels. Brandon said he just finished a short story -- it was only 95,000 words. He thought that the generational difference came from the fact that short stories have been less prominent in the past thirty years or so. Our generation didn't grow up reading short stories, so it's not a mindset we even get into for writing. I'm not sure how old he is, exactly, though I'd guess he's a bit younger than I am. Still, we're probably within the same generational range, so we fall into the gap between the Golden Age of the genre magazines and the recent revitalization of short fiction through online sites.
But I can't agree entirely with the reason for not being able to write short stories. Although I didn't grow up reading the genre magazines, I did read a lot of short genre fiction. I read Alan Dean Foster's short stories when I was a kid. I devoured Ray Bradbury short stories as a teen and read them for prose interpretation competitions. Actually, I read a lot of short stories to come up with competition material. I read Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov (I've never warmed up to his novels, but I loved his short stories). I tried writing short stories, too, since I'd read all that advice about how writing short stories was the way to break in as a science fiction novelist. I'd go to the library and read the Writer's Marketplace to find guidelines and markets and then try to write stories to go into those markets, but those stories tended to spiral out of control until they were way too long but hadn't quite really started. When you've written ten pages of a short story and you're still setting up the situation, you're in trouble. It seems that even then my ideas were for novels.
Now, short stories aren't my favorite reading form. I often find them frustrating because if I really like the world and the characters, I want more. It's pretty much the same reason I prefer TV series to movies. A good short story requires a premise that's strong enough to make for an interesting story but not so strong that it warrants the full development of a novel. The ironic twist ending is popular in short stories possibly because it provides such a strong sense of closure that you know the story was just long enough. I recently read a volume of stories called Wizards, and while some were just right, others made me want more about those characters or those worlds. Fortunately, one of the more intriguing stories did become a novel -- it was the starting point for what became Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. Another one reminded me of the way I attempt to write short stories, where it really should be a novel, and it's only just getting started when it gets too long, so then there's some quick handwaving to come to something that resembles a conclusion.
I do want to learn how to write short stories. Even if they aren't a requirement for getting published (obviously), I think they can help in building a career. Because the Old Guard holds onto the belief that short stories are the golden ticket, selling short stories to prestigious publications is the way to build credibility in the industry. It sometimes as though you get taken more seriously within the field if you've published well-received short stories in addition to novels. That gets you invitations to contribute to anthologies, and being in an anthology with a more prominent author is a good way to build an audience. It's also a good way to be able to call yourself a bestseller if you have a story in an anthology that hits the bestseller list because of the big-name author involved with it. If I ever reach the point where I'm invited to be a guest of honor at a convention, I might be asked to contribute a short story to a program book.
I have written one story for a convention program book. It was an episode in the Enchanted, Inc. universe -- essentially fan fiction for my own books. That might be a good starting point to get used to the idea of writing a single event. I also have a couple of novels that didn't come together where the idea might not have been strong enough for a novel but might be enough for a shorter story. Now, when I have the time to do this while trying to get some more novels out, I don't know. It might be something to try between projects, but since I'm a novelist, the books need to come first.
At one of the ConDFW panels last weekend, one of the big debates within the genre came up. I was moderating the Aspiring Writers panel, and I felt rather out of my league, as the other panelists were Brandon Sanderson, Tim Powers, Bill Fawcett and Jack McDevitt. I figured I was there strictly for moderation and possibly decoration. Anyway, the usual "what's the best way to get published?" question came up, and we seemed to get into a generational divide about the answer. The Old Guard conventional wisdom in science fiction/fantasy is that you break in by writing short stories, which gets you the credibility and attention that make it possible to sell a novel. The more senior members of the panel agreed with this and have published short stories. Brandon and I, as the junior members of the panel, were of the opinion that publishing short stories wasn't essential to publication these days and that short stories and novels are two entirely different skills. If you're not a short story writer and you try the "break in through short stories" route, you'll never break in, or at the very least you'll waste a lot of time you could have spent writing novels that might have sold.
I know I tend to think in terms of novels. I've tried writing short stories a few times, and they always turn into novels. Brandon said he just finished a short story -- it was only 95,000 words. He thought that the generational difference came from the fact that short stories have been less prominent in the past thirty years or so. Our generation didn't grow up reading short stories, so it's not a mindset we even get into for writing. I'm not sure how old he is, exactly, though I'd guess he's a bit younger than I am. Still, we're probably within the same generational range, so we fall into the gap between the Golden Age of the genre magazines and the recent revitalization of short fiction through online sites.
But I can't agree entirely with the reason for not being able to write short stories. Although I didn't grow up reading the genre magazines, I did read a lot of short genre fiction. I read Alan Dean Foster's short stories when I was a kid. I devoured Ray Bradbury short stories as a teen and read them for prose interpretation competitions. Actually, I read a lot of short stories to come up with competition material. I read Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov (I've never warmed up to his novels, but I loved his short stories). I tried writing short stories, too, since I'd read all that advice about how writing short stories was the way to break in as a science fiction novelist. I'd go to the library and read the Writer's Marketplace to find guidelines and markets and then try to write stories to go into those markets, but those stories tended to spiral out of control until they were way too long but hadn't quite really started. When you've written ten pages of a short story and you're still setting up the situation, you're in trouble. It seems that even then my ideas were for novels.
Now, short stories aren't my favorite reading form. I often find them frustrating because if I really like the world and the characters, I want more. It's pretty much the same reason I prefer TV series to movies. A good short story requires a premise that's strong enough to make for an interesting story but not so strong that it warrants the full development of a novel. The ironic twist ending is popular in short stories possibly because it provides such a strong sense of closure that you know the story was just long enough. I recently read a volume of stories called Wizards, and while some were just right, others made me want more about those characters or those worlds. Fortunately, one of the more intriguing stories did become a novel -- it was the starting point for what became Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. Another one reminded me of the way I attempt to write short stories, where it really should be a novel, and it's only just getting started when it gets too long, so then there's some quick handwaving to come to something that resembles a conclusion.
I do want to learn how to write short stories. Even if they aren't a requirement for getting published (obviously), I think they can help in building a career. Because the Old Guard holds onto the belief that short stories are the golden ticket, selling short stories to prestigious publications is the way to build credibility in the industry. It sometimes as though you get taken more seriously within the field if you've published well-received short stories in addition to novels. That gets you invitations to contribute to anthologies, and being in an anthology with a more prominent author is a good way to build an audience. It's also a good way to be able to call yourself a bestseller if you have a story in an anthology that hits the bestseller list because of the big-name author involved with it. If I ever reach the point where I'm invited to be a guest of honor at a convention, I might be asked to contribute a short story to a program book.
I have written one story for a convention program book. It was an episode in the Enchanted, Inc. universe -- essentially fan fiction for my own books. That might be a good starting point to get used to the idea of writing a single event. I also have a couple of novels that didn't come together where the idea might not have been strong enough for a novel but might be enough for a shorter story. Now, when I have the time to do this while trying to get some more novels out, I don't know. It might be something to try between projects, but since I'm a novelist, the books need to come first.
February 21, 2011
Showing Off
I'm now in post-con recovery phase, which doesn't feel that different from pre-con spacey phase. At least the vivid dream that I woke from this morning was less realistic. There's not much chance of mistaking a dream about surviving a nuclear war by hiding out in a shopping mall for a real memory.
I believe I demonstrated all of my major talents except dance at the convention this weekend. I did a reading, which demonstrates my writing ability, and there was a small bit of singing involved in my reading, plus I do a bit of acting when I read from my work. I contributed chocolate chip cookies to the con suite for my club's sponsored hour, so I showed off my cooking skills. I did a little babysitting, showing that I am good with kids (though having a baby in my lap during a booksigning didn't draw as many people as I thought it might. Next time I think I need a puppy). And I think my sense of humor came out in panels. I should have done a pirouette in the lobby and I'd have covered everything. Maybe I should find a way to work interpretive dance into a reading. Or I could do the excerpt where there's dancing and then act it out, if I can find an audience volunteer who can waltz.
And there was the usual hanging out with friends, plus in a moment of weakness I agreed to an official role with FenCon. The PR beast is being reawakened. Be afraid. Be very afraid. (Ooh, this could fit nicely into the ongoing plan for world domination.)
I seemed to get a very positive response from my reading, which was from the book currently on submission. Now, if only that will start some Internet buzz in which people mention how much they want the rest of this story, so that the publishers see it and think they have a potential hit on their hands if there's already buzz before the book is bought. Go forth and buzz, any audience members. Just be sure to spell my name right so it will show up in Google searches.
Now I need to try to get back to "normal" and back to work. I got pretty far behind last week and need to catch up. If I can wake up.
I believe I demonstrated all of my major talents except dance at the convention this weekend. I did a reading, which demonstrates my writing ability, and there was a small bit of singing involved in my reading, plus I do a bit of acting when I read from my work. I contributed chocolate chip cookies to the con suite for my club's sponsored hour, so I showed off my cooking skills. I did a little babysitting, showing that I am good with kids (though having a baby in my lap during a booksigning didn't draw as many people as I thought it might. Next time I think I need a puppy). And I think my sense of humor came out in panels. I should have done a pirouette in the lobby and I'd have covered everything. Maybe I should find a way to work interpretive dance into a reading. Or I could do the excerpt where there's dancing and then act it out, if I can find an audience volunteer who can waltz.
And there was the usual hanging out with friends, plus in a moment of weakness I agreed to an official role with FenCon. The PR beast is being reawakened. Be afraid. Be very afraid. (Ooh, this could fit nicely into the ongoing plan for world domination.)
I seemed to get a very positive response from my reading, which was from the book currently on submission. Now, if only that will start some Internet buzz in which people mention how much they want the rest of this story, so that the publishers see it and think they have a potential hit on their hands if there's already buzz before the book is bought. Go forth and buzz, any audience members. Just be sure to spell my name right so it will show up in Google searches.
Now I need to try to get back to "normal" and back to work. I got pretty far behind last week and need to catch up. If I can wake up.
February 18, 2011
Writing Brain
One weird side effect of being in writing mode is that it really messes up my sleep patterns. I have a very hard time falling asleep at night because I can't seem to turn off my brain. Then I have very intense, vivid dreams that must involve a really deep REM cycle, or something, because I can't seem to wake up from them, and when I do, I feel like I'm coming out of a drugged coma. Then because I was just having a vivid, intense dream, it takes me a long time to reorient to the real world and figure out what is real and what was just a dream. I've caught myself making plans for the day based on something that only happened in a dream but that for a while I thought was a real memory.
It was very inconvenient when that happened last night because I'm on a panel at ConDFW at 3 today, and I have a lot of stuff I need to get done between now and then, so it didn't help that I way overslept and still feel like I was drugged. I have to put together whatever con supplies I need, iron some shirts, eat something, think about what to say on my panels. And my hair is still wet and doesn't seem to want to dry.
If anything fun or interesting happens at the convention, I'll report Monday.
It was very inconvenient when that happened last night because I'm on a panel at ConDFW at 3 today, and I have a lot of stuff I need to get done between now and then, so it didn't help that I way overslept and still feel like I was drugged. I have to put together whatever con supplies I need, iron some shirts, eat something, think about what to say on my panels. And my hair is still wet and doesn't seem to want to dry.
If anything fun or interesting happens at the convention, I'll report Monday.
February 17, 2011
Internet Follies
Today got off to a weird start when I woke up from a dream about trying to transfer data from my home phone to my computer (because for some odd reason I'd been writing a book on my home phone), thinking it was Monday because I'd been at church yesterday. It took me a while to recalculate and recall that I'd been at church for choir practice, which made today Thursday. That's what all external markers seem to be indicating, so if I'm incorrect, please notify me immediately.
The weird comment spam continues. In fact, I'm getting more spam comments on my blog than real ones these days. A lot have been showing up for one particular post. There was one telling me it was the best argument they'd seen on that topic and they'd like to discuss it further via private message. Then there was one saying they disagreed with me and could back up their argument with evidence if I wanted to private message them. What truly controversial topic did I post on to stir up so much debate? That would have been the short post I made saying I was about to go visit my parents for Thanksgiving.
The weird thing is that I don't get what this spam was trying to accomplish. There were no links to anything, and in spite of the invitation to private message them, there was no contact information. I suspect a spambot ran into the LiveJournal comment system, where you can leave anonymous comments but don't get the opportunity to enter a user name that links to a user ID or web site, like you can with a lot of blogging systems. The user name for non-member comments is always "Anonymous," with no link. So all they did with this spam was waste my time and annoy me.
I'm also getting a lot of spam text messages on my cell phone, which really irks me because I get charged for each message (no point in having a texting plan when I don't text but once in a blue moon) and there doesn't seem to be a way of rejecting them or letting the carrier know it was spam. And I've been getting phone calls from a North Dakota area code on my cell. I don't give out my cell number to too many people, and as far as I know, I don't know anyone in North Dakota, so I reject the calls and they don't leave a message, so I don't know if it's telemarketers or a wrong number. It's all enough to make me want to pull the plug on the outside world.
In other Internet follies, I was invited to contribute a guest blog to a site recently. I was very proud of myself for getting it done several days early. Then the day it was supposed to be posted, I had a frantic e-mail from the person who'd invited me to contribute a post, asking where it was. I responded that I'd sent it the week before, and sent it again. Then I found in my spam folder a failure message (buried in the fake failure message spams) that had arrived several days after I sent the first message, saying that the recipient's server had rejected it. I didn't get a response after re-sending the post, and then a couple of days later I got another failure message (I was looking for it that time). So now I'm worried that this person thinks I blew her off completely, and I'm irked that I finally got something done well ahead of time and didn't get credit for it. The problem is that if your only way of communicating with someone is via e-mail and your e-mail keeps being rejected, there's no way to let someone know that you're trying to reach them and have done everything they asked you to do. So, if the people I was supposed to be guest blogging for see this, I really did write the post and I sent it several days early then sent it again. I'll try something else, maybe from a different e-mail address, in case it's my address the server hates (but I seem to be able to send e-mail to other people from that address).
Now I have a convention to get ready for this weekend. I'll be at ConDFW in Dallas, all three days. If you're going, you'll see me in the schedule you get at registration, and if you're not going, you don't care, so I won't post my particular events. For my reading slot, I think I'll read from the project that is currently on submission and that I haven't been talking about publicly. It's the same book I read from at FenCon, but it has been altered slightly since then. My voice is still a bit rough from my bout with the plague, so this could be an adventure. I just have to figure out something to wear since it will be too warm for normal winter clothes and my wardrobe is lacking in "in between."
The weird comment spam continues. In fact, I'm getting more spam comments on my blog than real ones these days. A lot have been showing up for one particular post. There was one telling me it was the best argument they'd seen on that topic and they'd like to discuss it further via private message. Then there was one saying they disagreed with me and could back up their argument with evidence if I wanted to private message them. What truly controversial topic did I post on to stir up so much debate? That would have been the short post I made saying I was about to go visit my parents for Thanksgiving.
The weird thing is that I don't get what this spam was trying to accomplish. There were no links to anything, and in spite of the invitation to private message them, there was no contact information. I suspect a spambot ran into the LiveJournal comment system, where you can leave anonymous comments but don't get the opportunity to enter a user name that links to a user ID or web site, like you can with a lot of blogging systems. The user name for non-member comments is always "Anonymous," with no link. So all they did with this spam was waste my time and annoy me.
I'm also getting a lot of spam text messages on my cell phone, which really irks me because I get charged for each message (no point in having a texting plan when I don't text but once in a blue moon) and there doesn't seem to be a way of rejecting them or letting the carrier know it was spam. And I've been getting phone calls from a North Dakota area code on my cell. I don't give out my cell number to too many people, and as far as I know, I don't know anyone in North Dakota, so I reject the calls and they don't leave a message, so I don't know if it's telemarketers or a wrong number. It's all enough to make me want to pull the plug on the outside world.
In other Internet follies, I was invited to contribute a guest blog to a site recently. I was very proud of myself for getting it done several days early. Then the day it was supposed to be posted, I had a frantic e-mail from the person who'd invited me to contribute a post, asking where it was. I responded that I'd sent it the week before, and sent it again. Then I found in my spam folder a failure message (buried in the fake failure message spams) that had arrived several days after I sent the first message, saying that the recipient's server had rejected it. I didn't get a response after re-sending the post, and then a couple of days later I got another failure message (I was looking for it that time). So now I'm worried that this person thinks I blew her off completely, and I'm irked that I finally got something done well ahead of time and didn't get credit for it. The problem is that if your only way of communicating with someone is via e-mail and your e-mail keeps being rejected, there's no way to let someone know that you're trying to reach them and have done everything they asked you to do. So, if the people I was supposed to be guest blogging for see this, I really did write the post and I sent it several days early then sent it again. I'll try something else, maybe from a different e-mail address, in case it's my address the server hates (but I seem to be able to send e-mail to other people from that address).
Now I have a convention to get ready for this weekend. I'll be at ConDFW in Dallas, all three days. If you're going, you'll see me in the schedule you get at registration, and if you're not going, you don't care, so I won't post my particular events. For my reading slot, I think I'll read from the project that is currently on submission and that I haven't been talking about publicly. It's the same book I read from at FenCon, but it has been altered slightly since then. My voice is still a bit rough from my bout with the plague, so this could be an adventure. I just have to figure out something to wear since it will be too warm for normal winter clothes and my wardrobe is lacking in "in between."
February 16, 2011
The Hero's Journey: Putting it Together
This may be a day of great suffering. I missed two weeks of ballet and went back last night. Ouch. Unless we have a sudden freak ice storm, I'll finally have choir again tonight after two weeks off. The kids are singing this Sunday, and I know I've forgotten the song we're doing. I hope they're better than I am.
I've been working through the various stages of the hero's journey, based on the way Christopher Vogler interpreted Joseph Campbell's writings on mythology for modern storytellers in his book The Writer's Journey. Now I'm going to talk about using this structure in a story, and this part is all me and my own interpretation of how this works.
A lot of this structure has to do with pacing -- the building of tension, peaks of action and moments of respite. If you've got that Ordeal in the middle of a book after the build-up of tension in the Approach to the Inmost Cave, you aren't going to have a sagging middle in between the kick-off and the big finish. I think that's the biggest plotting lesson I've learned from studying this structure.
The stages don't have to come in the exact order of this structure. Once you understand the function of the stages, you can move them around to suit the needs of your story. For instance, the Refusal of the Call stage is mostly about showing that this quest is serious and difficult because the hero has to think about it before committing. Usually, this comes before the hero makes the commitment of crossing the threshold into the story world. But if you've got a naive and gung-ho hero, he may not stop to think before plunging right in, and the Refusal may come later after he's experienced something of the special world and realized that this is more difficult than he expected. Then he might want to back out, but it's too late. The Meeting with the Mentor is about getting information and usually comes at the point where the hero is making the decision about taking on the quest, but it can also come after the Ordeal when the hero has been humbled and now knows he needs help.
More than one character in a story may be on a journey, but not all characters have to be, and the fact that a character changes doesn't mean he's on a journey. Sometimes, a character may be changed as a result of another character's heroic journey. One way to tell whether a character has had a heroic journey is if there's been a death/resurrection moment, where all seems lost, and then he comes back a new man. If more than one character is on a journey, they may be on different stages. That can even be a source of conflict. A character who's already committed and crossed the threshold is going to be frustrated with another character who's still hung up on the Refusal of the Call stage. Secondary characters may skip some of the stages or may have had stages take place offstage. The character who shows up to issue the call to adventure to the main hero may have had his own call to adventure before the story opened, and he meets the main hero when he's already crossed the threshold and is finding allies. You'll also see multiple heroes in stories that have parallel story lines, where there are things going on in multiple places and they either start separately and then converge or start together and diverge. Sometimes the stages line up once the stories converge, or the multiple heroes may become like one person, structurally, where they all go through the same stages together. In the final battle, they may all have the same death/resurrection moment -- like if they're all together on the same ship that looks like it will be destroyed.
This is one area where using movie examples perhaps gives a skewed perspective because usually in a movie, there's one Hero on a journey, while novels can be more complex and have multiple heroes. For instance, in most romantic movies, one of the characters is the hero, structurally speaking, and the other is the romantic interest. In most romance novels, though, both the hero and heroine are on heroic journeys and have that kind of character arc. They both have to be "reborn" to be together. One recent movie in which both hero and heroine have that kind of arc and hit all the stages of the journey was the animated film Tangled. Most of the time in movies, though, both of the characters may do some growing and changing, but it's only one character who is truly transformed into a new person after going on the emotional journey. In a romantic comedy, the "hero" in structural terms is probably the person either having to make a painful confession or making the mad dash across town.
A really long, complex story may hit the stages more than once or may go back and repeat sections of the journey. I charted the movie version of The Lord of the Rings, and that story keeps getting to the Reward part of the story before rebooting back to the Call to Adventure, until finally it gets all the way to the end. We start with the "you have to get the ring out of the Shire" call to adventure and related stuff, then Frodo crosses the threshold to leave the Shire, goes to an inn and meets allies and enemies, goes through the Ordeal when attacked by the Nazgul, then gets his moment of respite and Reward in Rivendell. And then there's a new Call to Adventure when they learn that the ring has to be destroyed. That all leads up to a new Ordeal in the Mines of Moria, then they get a Reward moment at Galadriel's place. And then she sends them on their way with a mini Call to Adventure. And so forth. Once the Fellowship is divided, the various factions then are on their own journeys.
I think next time I may try charting a well-known movie from start to finish to show how this works in reality. And then I'll need to come up with a new topic. I'm open to suggestions or questions.
I've been working through the various stages of the hero's journey, based on the way Christopher Vogler interpreted Joseph Campbell's writings on mythology for modern storytellers in his book The Writer's Journey. Now I'm going to talk about using this structure in a story, and this part is all me and my own interpretation of how this works.
A lot of this structure has to do with pacing -- the building of tension, peaks of action and moments of respite. If you've got that Ordeal in the middle of a book after the build-up of tension in the Approach to the Inmost Cave, you aren't going to have a sagging middle in between the kick-off and the big finish. I think that's the biggest plotting lesson I've learned from studying this structure.
The stages don't have to come in the exact order of this structure. Once you understand the function of the stages, you can move them around to suit the needs of your story. For instance, the Refusal of the Call stage is mostly about showing that this quest is serious and difficult because the hero has to think about it before committing. Usually, this comes before the hero makes the commitment of crossing the threshold into the story world. But if you've got a naive and gung-ho hero, he may not stop to think before plunging right in, and the Refusal may come later after he's experienced something of the special world and realized that this is more difficult than he expected. Then he might want to back out, but it's too late. The Meeting with the Mentor is about getting information and usually comes at the point where the hero is making the decision about taking on the quest, but it can also come after the Ordeal when the hero has been humbled and now knows he needs help.
More than one character in a story may be on a journey, but not all characters have to be, and the fact that a character changes doesn't mean he's on a journey. Sometimes, a character may be changed as a result of another character's heroic journey. One way to tell whether a character has had a heroic journey is if there's been a death/resurrection moment, where all seems lost, and then he comes back a new man. If more than one character is on a journey, they may be on different stages. That can even be a source of conflict. A character who's already committed and crossed the threshold is going to be frustrated with another character who's still hung up on the Refusal of the Call stage. Secondary characters may skip some of the stages or may have had stages take place offstage. The character who shows up to issue the call to adventure to the main hero may have had his own call to adventure before the story opened, and he meets the main hero when he's already crossed the threshold and is finding allies. You'll also see multiple heroes in stories that have parallel story lines, where there are things going on in multiple places and they either start separately and then converge or start together and diverge. Sometimes the stages line up once the stories converge, or the multiple heroes may become like one person, structurally, where they all go through the same stages together. In the final battle, they may all have the same death/resurrection moment -- like if they're all together on the same ship that looks like it will be destroyed.
This is one area where using movie examples perhaps gives a skewed perspective because usually in a movie, there's one Hero on a journey, while novels can be more complex and have multiple heroes. For instance, in most romantic movies, one of the characters is the hero, structurally speaking, and the other is the romantic interest. In most romance novels, though, both the hero and heroine are on heroic journeys and have that kind of character arc. They both have to be "reborn" to be together. One recent movie in which both hero and heroine have that kind of arc and hit all the stages of the journey was the animated film Tangled. Most of the time in movies, though, both of the characters may do some growing and changing, but it's only one character who is truly transformed into a new person after going on the emotional journey. In a romantic comedy, the "hero" in structural terms is probably the person either having to make a painful confession or making the mad dash across town.
A really long, complex story may hit the stages more than once or may go back and repeat sections of the journey. I charted the movie version of The Lord of the Rings, and that story keeps getting to the Reward part of the story before rebooting back to the Call to Adventure, until finally it gets all the way to the end. We start with the "you have to get the ring out of the Shire" call to adventure and related stuff, then Frodo crosses the threshold to leave the Shire, goes to an inn and meets allies and enemies, goes through the Ordeal when attacked by the Nazgul, then gets his moment of respite and Reward in Rivendell. And then there's a new Call to Adventure when they learn that the ring has to be destroyed. That all leads up to a new Ordeal in the Mines of Moria, then they get a Reward moment at Galadriel's place. And then she sends them on their way with a mini Call to Adventure. And so forth. Once the Fellowship is divided, the various factions then are on their own journeys.
I think next time I may try charting a well-known movie from start to finish to show how this works in reality. And then I'll need to come up with a new topic. I'm open to suggestions or questions.
February 15, 2011
The Belated Valentine's Post
In my glee over one of the best Sci Fi Saturday night movies ever yesterday, I forgot to mention writing progress. I got a chapter written on Friday night, then on Saturday, after ten pages I realized that perhaps I'd been a trifle overly enthusiastic, and if I kept going at that pace, I'd run out of story within about 100 pages. I was just racing through stuff. So I'm taking a step back and working through some things to flesh out the story a bit more. Better to figure this out now than later.
I saw The King's Speech yesterday, and I can totally see how Colin Firth is sweeping the awards. That role is Oscar bait because the guy with the mental or physical handicap always wins, but what really impressed me wasn't the stutter but the way that you could read on his face what he was trying to say while he was blocked by the stutter. I was also impressed by the way he managed to convey vulnerability layered under the royal dignity. There were times when I wanted to reach through the screen and hold his hand. I remember thinking during the movie that taking a powerful character like that and giving him a weakness like that was a great writing lesson -- a way to make someone powerful like a king more relatable. And then I realized that's what I did in making Owen, the handsome, powerful wizard, painfully shy. So I guess I do know what I'm doing. I haven't had any kind of speech impediment and I'm one of the rare people who has no fear of public speaking, but the way they showed him before giving a speech is exactly the way I feel when I have to sing in public in a situation where I know people can hear me. The rest of the cast was also great, and the combination of acting and clothing/hair/makeup meant I was having trouble recognizing familiar actors and meant I spent the closing credits going "That's who that was!"
Also, Colin Firth has the perfect build for wearing a well-tailored suit, with the wide shoulders and narrow waist, and I noticed how often they framed shots to show that off.
Anyway, today is the real romantic holiday: half-price chocolate day. So, here's my planned Valentine's Day post. I've been listening to movie soundtracks while writing, and that gave me a new most/least romantic category: best love theme for the worst couple. The love theme that John Williams wrote for Padme and Anakin is gorgeous -- starting all haunting with oboe and harp, then swelling to the full orchestra before fading back to the simple harp and oboe. It's just too bad that the couple that goes with the theme is so lame. Ever since we learned that Darth Vader was Luke's father, I wondered what his mother was like. Was she a Lady MacBeth type, pushing Anakin Skywalker and encouraging his ambition, or was she maybe a comrade in arms, someone who fought by his side and who couldn't quite pull him back from the brink? I guess Padme wasn't too bad (aside from being such a wimp that she died "of a broken heart" when there was nothing physically wrong with her, leaving her newborn children alone). The problem was that I couldn't imagine someone like her ever going for a guy like him. She was mature beyond her years and had dedicated her life to public service and ideals like justice and freedom. Would she really go for some whiny kid with a bad totalitarian streak? Meanwhile, their relationship was just so tepid. You'd think that a forbidden love so powerful that the fear of losing her would be enough to turn him evil and that she'd die of a broken heart when he went evil would have a little more oomph to it and go beyond insipid platitudes straight out of some of the worst Victorian dime romances.
Now I want to see the couple who fits that love theme. Hmm, I'll have to get to work on that. There is a haunting, tragic tone to it, but I don't know if that means that the couple would have to have a sad ending. Maybe they just deal with a lot of pain along the way.
Now, my current favorite romantic storyline may be "the boy who waited," like with Rory on Doctor Who, who was willing to take the long way through history -- nearly 2,000 years -- to protect the woman he loved (he had some advantage in being a robot at the time, but it was his soul and personality that made the decision). There's another fictional boy who waited, but it's in something I still consider spoiler-protected. It's not so much that I want a man to jump through such huge hoops. It's more that this is a science fiction metaphor for the idea of a man putting the needs of his loved one ahead of his own wants and convenience. A man willing to wait 2,000 years is probably someone who would pause and think about how a woman will feel about what he does instead of only thinking about what he wants. If you've ever had a (soon-to-be ex) boyfriend whine, "When I'm dating someone, I like to go out with her," after you decline his invitation to go out to dinner and to a movie on the grounds that you've just had knee surgery and you're still on prescription painkillers, your knee is still badly swollen so you can't bend it enough to sit comfortably in a movie theater (in the days before stadium seating), you're still on crutches, and since you live in a third-floor apartment, just going out is something of an ordeal, then you can understand why I might find the self-sacrificing thing an appealing romantic fantasy.
And, no, I didn't make that up or even exaggerate it. That really happened. We broke up during that same conversation, but I'm hazy on the details because the prescription painkillers kicked in soon afterward. I do recall him saying something about how he didn't think you should date someone more than a few times unless you thought you could marry them because otherwise you're wasting your time. And I'm pretty sure I told him that we'd probably better not go out anymore, then, because I wasn't going to marry him. If he'd even paused to think, he wouldn't have asked me out. If he wanted to see me, he'd have picked up some takeout and a movie and come over, and maybe asked if there was anything he could do to help while he was there. If he'd offered to take my trash out, I might have married him. Anyway, that probably explains why I find the idea of a guy who's willing to seriously inconvenience himself for the well-being of his loved one so appealing. I haven't really written anything like that yet, but generally the things that you really respond to are things you should think about writing.
I saw The King's Speech yesterday, and I can totally see how Colin Firth is sweeping the awards. That role is Oscar bait because the guy with the mental or physical handicap always wins, but what really impressed me wasn't the stutter but the way that you could read on his face what he was trying to say while he was blocked by the stutter. I was also impressed by the way he managed to convey vulnerability layered under the royal dignity. There were times when I wanted to reach through the screen and hold his hand. I remember thinking during the movie that taking a powerful character like that and giving him a weakness like that was a great writing lesson -- a way to make someone powerful like a king more relatable. And then I realized that's what I did in making Owen, the handsome, powerful wizard, painfully shy. So I guess I do know what I'm doing. I haven't had any kind of speech impediment and I'm one of the rare people who has no fear of public speaking, but the way they showed him before giving a speech is exactly the way I feel when I have to sing in public in a situation where I know people can hear me. The rest of the cast was also great, and the combination of acting and clothing/hair/makeup meant I was having trouble recognizing familiar actors and meant I spent the closing credits going "That's who that was!"
Also, Colin Firth has the perfect build for wearing a well-tailored suit, with the wide shoulders and narrow waist, and I noticed how often they framed shots to show that off.
Anyway, today is the real romantic holiday: half-price chocolate day. So, here's my planned Valentine's Day post. I've been listening to movie soundtracks while writing, and that gave me a new most/least romantic category: best love theme for the worst couple. The love theme that John Williams wrote for Padme and Anakin is gorgeous -- starting all haunting with oboe and harp, then swelling to the full orchestra before fading back to the simple harp and oboe. It's just too bad that the couple that goes with the theme is so lame. Ever since we learned that Darth Vader was Luke's father, I wondered what his mother was like. Was she a Lady MacBeth type, pushing Anakin Skywalker and encouraging his ambition, or was she maybe a comrade in arms, someone who fought by his side and who couldn't quite pull him back from the brink? I guess Padme wasn't too bad (aside from being such a wimp that she died "of a broken heart" when there was nothing physically wrong with her, leaving her newborn children alone). The problem was that I couldn't imagine someone like her ever going for a guy like him. She was mature beyond her years and had dedicated her life to public service and ideals like justice and freedom. Would she really go for some whiny kid with a bad totalitarian streak? Meanwhile, their relationship was just so tepid. You'd think that a forbidden love so powerful that the fear of losing her would be enough to turn him evil and that she'd die of a broken heart when he went evil would have a little more oomph to it and go beyond insipid platitudes straight out of some of the worst Victorian dime romances.
Now I want to see the couple who fits that love theme. Hmm, I'll have to get to work on that. There is a haunting, tragic tone to it, but I don't know if that means that the couple would have to have a sad ending. Maybe they just deal with a lot of pain along the way.
Now, my current favorite romantic storyline may be "the boy who waited," like with Rory on Doctor Who, who was willing to take the long way through history -- nearly 2,000 years -- to protect the woman he loved (he had some advantage in being a robot at the time, but it was his soul and personality that made the decision). There's another fictional boy who waited, but it's in something I still consider spoiler-protected. It's not so much that I want a man to jump through such huge hoops. It's more that this is a science fiction metaphor for the idea of a man putting the needs of his loved one ahead of his own wants and convenience. A man willing to wait 2,000 years is probably someone who would pause and think about how a woman will feel about what he does instead of only thinking about what he wants. If you've ever had a (soon-to-be ex) boyfriend whine, "When I'm dating someone, I like to go out with her," after you decline his invitation to go out to dinner and to a movie on the grounds that you've just had knee surgery and you're still on prescription painkillers, your knee is still badly swollen so you can't bend it enough to sit comfortably in a movie theater (in the days before stadium seating), you're still on crutches, and since you live in a third-floor apartment, just going out is something of an ordeal, then you can understand why I might find the self-sacrificing thing an appealing romantic fantasy.
And, no, I didn't make that up or even exaggerate it. That really happened. We broke up during that same conversation, but I'm hazy on the details because the prescription painkillers kicked in soon afterward. I do recall him saying something about how he didn't think you should date someone more than a few times unless you thought you could marry them because otherwise you're wasting your time. And I'm pretty sure I told him that we'd probably better not go out anymore, then, because I wasn't going to marry him. If he'd even paused to think, he wouldn't have asked me out. If he wanted to see me, he'd have picked up some takeout and a movie and come over, and maybe asked if there was anything he could do to help while he was there. If he'd offered to take my trash out, I might have married him. Anyway, that probably explains why I find the idea of a guy who's willing to seriously inconvenience himself for the well-being of his loved one so appealing. I haven't really written anything like that yet, but generally the things that you really respond to are things you should think about writing.
February 14, 2011
A Monstrous Valentine's Day
I believe I really am on the mend, finally! I was worried Saturday because I was suddenly totally weak and exhausted and freezing even though the weather was warm, but I came to the conclusion that my body was just tired after fighting a lengthy battle. Sure enough, the cold symptoms were clearing up on Sunday, and then I was suddenly starving for the first time in ages. I went to bed before ten last night and still slept late, so now I feel almost like a human being again.
It's Valentine's Day, and since I've written books that some consider romantic, I'm sure I'm expected to talk about romance today. I even had a topic planned. But that will have to wait until tomorrow because I have got to talk about the Sci Fi Channel (I don't acknowledge the name change) movie I saw Saturday night. It was a sofa kind of night because I was so tired and weak, and I was scrolling through the channel guide, looking for something to watch, because getting a DVD out would have required more energy than I had, and I stumbled across this movie mostly because of a cast list that included just about every Canadian actor to have ever played a secondary or recurring role on a science fiction TV series. At the second commercial break, I got up and made popcorn and got a root beer because a work of art like this deserves to be appreciated properly.
The movie was called Iron Invader. It starts with a meteor hitting an old Soviet satellite, sending it crashing to earth outside a small town in Idaho. Major Lorne from Stargate Atlantis and his brother find it and sell it as scrap metal to Doc Cottle from Battlestar Galactica, the town junk dealer who's creating a giant man-shaped sculpture out of scrap metal. But then we see that there's a green goo on the satellite, and pieces of the satellite attach themselves to the sculpture, giving it pincer hands, and then the metal man comes to life and walks off to terrorize the town. Only, it's not just wreaking havoc as a stompy iron giant. No, it just has to touch people, and then their veins turn black and become visible and they die. This sudden spate of deaths associated with what people report as a giant robot surprise the town's hilariously bored sheriff (the first doctor from Stargate Atlantis -- the one who was killed by an exploding tumor -- only he's doing a southern accent, since this is a small town even if it is in Idaho, instead of a Scottish accent). He goes from not even being able to find anyone breaking the speed limit to an outbreak of sudden and mysterious deaths. Major Lorne ends up holed up in the town bar (run by the guy who runs the town cafe on Eureka -- typecasting much?), along with his recently returned -- and recently divorced -- high school sweetheart, Ezri Dax, along with Doc Cottle and one of those science fiction "That Guy" actors who seemed really familiar (I think he was one of Original Recipe Apollo's criminal cronies on Battlestar Galactica). Ezri is a biology teacher, and she figures out that the green goo on the metal is an alien bacteria that feeds on metal, and it must be going after the iron in people's blood. But how can they kill the bacteria? They'll need to find something that kills germs. This is getting spoilery, but if you're intelligent enough to operate a computer to read this post, then you can probably tell where this is going. I spent a good twenty minutes shouting at the TV, "You're in a bar, you morons!" They did eventually realize the antiseptic properties of alcohol, but only when someone spilled their drink on an infected piece of metal, and then they went to do battle with the alien invaders using a beer keg as a weapon, and it was AWESOME.
To acknowledge Valentine's Day, there was a romantic sub plot, as the crisis brought Major Lorne and Ezri back together. I thought there would be a secondary love story between Ezri's teenage daughter and Doc Cottle's grandson, who end up off together running for their lives during the crisis. She had complained about hating this town, so I was expecting her to have changed her tune after hanging out with the cute and kind of heroic guy, but that was dropped entirely, probably because the "whew, we made it!" scene at the end where they were wrapping things up turned into a "wait, it's not entirely dead yet -- hit it with the bottle of finely aged whiskey!" scene, so they didn't bother much with the character stuff.
My face hurt by the end from grinning so much because it was just the right level of fun. The actors weren't camping it up. They were playing it seriously, but not too seriously, so you knew they knew they weren't doing Shakespeare. But the whole thing was a lovely brand of stupid clever. Like, the whole iron giant thing must have been a budget-buster to CGI, so midway through, it gets broken up into parts, and those parts all came to life, so it looked like they scattered scrap metal on the ground and then attached fishing line to make it quiver menacingly. And then a good half of the movie is spent with the main characters in the bar, surrounded by the menacingly quivering scrap metal, but it was still a little scary. I think I cured my cold and cleared my sinuses by laughing myself silly through the whole thing.
On another Valentine's-related note, on Sunday afternoon I watched a romantic comedy on Lifetime, and the difference between the monster movie ads and the Lifetime ads was funny. During the monster movie, there were tons of ads for jewelry and flowers. Target audience: men. Message: Yo, you idiots, there's a gift-giving occasion coming up. During the romantic comedy, the ads were for chocolate as self-indulgence, makeup and dating services. Target audience: single women. Message: Indulge yourself with chocolate if you're alone, but if you wore mascara and joined a dating service, you wouldn't be alone.
And now I think I'm going to see The King's Speech because it's hard to beat Colin Firth as a Valentine's Day date. Plus, I think I need to leave the house but I'm not yet up to interacting with people, and a movie is a nice middle ground.
It's Valentine's Day, and since I've written books that some consider romantic, I'm sure I'm expected to talk about romance today. I even had a topic planned. But that will have to wait until tomorrow because I have got to talk about the Sci Fi Channel (I don't acknowledge the name change) movie I saw Saturday night. It was a sofa kind of night because I was so tired and weak, and I was scrolling through the channel guide, looking for something to watch, because getting a DVD out would have required more energy than I had, and I stumbled across this movie mostly because of a cast list that included just about every Canadian actor to have ever played a secondary or recurring role on a science fiction TV series. At the second commercial break, I got up and made popcorn and got a root beer because a work of art like this deserves to be appreciated properly.
The movie was called Iron Invader. It starts with a meteor hitting an old Soviet satellite, sending it crashing to earth outside a small town in Idaho. Major Lorne from Stargate Atlantis and his brother find it and sell it as scrap metal to Doc Cottle from Battlestar Galactica, the town junk dealer who's creating a giant man-shaped sculpture out of scrap metal. But then we see that there's a green goo on the satellite, and pieces of the satellite attach themselves to the sculpture, giving it pincer hands, and then the metal man comes to life and walks off to terrorize the town. Only, it's not just wreaking havoc as a stompy iron giant. No, it just has to touch people, and then their veins turn black and become visible and they die. This sudden spate of deaths associated with what people report as a giant robot surprise the town's hilariously bored sheriff (the first doctor from Stargate Atlantis -- the one who was killed by an exploding tumor -- only he's doing a southern accent, since this is a small town even if it is in Idaho, instead of a Scottish accent). He goes from not even being able to find anyone breaking the speed limit to an outbreak of sudden and mysterious deaths. Major Lorne ends up holed up in the town bar (run by the guy who runs the town cafe on Eureka -- typecasting much?), along with his recently returned -- and recently divorced -- high school sweetheart, Ezri Dax, along with Doc Cottle and one of those science fiction "That Guy" actors who seemed really familiar (I think he was one of Original Recipe Apollo's criminal cronies on Battlestar Galactica). Ezri is a biology teacher, and she figures out that the green goo on the metal is an alien bacteria that feeds on metal, and it must be going after the iron in people's blood. But how can they kill the bacteria? They'll need to find something that kills germs. This is getting spoilery, but if you're intelligent enough to operate a computer to read this post, then you can probably tell where this is going. I spent a good twenty minutes shouting at the TV, "You're in a bar, you morons!" They did eventually realize the antiseptic properties of alcohol, but only when someone spilled their drink on an infected piece of metal, and then they went to do battle with the alien invaders using a beer keg as a weapon, and it was AWESOME.
To acknowledge Valentine's Day, there was a romantic sub plot, as the crisis brought Major Lorne and Ezri back together. I thought there would be a secondary love story between Ezri's teenage daughter and Doc Cottle's grandson, who end up off together running for their lives during the crisis. She had complained about hating this town, so I was expecting her to have changed her tune after hanging out with the cute and kind of heroic guy, but that was dropped entirely, probably because the "whew, we made it!" scene at the end where they were wrapping things up turned into a "wait, it's not entirely dead yet -- hit it with the bottle of finely aged whiskey!" scene, so they didn't bother much with the character stuff.
My face hurt by the end from grinning so much because it was just the right level of fun. The actors weren't camping it up. They were playing it seriously, but not too seriously, so you knew they knew they weren't doing Shakespeare. But the whole thing was a lovely brand of stupid clever. Like, the whole iron giant thing must have been a budget-buster to CGI, so midway through, it gets broken up into parts, and those parts all came to life, so it looked like they scattered scrap metal on the ground and then attached fishing line to make it quiver menacingly. And then a good half of the movie is spent with the main characters in the bar, surrounded by the menacingly quivering scrap metal, but it was still a little scary. I think I cured my cold and cleared my sinuses by laughing myself silly through the whole thing.
On another Valentine's-related note, on Sunday afternoon I watched a romantic comedy on Lifetime, and the difference between the monster movie ads and the Lifetime ads was funny. During the monster movie, there were tons of ads for jewelry and flowers. Target audience: men. Message: Yo, you idiots, there's a gift-giving occasion coming up. During the romantic comedy, the ads were for chocolate as self-indulgence, makeup and dating services. Target audience: single women. Message: Indulge yourself with chocolate if you're alone, but if you wore mascara and joined a dating service, you wouldn't be alone.
And now I think I'm going to see The King's Speech because it's hard to beat Colin Firth as a Valentine's Day date. Plus, I think I need to leave the house but I'm not yet up to interacting with people, and a movie is a nice middle ground.
February 11, 2011
Ready to Start
I thought about venturing into the outside world today, but I opened my front door and the front sidewalk was still glazed in ice, so I went back inside for six more weeks of winter. Or maybe for another day when it's supposed to be much warmer. Depending on how much it warms up today, I may attempt to go to the mailbox (which is a block away, since we don't get door-to-door mail delivery). I might even get really crazy and go to the Indian market down the block for some tea and ginger root, but that may have to wait until tomorrow.
The big thing for today may be the start of a new project. I did my review of my notes and background material yesterday, and I think it's already shaped up well enough for me to get started. Last night I had trouble falling asleep because I found myself developing some characters in my head. The final piece I was missing was the emotional arc, and I think I found that yesterday. I know what happens in the opening few scenes, so really there's not much to do but start, and that's my favorite and least favorite part of a project. It's exciting to plunge into something new, and at the very beginning it's full of possibilities, but then writing that first word seems to start sealing it into reality instead of possibility. The moment that word is written, even if I trash it all and start over again, the book is forever shaped by that word in my head, and it's nearly impossible to erase that impression and make an entirely fresh start.
So, if I get over the angst and don't find some excuses for procrastinating further, I'll be formatting the document and sitting down to write the beginning of something new. I am doing the shuffle to find the soundtrack exercise at the moment, and it's already brought up a few new ideas and possibilities, so that could create some delay, maybe. And no, I won't talk about what it's about or what it's for. This is kind of a side project for a specific purpose that plays into my Grand Plan for World Domination. It's also sort of an experiment.
Meanwhile, I've realized that I kind of fail at self-indulgence. Yeah, I manage the little stuff like time wasting and eating chocolate, but I seem reluctant to treat myself. Part of my parents' Christmas gift to me was money to spend on stuff I want, with the idea that I have more access to things where I live, and I can choose for myself, so I'll know it will fit or not duplicate what I have. And have I done anything with this money but put it in an account where I've used it to pay bills and living expenses? Nope. I haven't gone shopping other than for groceries, etc. Some of that had to do with the fact that the weather got nasty and I got sick during the between-projects phase when I'd planned for some shopping. I'll be at a convention next weekend, so I may do some shopping there, and I may allow myself out next week to look into maybe buying something new to wear at the convention. One of my goals for this year is to get a better handle on those little indulgences like time wasting and then allow myself some true indulgences that will make a difference.
The big thing for today may be the start of a new project. I did my review of my notes and background material yesterday, and I think it's already shaped up well enough for me to get started. Last night I had trouble falling asleep because I found myself developing some characters in my head. The final piece I was missing was the emotional arc, and I think I found that yesterday. I know what happens in the opening few scenes, so really there's not much to do but start, and that's my favorite and least favorite part of a project. It's exciting to plunge into something new, and at the very beginning it's full of possibilities, but then writing that first word seems to start sealing it into reality instead of possibility. The moment that word is written, even if I trash it all and start over again, the book is forever shaped by that word in my head, and it's nearly impossible to erase that impression and make an entirely fresh start.
So, if I get over the angst and don't find some excuses for procrastinating further, I'll be formatting the document and sitting down to write the beginning of something new. I am doing the shuffle to find the soundtrack exercise at the moment, and it's already brought up a few new ideas and possibilities, so that could create some delay, maybe. And no, I won't talk about what it's about or what it's for. This is kind of a side project for a specific purpose that plays into my Grand Plan for World Domination. It's also sort of an experiment.
Meanwhile, I've realized that I kind of fail at self-indulgence. Yeah, I manage the little stuff like time wasting and eating chocolate, but I seem reluctant to treat myself. Part of my parents' Christmas gift to me was money to spend on stuff I want, with the idea that I have more access to things where I live, and I can choose for myself, so I'll know it will fit or not duplicate what I have. And have I done anything with this money but put it in an account where I've used it to pay bills and living expenses? Nope. I haven't gone shopping other than for groceries, etc. Some of that had to do with the fact that the weather got nasty and I got sick during the between-projects phase when I'd planned for some shopping. I'll be at a convention next weekend, so I may do some shopping there, and I may allow myself out next week to look into maybe buying something new to wear at the convention. One of my goals for this year is to get a better handle on those little indulgences like time wasting and then allow myself some true indulgences that will make a difference.
February 10, 2011
Cold and Computers
Oh, I am sooooo ready for spring. I'm normally a cold-weather person, but that's "cold" in Texas terms. My idea of a perfect winter is daytime highs in the 40s-60s -- some up and down for variety, a mix of sunny and gray/rainy -- and nighttime lows in the 30s but above freezing. A few below-freezing nights to kill off insects. I like it to be cool enough so that warm stuff is a nice contrast and I can enjoy blankets, cocoa, hot tea, even a fire. Maybe one snow event, the kind where it starts snowing overnight so you wake up to a blanket of fluffy white, and it snows throughout the day (because I like watching snow fall), but the next day it's warm and the snow is gone instantly. I'm okay with one or two of the gray and rainy days having some snow flurries that don't stick because the ground is too warm. When I say I like winter, that's what I'm talking about, and that's what we usually have. I'm not really up for these days on end of freezing temperatures and ice on the ground. I would be going stir-crazy with cabin fever if I felt better. Then again, I might feel better if it were warmer. We are supposed to have a sudden warm-up this weekend, and I may have to frolic outdoors even if I'm still stuffy and sniffly.
I'm hitting this thing with everything I've got. I think I've tried just about everything under the sun -- antihistamines and several kinds of decongestants, home remedies like horseradish in V8 juice, ginger root with lemon and honey in hot water, hot-and-sour style soup, hot lemonade, lots of vitamin C, Vicks, steam, peppermint herbal tea, lots of liquids, lots of rest. I want to start on the new project full-force next week, and to do that, I need to be able to think. Then Con DFW is next weekend, and I'd like to be able to talk.
Things may be looking up, though. I had a moment this morning when I could briefly breathe freely through my nose. It was awesome. And I found myself really wanting to clean the kitchen. If a mess is bothering me, that's a sign that I'm getting better. For the past week, I haven't been up to caring.
Meanwhile, I've been researching my upcoming computer purchase. One of the reasons I've procrastinated this was that I thought I'd need to go to the Apple store, which is in one of those inconvenient "you can't there there from here" locations that's out of the way for me. When I bought the current computer, it was a bit of a crisis, as the old computer's display quit working, and when I brought the old computer to the Apple store for diagnosis, I ended up deciding it would be easier to just buy a new one, since I had a deadline and couldn't wait while sending it off for repairs. They offered to transfer everything from the old computer to the new one for me -- all the settings, accounts, etc. I know how to move files around, but I wasn't sure about all that background stuff, so I thought I'd need to go to the Apple store for that instead of just buying a computer at the neighborhood electronics store. But some surfing showed that Apple is apparently now charging a fee for that service, and there's a utility on the computer that does it automatically as part of the set-up process. I can do that. So instead of making the trek across the metropolitan area, I can go down the street.
Now I just have to decide which one I want. My usual instinct is to go for the lowest end possible, since I've generally barely scratched the surface of any computer's capacity. But I'm trying to plan for future needs, and there's a chance I might want to do stuff like make videos for book promotion or use the computer as a media server, so I might want to go a little higher-end. The MacBook no longer has a Firewire connector. I've never used the one on my iBook, but I understand that might be needed for connecting to a video camera. I guess I need to do a little more research to make the decision about what I really need, if I need a Pro or if just a MacBook will meet my needs. And, yes, it must be Mac. I have no interest in changing even though it's more expensive. It's what I've always used other than at work, and I really loathed the Windows machines at work. There's something about the way the Mac does stuff that aligns with the way my brain works, so it really is intuitive for me, and I spend much less time arguing with the computer (which never goes anywhere).
I'm hitting this thing with everything I've got. I think I've tried just about everything under the sun -- antihistamines and several kinds of decongestants, home remedies like horseradish in V8 juice, ginger root with lemon and honey in hot water, hot-and-sour style soup, hot lemonade, lots of vitamin C, Vicks, steam, peppermint herbal tea, lots of liquids, lots of rest. I want to start on the new project full-force next week, and to do that, I need to be able to think. Then Con DFW is next weekend, and I'd like to be able to talk.
Things may be looking up, though. I had a moment this morning when I could briefly breathe freely through my nose. It was awesome. And I found myself really wanting to clean the kitchen. If a mess is bothering me, that's a sign that I'm getting better. For the past week, I haven't been up to caring.
Meanwhile, I've been researching my upcoming computer purchase. One of the reasons I've procrastinated this was that I thought I'd need to go to the Apple store, which is in one of those inconvenient "you can't there there from here" locations that's out of the way for me. When I bought the current computer, it was a bit of a crisis, as the old computer's display quit working, and when I brought the old computer to the Apple store for diagnosis, I ended up deciding it would be easier to just buy a new one, since I had a deadline and couldn't wait while sending it off for repairs. They offered to transfer everything from the old computer to the new one for me -- all the settings, accounts, etc. I know how to move files around, but I wasn't sure about all that background stuff, so I thought I'd need to go to the Apple store for that instead of just buying a computer at the neighborhood electronics store. But some surfing showed that Apple is apparently now charging a fee for that service, and there's a utility on the computer that does it automatically as part of the set-up process. I can do that. So instead of making the trek across the metropolitan area, I can go down the street.
Now I just have to decide which one I want. My usual instinct is to go for the lowest end possible, since I've generally barely scratched the surface of any computer's capacity. But I'm trying to plan for future needs, and there's a chance I might want to do stuff like make videos for book promotion or use the computer as a media server, so I might want to go a little higher-end. The MacBook no longer has a Firewire connector. I've never used the one on my iBook, but I understand that might be needed for connecting to a video camera. I guess I need to do a little more research to make the decision about what I really need, if I need a Pro or if just a MacBook will meet my needs. And, yes, it must be Mac. I have no interest in changing even though it's more expensive. It's what I've always used other than at work, and I really loathed the Windows machines at work. There's something about the way the Mac does stuff that aligns with the way my brain works, so it really is intuitive for me, and I spend much less time arguing with the computer (which never goes anywhere).
February 9, 2011
Where's Book Five?
Another day, another ice/snow event, and I just got the news that all choir stuff has been cancelled for the night, which is good because I doubt I could have sung. This cold snap has been well-timed to allow me to be ill without missing anything other than a ballet class. I'll have to take the jazz class for a month to make up for all the missed ballet in the last couple of months, between holidays, ice, injury and illness.
And I have to brag a bit: Yesterday evening, I was making dinner (well, reheating dinner), and had the microwave, toaster oven and electric teakettle going. Well, it turns out that they're all on the same circuit, along with the refrigerator, because there was a loud pop and then they all stopped. I could swear I've done the same thing before, but I suspect what happened was the refrigerator kicked on at a bad time. At first, there was whimpering because it was after five on the day before an expected ice/snow storm and I'd never get anyone out to fix it. I could move the toaster oven and teakettle, but what would I do without a refrigerator unless I moved everything outside where it was cold? After the whimpering, I decided to look at the circuit box, and between the very sketchy diagram of which switch controlled what and a game of "one of these is not like the other," I figured out the bad circuit, flipped the switch off and then on, and it all came back on. I was very proud of myself. Okay, so flipping a switch isn't exactly rocket science, but considering I'm still somewhat addled by the evil cold, I was pleased that I solved the problem myself without outside help and without even any good instructions.
So, today is supposed to be Enchanted, Inc. discussion day, but I don't have any questions that aren't potential spoilers or that can't be answered in one or two words. So, I thought I'd address (again) the number one question I get asked in reader mail and a few of the related questions.
There are currently no plans for more books in the series to be published in the United States. The publisher that released the first four books doesn't want more books -- and my agent nags them about that every time she gets royalty statements on those books, since the earlier books are still selling pretty well. However, no other publishers are interested in later books in a series where the first four books are with another publisher -- and, yes, my agent has made the rounds to see if there was any interest. Selling a new book also tends to raise sales of the backlist, and that means the new publisher would be the one taking the financial risk with the new book, while the old publisher with those four books would get more benefit. Plus, they wouldn't want the later books if they couldn't control releases of the first books. You'd want the earlier part of the series to be available when releasing a new book, and if that's with another publisher, that's a problem. There's also that old shelving issue. The first four books were classified as "chick lit," and since chick lit is considered dead, no other publisher wants them that way, but even the fantasy houses aren't interested in a fantasy book when the first four books in the series are shelved as chick lit.
This doesn't mean more books will never be published. There are a number of things that can happen to change things:
1) The books go out of print, the rights revert, and then the entire series, plus new books, can be sold to another publisher.
This probably won't happen anytime soon, since the books are selling steadily. I'm in a bind here, where the sales are too good for the publisher to release me but not good enough for more books. Oddly, the first book still sells the most (which makes me wonder what happens to all those people who are still buying the first book if they don't go on to buy the rest), so it will probably be the last one to go out of print, and no new publisher would want the whole series minus the first book.
2) The people making the decisions get their heads out of the place that isn't at the top of their necks.
There's a lot of turnover in publishing, so you never know, it could happen. From what I hear, a lot of the problem has to do with decision-making people looking at classification, not content, so books in that classification are "dead" and don't do well in mass market. It would take someone at a higher level being willing to look at it and realize that it really is fantasy, which would change the bean-counters' formulas.
3) The movie gets made.
That probably would change a lot of things because release of a movie would drive book sales. There would be a tie-in edition with art from the movie on the cover, or at least a "now a major motion picture" label on the cover.
4) I become a bestseller or at least well known for something else at another publisher.
If I get reclassified as a fantasy author, that might encourage the old publisher to change how they treat my books, and if I become well-known, they'll want to ride the coattails. I've got a new series proposal on submission right now, so we'll see if it works.
Now, what about self-publishing, e-books, etc.?
Right now, I'm not considering those options for a number of reasons. The four things above are not outside the realm of possibility, and if I self publish or e-publish more books in the series, that could make it impossible for them to be published the traditional way if any of those things did happen. I'd also be driving sales of the earlier books, making it less likely for the rights to revert. I'm also not keen on the idea of an e-only book right now because book piracy is so rampant. There are many times more downloads of pirated books in this series than there are sales of legitimate e-books. At least with a traditionally published book, the vast majority of sales are in printed books. If the book is only electronically published, that means it will be limited to a tiny fraction of the readership, and it means it's very likely that more people will read pirated copies than legitimate copies, with no print copies to balance that. It's just not worth the effort when something is only going to be stolen that readily. Most of my Google alerts on my name and book titles these days are only links to download my books for free or people asking for places to download them for free, and that makes me far less inclined to consider an e-only option.
In case you weren't aware, my books are not legally available in their entirety for free download. If that's how you obtained my books, neither I nor my publisher received any payment for that because it was stolen. It also means my publisher is not aware of that as a sale and it contributes to their reluctance to publish more books in the series. If the books aren't making enough money for them, they won't publish more, and if the books are being spread around through file sharing, they aren't making money.
And I have to brag a bit: Yesterday evening, I was making dinner (well, reheating dinner), and had the microwave, toaster oven and electric teakettle going. Well, it turns out that they're all on the same circuit, along with the refrigerator, because there was a loud pop and then they all stopped. I could swear I've done the same thing before, but I suspect what happened was the refrigerator kicked on at a bad time. At first, there was whimpering because it was after five on the day before an expected ice/snow storm and I'd never get anyone out to fix it. I could move the toaster oven and teakettle, but what would I do without a refrigerator unless I moved everything outside where it was cold? After the whimpering, I decided to look at the circuit box, and between the very sketchy diagram of which switch controlled what and a game of "one of these is not like the other," I figured out the bad circuit, flipped the switch off and then on, and it all came back on. I was very proud of myself. Okay, so flipping a switch isn't exactly rocket science, but considering I'm still somewhat addled by the evil cold, I was pleased that I solved the problem myself without outside help and without even any good instructions.
So, today is supposed to be Enchanted, Inc. discussion day, but I don't have any questions that aren't potential spoilers or that can't be answered in one or two words. So, I thought I'd address (again) the number one question I get asked in reader mail and a few of the related questions.
There are currently no plans for more books in the series to be published in the United States. The publisher that released the first four books doesn't want more books -- and my agent nags them about that every time she gets royalty statements on those books, since the earlier books are still selling pretty well. However, no other publishers are interested in later books in a series where the first four books are with another publisher -- and, yes, my agent has made the rounds to see if there was any interest. Selling a new book also tends to raise sales of the backlist, and that means the new publisher would be the one taking the financial risk with the new book, while the old publisher with those four books would get more benefit. Plus, they wouldn't want the later books if they couldn't control releases of the first books. You'd want the earlier part of the series to be available when releasing a new book, and if that's with another publisher, that's a problem. There's also that old shelving issue. The first four books were classified as "chick lit," and since chick lit is considered dead, no other publisher wants them that way, but even the fantasy houses aren't interested in a fantasy book when the first four books in the series are shelved as chick lit.
This doesn't mean more books will never be published. There are a number of things that can happen to change things:
1) The books go out of print, the rights revert, and then the entire series, plus new books, can be sold to another publisher.
This probably won't happen anytime soon, since the books are selling steadily. I'm in a bind here, where the sales are too good for the publisher to release me but not good enough for more books. Oddly, the first book still sells the most (which makes me wonder what happens to all those people who are still buying the first book if they don't go on to buy the rest), so it will probably be the last one to go out of print, and no new publisher would want the whole series minus the first book.
2) The people making the decisions get their heads out of the place that isn't at the top of their necks.
There's a lot of turnover in publishing, so you never know, it could happen. From what I hear, a lot of the problem has to do with decision-making people looking at classification, not content, so books in that classification are "dead" and don't do well in mass market. It would take someone at a higher level being willing to look at it and realize that it really is fantasy, which would change the bean-counters' formulas.
3) The movie gets made.
That probably would change a lot of things because release of a movie would drive book sales. There would be a tie-in edition with art from the movie on the cover, or at least a "now a major motion picture" label on the cover.
4) I become a bestseller or at least well known for something else at another publisher.
If I get reclassified as a fantasy author, that might encourage the old publisher to change how they treat my books, and if I become well-known, they'll want to ride the coattails. I've got a new series proposal on submission right now, so we'll see if it works.
Now, what about self-publishing, e-books, etc.?
Right now, I'm not considering those options for a number of reasons. The four things above are not outside the realm of possibility, and if I self publish or e-publish more books in the series, that could make it impossible for them to be published the traditional way if any of those things did happen. I'd also be driving sales of the earlier books, making it less likely for the rights to revert. I'm also not keen on the idea of an e-only book right now because book piracy is so rampant. There are many times more downloads of pirated books in this series than there are sales of legitimate e-books. At least with a traditionally published book, the vast majority of sales are in printed books. If the book is only electronically published, that means it will be limited to a tiny fraction of the readership, and it means it's very likely that more people will read pirated copies than legitimate copies, with no print copies to balance that. It's just not worth the effort when something is only going to be stolen that readily. Most of my Google alerts on my name and book titles these days are only links to download my books for free or people asking for places to download them for free, and that makes me far less inclined to consider an e-only option.
In case you weren't aware, my books are not legally available in their entirety for free download. If that's how you obtained my books, neither I nor my publisher received any payment for that because it was stolen. It also means my publisher is not aware of that as a sale and it contributes to their reluctance to publish more books in the series. If the books aren't making enough money for them, they won't publish more, and if the books are being spread around through file sharing, they aren't making money.
