Mette Ivie Harrison's Blog, page 104
October 24, 2010
race report Ogden Valley 50 (er, more like 52) miler
I did not train for this race at all. I knew I was supposed to. My plan was to run 15 miles the day after my marathon 3 weeks ago, but I woke up and couldn't do it. Well, couldn't stir up enough interest to overcome the pain in my legs to do it. So I ended up deciding what I needed was rest, after a long season of racing, beginning with the Ironman in May. The most I ran during the last three weeks was 12 miles one Saturday. Whereas the other times I have done this race, I have trained as many as 20 miles on Friday, and then 30 on Saturday.
Knowing that, I didn't have great expectations for the result. I knew it would be a stretch to think that any 50 mile run or even walk would be "fun," but I didn't think I would break my record time. However, at mile 16, I was ten minutes ahead of my best time. At mile 35, I was 5 minutes ahead still. Then the walking began. I walked about 6 miles straight uphill to Snowbasin and that was when it started to rain and hail. I suppose I should have checked the weather reports more carefully, but I don't think they predicted this much precipitation. We do live in a desert, after all.
For the next four hours, it alternately rained and hailed. I lost about 25 minutes from other times, and while I was pretty philosophical about it, I wasn't super happy. I didn't bring the right stuff for that weather. I wore a tank with a long sleeve technical shirt and shorts and tights. I also had a very lightweight cap and gloves, but I had taken them off after it got light (the race starts at 5 a.m.) and given them to one of the support vehicles (this race didn't really have aid stations, just roaming vehicles). So at about mile 37 a kind roaming vehicle offered to give me someone else's cap and gloves, which I wore for a while until the gloves became sopping wet, and then I took them off. I kept the cap. My shoes and socks were sopping wet. I tried bandaging my feet to prevent lost toenails and blisters (and pain). A vehicle also offered to give me someone else's dry socks, which I accepted.
Boy, I am not making anyone reading this want to do an ultramarathon, am I? It was mostly my own fault, for being so badly prepared. I lost my Ipod shuffle and therefore had no tunes the last hour or so of the race. When I hit the finish line, I thought I was doing pretty well. But by the time I got in my car about 15 minutes later, I turned up the heat as far as it would go and drove the 15 minutes home. I started to shake so uncontrollably that I called my husband on his phone as soon as I got in the garage, hoping he would help me get inside and into a hot bath. I stayed there for about 20 minutes (feeling guilty for using so much water). I weighed myself and had lost about 5 pounds in water weight. I tried to eat as much as I can, but nutrition is always the hardest part of the race for me. I end up nauseous and even though my heart is fine, I cannot keep running.
Ah, well. You get out what you put in. I have a nice medal and new race shirt. And a lot of pain. Also, two lost toenails, though perhaps more. Haven't investigated closely yet.
By the way, cherry sports jelly beans are absolutely disgusting. And Doritos surprisingly tasty at mile 42.
Knowing that, I didn't have great expectations for the result. I knew it would be a stretch to think that any 50 mile run or even walk would be "fun," but I didn't think I would break my record time. However, at mile 16, I was ten minutes ahead of my best time. At mile 35, I was 5 minutes ahead still. Then the walking began. I walked about 6 miles straight uphill to Snowbasin and that was when it started to rain and hail. I suppose I should have checked the weather reports more carefully, but I don't think they predicted this much precipitation. We do live in a desert, after all.
For the next four hours, it alternately rained and hailed. I lost about 25 minutes from other times, and while I was pretty philosophical about it, I wasn't super happy. I didn't bring the right stuff for that weather. I wore a tank with a long sleeve technical shirt and shorts and tights. I also had a very lightweight cap and gloves, but I had taken them off after it got light (the race starts at 5 a.m.) and given them to one of the support vehicles (this race didn't really have aid stations, just roaming vehicles). So at about mile 37 a kind roaming vehicle offered to give me someone else's cap and gloves, which I wore for a while until the gloves became sopping wet, and then I took them off. I kept the cap. My shoes and socks were sopping wet. I tried bandaging my feet to prevent lost toenails and blisters (and pain). A vehicle also offered to give me someone else's dry socks, which I accepted.
Boy, I am not making anyone reading this want to do an ultramarathon, am I? It was mostly my own fault, for being so badly prepared. I lost my Ipod shuffle and therefore had no tunes the last hour or so of the race. When I hit the finish line, I thought I was doing pretty well. But by the time I got in my car about 15 minutes later, I turned up the heat as far as it would go and drove the 15 minutes home. I started to shake so uncontrollably that I called my husband on his phone as soon as I got in the garage, hoping he would help me get inside and into a hot bath. I stayed there for about 20 minutes (feeling guilty for using so much water). I weighed myself and had lost about 5 pounds in water weight. I tried to eat as much as I can, but nutrition is always the hardest part of the race for me. I end up nauseous and even though my heart is fine, I cannot keep running.
Ah, well. You get out what you put in. I have a nice medal and new race shirt. And a lot of pain. Also, two lost toenails, though perhaps more. Haven't investigated closely yet.
By the way, cherry sports jelly beans are absolutely disgusting. And Doritos surprisingly tasty at mile 42.
October 22, 2010
why writing a series sucks
(Can you tell I am in the middle of writing a series?)
1. The first book comes out before the last one is written, so if there are things you wish you could change to make the last book easier--out of luck.
2. You have to remember things like everyone's eye color, clothing preferences, food preferences, and everything they thought or imagined--in only the actual, published version of all of the books.
3. The rules introduced in the first book are really the rules for you as the writer.
4. Your readers will be ruthless in pointing out every detail that you forgot.
5. Each book has to feel satisfying on its own, but still lead to larger stakes in the next book, to make readers desperate to read more.
6. No matter how perfect the first book is, the next book has to be better or readers will feel disappointed.
7. Most of the time, you will end up fudging or creating new rules for magic, and then have to distract the reader from that. I hope you are a good magician!
8. It's hard *whine*.
9. Your character have to remain true to themselves and yet change and develop naturally. Three different times.
10. Your titles have to work together.
1. The first book comes out before the last one is written, so if there are things you wish you could change to make the last book easier--out of luck.
2. You have to remember things like everyone's eye color, clothing preferences, food preferences, and everything they thought or imagined--in only the actual, published version of all of the books.
3. The rules introduced in the first book are really the rules for you as the writer.
4. Your readers will be ruthless in pointing out every detail that you forgot.
5. Each book has to feel satisfying on its own, but still lead to larger stakes in the next book, to make readers desperate to read more.
6. No matter how perfect the first book is, the next book has to be better or readers will feel disappointed.
7. Most of the time, you will end up fudging or creating new rules for magic, and then have to distract the reader from that. I hope you are a good magician!
8. It's hard *whine*.
9. Your character have to remain true to themselves and yet change and develop naturally. Three different times.
10. Your titles have to work together.
October 21, 2010
parenting tips
I don't know if I am that great a parent, but I've had numerous people ask me what my tips for good parenting are. In the hopes that these may be useful, I think I can distill my parenting down to 7 parts:
1. Spend as much time as possible with your child in the first two years of life.
I know not everyone is a stay-at-home parent, but I was a slave to my kids the first two years. I carried them everywhere, literally. Skin to skin. I did not use a baby car seat except in the car. I had a swing but never used it. I never had a baby jail (a playpen). I used a crib for the first ten months, and then my kids were in a bed they could climb out. I wanted them to feel that they had access to me, that they were safe and well-cared for. I didn't let them cry themselves to sleep. Well, maybe a couple of times.
2. Say "yes" as often as you possibly can, and try to phrase directives to children in positive terms.
I think this is especially important for very young children. It is easy and rather natural to tell a child, don't touch that, don't go there. It is more difficult but ultimately much better to tell a child, here, you can have this, let Mommy come with you, see that pretty glass object, keep it safe and count how many stars you can see on it without touching.
3. Allow your children to experience real consequences from real actions as much as possible.
I think parents may have different opinions about what "as much as possible" means. Obviously, I wouldn't allow my child to experience the real life consequence of being hit by a car if she were to wander into the street. But I would let her experience the real life consequence of having a messy room if she chooses not to clean it, and also of not getting the room clean treat that the other kids get.
4. Never, ever threaten a child.
This is something that I do so automatically that I never think about it. Some parenting books call this being consistent. It's that, too, I suppose. But I don't think about it that way because no one is truly consistent even ninety percent of the time. When I tell my children that something will happen is they do x, then that something happens. All the time. And I don't mean it as a threat. It's linked to #3 above. It's just the consequence of that action. I'm not the one being mean. They chose to make that choice. It's important to let children experience real choices, and to be calm when they see the results of that choice.
5. Give unconditional love.
And by this I don't mean just that you tell your child that you love her. I also mean that you show it by enjoying her company and feeling the ache of whatever challenges she has to face, challenges that are real even though they are challenges you have already passed through. Along with this, I suppose I would add something like how important it is to listen to each child's version of the events as they happened. Usually, always, there is a complicated dynamic and no single child is at fault.
6. Tell the truth.
Sometimes parents think that protecting children is the right thing to do. Obviously, we don't tell children everything because they are not ready for it. But if I err, it is on the side of telling a little too much. In fact, my children sometimes run away with their fingers in their ears when I am telling them some facts. Or they look at me and say, Mom--did you really have to tell me all of that? Well, maybe not. But I want them to know they can talk to me frankly about things, if they want to.
7. Apologize.
There is a whole generation of parents who were told never to apologize. I don't believe this at all. I want my children to see me clearly. I want them to be able to forgive me when I make stupid mistakes (which I do, all the time). I want them to believe that they will be good and flawed parents when they grow up. There is nothing wrong with making a mistake, and apologizing is the only way to put it right. I'm not too proud to apologize to a two year old, if necessary. I also tell my older kids about my fears, my stupidities, and so on.
1. Spend as much time as possible with your child in the first two years of life.
I know not everyone is a stay-at-home parent, but I was a slave to my kids the first two years. I carried them everywhere, literally. Skin to skin. I did not use a baby car seat except in the car. I had a swing but never used it. I never had a baby jail (a playpen). I used a crib for the first ten months, and then my kids were in a bed they could climb out. I wanted them to feel that they had access to me, that they were safe and well-cared for. I didn't let them cry themselves to sleep. Well, maybe a couple of times.
2. Say "yes" as often as you possibly can, and try to phrase directives to children in positive terms.
I think this is especially important for very young children. It is easy and rather natural to tell a child, don't touch that, don't go there. It is more difficult but ultimately much better to tell a child, here, you can have this, let Mommy come with you, see that pretty glass object, keep it safe and count how many stars you can see on it without touching.
3. Allow your children to experience real consequences from real actions as much as possible.
I think parents may have different opinions about what "as much as possible" means. Obviously, I wouldn't allow my child to experience the real life consequence of being hit by a car if she were to wander into the street. But I would let her experience the real life consequence of having a messy room if she chooses not to clean it, and also of not getting the room clean treat that the other kids get.
4. Never, ever threaten a child.
This is something that I do so automatically that I never think about it. Some parenting books call this being consistent. It's that, too, I suppose. But I don't think about it that way because no one is truly consistent even ninety percent of the time. When I tell my children that something will happen is they do x, then that something happens. All the time. And I don't mean it as a threat. It's linked to #3 above. It's just the consequence of that action. I'm not the one being mean. They chose to make that choice. It's important to let children experience real choices, and to be calm when they see the results of that choice.
5. Give unconditional love.
And by this I don't mean just that you tell your child that you love her. I also mean that you show it by enjoying her company and feeling the ache of whatever challenges she has to face, challenges that are real even though they are challenges you have already passed through. Along with this, I suppose I would add something like how important it is to listen to each child's version of the events as they happened. Usually, always, there is a complicated dynamic and no single child is at fault.
6. Tell the truth.
Sometimes parents think that protecting children is the right thing to do. Obviously, we don't tell children everything because they are not ready for it. But if I err, it is on the side of telling a little too much. In fact, my children sometimes run away with their fingers in their ears when I am telling them some facts. Or they look at me and say, Mom--did you really have to tell me all of that? Well, maybe not. But I want them to know they can talk to me frankly about things, if they want to.
7. Apologize.
There is a whole generation of parents who were told never to apologize. I don't believe this at all. I want my children to see me clearly. I want them to be able to forgive me when I make stupid mistakes (which I do, all the time). I want them to believe that they will be good and flawed parents when they grow up. There is nothing wrong with making a mistake, and apologizing is the only way to put it right. I'm not too proud to apologize to a two year old, if necessary. I also tell my older kids about my fears, my stupidities, and so on.
October 20, 2010
body image
15 and I wear the same size pants, though not really tops (even though she has been known to steal some of mine--if she thinks they would look better on her, and of course she is really helping me out from not wearing clothes a 15 year old would wear). At the beginning of the year, I told her I wasn't buying her any new clothes unless she cleaned her closet out of clothes that she wasn't wearing, for whatever reason. I didn't tell her it had to be a good reason.
So, the result was that I inherited a pair of perfectly good tan pants that she wore last year when she was still wearing uniforms at the junior high. I suspect it's just the getting rid of the uniform clothes thing. I put them on and they fit me just fine. Except that I think my legs look a little big in them, and they're rather form-fitting on the backside. Not too tight, really. Just, well, close.
I have noticed all this week that when 15 wears a pair of pants in the exact same size, I look at her, and think--she is very thin. But when I put on those same pair of pants (literally now in this case) and look at myself in them, I look at all the parts that for one reason or another aren't quite perfect. I think about the fact that I have stretching scars from multiple pregnancies, and some pooch around my waist. My legs, as I said, feel "big." I know they're not fat. I know they're muscular. But I am still self-conscious about them.
At the Half Ironman this year, I got hot enough that I took off my tank about halfway through the run and finished in my bra. I waited until the photos came out, so I could compare them to the other women (mostly in their 20s) who were daring enough to wear bras and shorts instead of tanks and shorts. I decided I did not look good. Embarrassingly not good. Jiggly and striped with scars. I did not buy those photos and swore I would never take off my tank in a race again, no matter how hot I got. I had to protect the spectators.
But in the back of my mind, I have been thinking about why I am doing this. I do not actually think I need to lose weight. I know that most of my friends tell me that I'm not allowed to talk about body image issues because whatever I have doesn't even count as a body image issue. So why do I obsess over this? I am one of those people whose main goal in life is to never go on a diet. I hate counting calories. And also, I don't care that much about image in the first place. I am perfectly happy to go around without makeup on, every day, for pictures and everything. I get frustrated when I feel like people focus on the outer and not the inner, which is what really matters.
Who is in my head, telling me I am still fat? I guess it is the same person in the head of anorexics and pretty much all of us, reminding us we will never have the perfect body, because the perfect body is fake, painted on and manipulated in photoshop. I know that I have nowhere near the problem that most people have, telling that voice to shut up. But what astonishes me is that it never goes away. After 40 years, it still whispers clearly anytime I look in the mirror.
So, the result was that I inherited a pair of perfectly good tan pants that she wore last year when she was still wearing uniforms at the junior high. I suspect it's just the getting rid of the uniform clothes thing. I put them on and they fit me just fine. Except that I think my legs look a little big in them, and they're rather form-fitting on the backside. Not too tight, really. Just, well, close.
I have noticed all this week that when 15 wears a pair of pants in the exact same size, I look at her, and think--she is very thin. But when I put on those same pair of pants (literally now in this case) and look at myself in them, I look at all the parts that for one reason or another aren't quite perfect. I think about the fact that I have stretching scars from multiple pregnancies, and some pooch around my waist. My legs, as I said, feel "big." I know they're not fat. I know they're muscular. But I am still self-conscious about them.
At the Half Ironman this year, I got hot enough that I took off my tank about halfway through the run and finished in my bra. I waited until the photos came out, so I could compare them to the other women (mostly in their 20s) who were daring enough to wear bras and shorts instead of tanks and shorts. I decided I did not look good. Embarrassingly not good. Jiggly and striped with scars. I did not buy those photos and swore I would never take off my tank in a race again, no matter how hot I got. I had to protect the spectators.
But in the back of my mind, I have been thinking about why I am doing this. I do not actually think I need to lose weight. I know that most of my friends tell me that I'm not allowed to talk about body image issues because whatever I have doesn't even count as a body image issue. So why do I obsess over this? I am one of those people whose main goal in life is to never go on a diet. I hate counting calories. And also, I don't care that much about image in the first place. I am perfectly happy to go around without makeup on, every day, for pictures and everything. I get frustrated when I feel like people focus on the outer and not the inner, which is what really matters.
Who is in my head, telling me I am still fat? I guess it is the same person in the head of anorexics and pretty much all of us, reminding us we will never have the perfect body, because the perfect body is fake, painted on and manipulated in photoshop. I know that I have nowhere near the problem that most people have, telling that voice to shut up. But what astonishes me is that it never goes away. After 40 years, it still whispers clearly anytime I look in the mirror.
October 19, 2010
You can't handle the truth
I got a little taste this week of what editors and agents have to go through on a daily basis. I have been doing a critiquing service off and on, mostly because I wish that I had been able to get actual critiques of manuscripts in the early days, instead of just the nameless, useless rejection letters. I charge for it because otherwise I can't justify the expenditure of time, but it's mostly a token to prove that the people asking really care and will really listen to my critique.
I have never had anyone tell me thanks for doing a critique. I think I'm just too blunt. My autistic side comes out and I can't remember that I have to make people feel good about my critique so that they will recommend my service to others.
So I try to compliment writers on what they do well, I really do. Then I try to sandwich that with some helpful tips about the children's world (which includes YA--something people apparently do not realize). I explain why YA requires certain things (like, for example, a YA protagonist through the entire novel) and why dying is not a happy ending. This is just one example, but there are many others. Then the critiquee sends an unhappy email asking for "clarification." I spend about twice as much time trying to refocus energies on the appropriate areas of the critique, only to discover that I am being badmouthed to friends.
And this is just one experience in the last six months. Agents and editors go through this multiple times a day. No wonder they do not bother to send critiques. It is just not worth the hassle and it takes up a bunch of time on people who seem to have no interest in actually improving their chances of being published.
This is all to say that I am ending my critiquing business. It is just not worth the aggravation. I am a wimp, but I have my own deadlines looming.
One last note. I get real critiques now from editors who realize that it is worth their time to send them to me. Like the editors who are working on novels with me that will be published. Their critiques are every bit as blunt as anything I send out, and I go through that multiple times in order to get a novel out there. I just slashed 40,000 words from a bloated manuscript. I sent off a short story to an editor who sent it back with a note saying it was "amateur" and "not up to your usual style." I sent him back a note saying thanks for the blunt. I love the blunt. The blunt is what gets us back on track from the navel gazing that we writes sometimes like to indulge in, thinking our work is perfect. It isn't now and it never will be. But good enough? That's what we aim for.
I have never had anyone tell me thanks for doing a critique. I think I'm just too blunt. My autistic side comes out and I can't remember that I have to make people feel good about my critique so that they will recommend my service to others.
So I try to compliment writers on what they do well, I really do. Then I try to sandwich that with some helpful tips about the children's world (which includes YA--something people apparently do not realize). I explain why YA requires certain things (like, for example, a YA protagonist through the entire novel) and why dying is not a happy ending. This is just one example, but there are many others. Then the critiquee sends an unhappy email asking for "clarification." I spend about twice as much time trying to refocus energies on the appropriate areas of the critique, only to discover that I am being badmouthed to friends.
And this is just one experience in the last six months. Agents and editors go through this multiple times a day. No wonder they do not bother to send critiques. It is just not worth the hassle and it takes up a bunch of time on people who seem to have no interest in actually improving their chances of being published.
This is all to say that I am ending my critiquing business. It is just not worth the aggravation. I am a wimp, but I have my own deadlines looming.
One last note. I get real critiques now from editors who realize that it is worth their time to send them to me. Like the editors who are working on novels with me that will be published. Their critiques are every bit as blunt as anything I send out, and I go through that multiple times in order to get a novel out there. I just slashed 40,000 words from a bloated manuscript. I sent off a short story to an editor who sent it back with a note saying it was "amateur" and "not up to your usual style." I sent him back a note saying thanks for the blunt. I love the blunt. The blunt is what gets us back on track from the navel gazing that we writes sometimes like to indulge in, thinking our work is perfect. It isn't now and it never will be. But good enough? That's what we aim for.
October 18, 2010
Sirens question
At Sirens, we all ate lunch together and after we got our food and had a chance to just introduce ourselves to new people at the table (which there always were), one of the organizers stood up and asked us to answer a question amongst the group. The questions, as I recall were:
Who is your favorite female fantasy character?
I said my favorite was Ista from Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold. She is such a different character, a dowager queen who has spent most of her life running scared of the secrets she holds, and sure that she has no power of her own that matters. And then . . . she finds love in entirely the wrong place, and is forced into a situation where at last, she has the skills to do what must be done to save the world.
Who is your favorite female fantasy writer?
OK, not difficult to guess, since above--Lois McMaster Bujold. But I could go on and on, listing my favorite writers, who are overwhelmingly female. I was talking to 15 this week and she said her two favorite authors are Dan Wells (I Am Not A Serial Killer) and Patrick Rothfuss (She rereads The Name of the Wind every week or so). I think that when I was younger, I preferred male authors more, and now I have completely turned around. Don't know what's up with that. Here's a list of female authors (not all fantasy writers) whom I love:
Connie Willis
Nancy Kress
Holly Black
Diana Peterfreund
Nancy Werlin
Franny Billingsley
Cassie Clare
Kathleen Duey
Esther Friesner
Susan Beth Durst
Shannon Hale
Margeret Peterson Haddix
Gail Carson Levine
Tamora Pierce
Edith Pattou
Megan Whalen Turner
Sarah Rees Brennan
Carrie Ryan
Justine Larbelestier
Robin Wasserman
Ally Carter
Lauren Myracle
Ann Cannon
Cecil Castellucci
Sarah Dessen
Carol Lynch Williams
Jane Kurtz
E. Lockhart
Robin McKinley
Susan Cooper
Madeleine L'Engle
Susan Beth Pfeffer
Janni Lee Simner
Ursula K. LeGuin
Patricia Briggs
Naomi Novik
Robin Hobb
Anne McCaffrey
Sharon Shinn
Jo Walton
Susanna Clarke
Ellen Kushner
Seanan McGuire
I could go on and on. Really, I could.
And a question that I think just came from the group:
Do you prefer series or standalone fantasies?
I met one person who said she preferred standalones, but I didn't believe her. The truth is, I love characters even more than I love plot, and so I tend to want a long time to enjoy that character and the different situations I could imagine him/her in. I like to see characters begin as teens or even younger and then grow up, and into their age and their place in the world. I like to see them get old. I like to see how the world changes around them. I like to see what happens when characters die off and other characters come in and take their place. I like it all. I love series when they are done well, and I am not ashamed to admit it. Standalones are great, they really are. I read them all the time. But the books I reread and recommend are more often than not series.
Also, for those interested in a more complete description of the panel on female friendships, you can go here
Who is your favorite female fantasy character?
I said my favorite was Ista from Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold. She is such a different character, a dowager queen who has spent most of her life running scared of the secrets she holds, and sure that she has no power of her own that matters. And then . . . she finds love in entirely the wrong place, and is forced into a situation where at last, she has the skills to do what must be done to save the world.
Who is your favorite female fantasy writer?
OK, not difficult to guess, since above--Lois McMaster Bujold. But I could go on and on, listing my favorite writers, who are overwhelmingly female. I was talking to 15 this week and she said her two favorite authors are Dan Wells (I Am Not A Serial Killer) and Patrick Rothfuss (She rereads The Name of the Wind every week or so). I think that when I was younger, I preferred male authors more, and now I have completely turned around. Don't know what's up with that. Here's a list of female authors (not all fantasy writers) whom I love:
Connie Willis
Nancy Kress
Holly Black
Diana Peterfreund
Nancy Werlin
Franny Billingsley
Cassie Clare
Kathleen Duey
Esther Friesner
Susan Beth Durst
Shannon Hale
Margeret Peterson Haddix
Gail Carson Levine
Tamora Pierce
Edith Pattou
Megan Whalen Turner
Sarah Rees Brennan
Carrie Ryan
Justine Larbelestier
Robin Wasserman
Ally Carter
Lauren Myracle
Ann Cannon
Cecil Castellucci
Sarah Dessen
Carol Lynch Williams
Jane Kurtz
E. Lockhart
Robin McKinley
Susan Cooper
Madeleine L'Engle
Susan Beth Pfeffer
Janni Lee Simner
Ursula K. LeGuin
Patricia Briggs
Naomi Novik
Robin Hobb
Anne McCaffrey
Sharon Shinn
Jo Walton
Susanna Clarke
Ellen Kushner
Seanan McGuire
I could go on and on. Really, I could.
And a question that I think just came from the group:
Do you prefer series or standalone fantasies?
I met one person who said she preferred standalones, but I didn't believe her. The truth is, I love characters even more than I love plot, and so I tend to want a long time to enjoy that character and the different situations I could imagine him/her in. I like to see characters begin as teens or even younger and then grow up, and into their age and their place in the world. I like to see them get old. I like to see how the world changes around them. I like to see what happens when characters die off and other characters come in and take their place. I like it all. I love series when they are done well, and I am not ashamed to admit it. Standalones are great, they really are. I read them all the time. But the books I reread and recommend are more often than not series.
Also, for those interested in a more complete description of the panel on female friendships, you can go here
October 15, 2010
math lessons
When my two oldest girls were very small, I used to teach them math by giving them coins in random denominations and then taking them to the grocery store which was essentially in our backyard. I showed them how you could find the prices of various items (candy, mostly) and they had to figure out how much money they had and then if they had enough to buy the desired item. As they got more adept at this, I stayed out of it more and more, waiting at the door to see what happened.
I am not sure who ended up learning the most from this lesson. 16 was very careful about adding up her money and figuring out what she could buy with it. 15, on the other hand, was probably just as smart. But her strategy was different. She would figure out what she wanted first, and then try to think about how close the amount she had was to the product desired. I think she actually calculated this in head head, though I was never able to get her to verbalize it. Then, when it was close enough, she would essentially bat her eyelashes and hope that the store clerk thought she was cute enough to make up the difference in price between what she had and the item's cost him or herself. She was extremely effective at this.
16 was very frustrated at the realization that the rules appeared to be different for 15. She kept trying to explain how the price wasn't right for the amount 15 had, but 15 ended up somehow getting it anyway. After two of these experiences, I stopped doing this particular exercise in math. *I* had learned a lesson about my children and about real life. To this day, I tell this story about 16 and 15 and everyone who knows them laughs because they know how true it is to their personalities today. They are both extremely gifted in math. However, 16 spends a lot more time working at it than 15 does, who seems to see math as a means to an end. Go figure.
I am not sure who ended up learning the most from this lesson. 16 was very careful about adding up her money and figuring out what she could buy with it. 15, on the other hand, was probably just as smart. But her strategy was different. She would figure out what she wanted first, and then try to think about how close the amount she had was to the product desired. I think she actually calculated this in head head, though I was never able to get her to verbalize it. Then, when it was close enough, she would essentially bat her eyelashes and hope that the store clerk thought she was cute enough to make up the difference in price between what she had and the item's cost him or herself. She was extremely effective at this.
16 was very frustrated at the realization that the rules appeared to be different for 15. She kept trying to explain how the price wasn't right for the amount 15 had, but 15 ended up somehow getting it anyway. After two of these experiences, I stopped doing this particular exercise in math. *I* had learned a lesson about my children and about real life. To this day, I tell this story about 16 and 15 and everyone who knows them laughs because they know how true it is to their personalities today. They are both extremely gifted in math. However, 16 spends a lot more time working at it than 15 does, who seems to see math as a means to an end. Go figure.
October 13, 2010
covers
At Sirens, I ended up having several conversations with authors about covers. What was surprising to me was how often authors hated covers that to me seemed either harmless or actually fabulous, great ways to sell the book. It wasn't that the authors were being stupid. It was that their visions of the perfect book cover weren't (to my mind) important in selling books, which is what publishers generally want to do a lot of.
I suspect I am not in the standard targeted audience, being too old, too well read, and relying on recommendations almost exclusively when buying books (so that I see the cover after I have made the decision to buy the book and it is rather incidental to me as a reader). Nonetheless, I can still have opinions on book covers being good or bad as a work of art, or alternatively, as a piece of media art. The current trend of using photographs for books is bound to go out of style soon, and we will all look back on all the photocovers as "so 20-teen." I tend to wish for more artsy covers, covers that you could take off, frame, and they would look great in a room. Shannon Hale's original Goose Girl cover was like that to me, but it's been replaced.
Some other great covers include:
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Going Bovine by Libba Bray
The Dark Divine by Bree Despain
Mindblind by Jennifer Roy
The Thief (new repackaged covers) by Megan Whalen Turner
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams
The Gallager Girls books by Ally Carter
I have no idea if those particular authors are happy with the covers or not. I won't mention covers I personally think are horrible, for fear of lightning striking me. I have loved all of my covers so far, luckily. It's a tricky thing as an author, whether or not to openly talk about your cover art, even if it's not as obviously bad as some political fall out lately has reminded us it can be.
Any good/bad cover art you want to share?
I suspect I am not in the standard targeted audience, being too old, too well read, and relying on recommendations almost exclusively when buying books (so that I see the cover after I have made the decision to buy the book and it is rather incidental to me as a reader). Nonetheless, I can still have opinions on book covers being good or bad as a work of art, or alternatively, as a piece of media art. The current trend of using photographs for books is bound to go out of style soon, and we will all look back on all the photocovers as "so 20-teen." I tend to wish for more artsy covers, covers that you could take off, frame, and they would look great in a room. Shannon Hale's original Goose Girl cover was like that to me, but it's been replaced.
Some other great covers include:
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Going Bovine by Libba Bray
The Dark Divine by Bree Despain
Mindblind by Jennifer Roy
The Thief (new repackaged covers) by Megan Whalen Turner
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams
The Gallager Girls books by Ally Carter
I have no idea if those particular authors are happy with the covers or not. I won't mention covers I personally think are horrible, for fear of lightning striking me. I have loved all of my covers so far, luckily. It's a tricky thing as an author, whether or not to openly talk about your cover art, even if it's not as obviously bad as some political fall out lately has reminded us it can be.
Any good/bad cover art you want to share?
October 12, 2010
every day at the gym
I go to a local city-owned pool/gym about twice a week. I have a treadmill and a stationary bike, plus a set of weights and a bench at home. And of course, there are roads everywhere. But I don't have a pool, although occasionally I lust after one of those Endless Pools. Awesome. I am not a particularly social athlete. I don't ever work out with other people, really. It is the time for me to have private talks with myself and to feel the unique clean feeling of quiet. I suppose I like quiet a lot more than other people. Have I mentioned I am a writer?
At the gym/pool there are always other people. I notice them, the older woman who wouldn't let me swim in her lane, the guy in his 50s who still wears a speedo under his increasing girth, the other triathlete who can keep up with me, the casual swimmer who will never learn a flip turn. In the weight room, there are teenage boys trying to bulk up, sometimes in groups, the guys who can lift twice what I do, but I wonder if they can run a mile, the older women overweight who are talking to each other about how many calories they have burned, the elderly woman who is sure she should keep her heart rate under 100 and so puts no weight on the bike. Perhaps most noticeable of all is the guy who weighs over 300 lbs who comes in to swim regularly.
I admire them all. I hope they keep coming. Sometimes they talk to me, ask me how I can go so fast or what race I am signed up for next (if they know me pretty well). I don't mean to judge people by their size, but it happens. I feel an instinctive judgment coming on and have to shove it away, reminding myself that no matter what people have done before, they are here now, and so they are part of my group, the people who are trying to do better, to feel better, to look better.
I worry that sometimes my hyper competitive nature takes over and those around me feel like I am too intimidating to approach. But I can give advice to people who are just starting, and I like to. I really think I understand how to start out. I didn't spend all my life this way. I remember when running .1 mile on the treadmill was hard, something to dread in the morning. I remember trying to lose weight and feeling starved all the time and people telling me that all I needed to do was just "eat less and exercise more." It wasn't as simple as calories in, calories out.
I guess it's like what I try to do in terms of housework. Some days, I get an hour to spend cleaning walls or painting. Other days the best I can do is pick up a few things and put them where they actually belong. But I try to do something every day. Those of you who are doing the same (and I assume that is pretty much all of you), here's to you. Cheers!
At the gym/pool there are always other people. I notice them, the older woman who wouldn't let me swim in her lane, the guy in his 50s who still wears a speedo under his increasing girth, the other triathlete who can keep up with me, the casual swimmer who will never learn a flip turn. In the weight room, there are teenage boys trying to bulk up, sometimes in groups, the guys who can lift twice what I do, but I wonder if they can run a mile, the older women overweight who are talking to each other about how many calories they have burned, the elderly woman who is sure she should keep her heart rate under 100 and so puts no weight on the bike. Perhaps most noticeable of all is the guy who weighs over 300 lbs who comes in to swim regularly.
I admire them all. I hope they keep coming. Sometimes they talk to me, ask me how I can go so fast or what race I am signed up for next (if they know me pretty well). I don't mean to judge people by their size, but it happens. I feel an instinctive judgment coming on and have to shove it away, reminding myself that no matter what people have done before, they are here now, and so they are part of my group, the people who are trying to do better, to feel better, to look better.
I worry that sometimes my hyper competitive nature takes over and those around me feel like I am too intimidating to approach. But I can give advice to people who are just starting, and I like to. I really think I understand how to start out. I didn't spend all my life this way. I remember when running .1 mile on the treadmill was hard, something to dread in the morning. I remember trying to lose weight and feeling starved all the time and people telling me that all I needed to do was just "eat less and exercise more." It wasn't as simple as calories in, calories out.
I guess it's like what I try to do in terms of housework. Some days, I get an hour to spend cleaning walls or painting. Other days the best I can do is pick up a few things and put them where they actually belong. But I try to do something every day. Those of you who are doing the same (and I assume that is pretty much all of you), here's to you. Cheers!
October 11, 2010
female friendship at Sirens
I drove back from Sirens in Vail, Colorado yesterday. What a lovely weekend it was! Why has no one thought of doing something like this before? It is truly not like any other conference I have been to. You MUST go next year if you care about women in fantasy.
It was a small, intimate conference with maybe 100 attendees and guests. It is the only conference I have ever been to where it was possible for me to meet everyone and remember most of the names (at least during the conference--I make no promises after, sorry!) The lunches were together, and I got to sit down and chat with people, listen in to conversations. One of things that impressed me the most was how many people were sitting and talking about the same books that I loved and cared about. I felt like I could enter any conversation at any time and be welcome. There was little sense of GUESTS versus ATTENDEES.
The second thing I enjoyed about the conference was the academic sense of it. I've been to lots of conferences, but this one had papers being presented, actual dissertations or just thoughtful pieces on women in fantasy topics. I personally took a long list of notes on how to write a brawl/duel on the talk given by Marie Brennan.
I put together a panel on women in fantasy with Sherwood Smith, Holly Black, Rachel Manija Brown, and Janni Lee Simner. It went very well. I was happy that the work I'd put into it panned out. If you weren't there, they did audiotape it and you might be able to get a copy of it. We talked about some of the models of female friendship we've seen (rivals, sisterhood, mentor-mentee, foil, and so on). We talked about what kind of fantasy we felt had more interesting, more forward looking friendships (although I did try to make sure we weren't bashing any author--I think most are trying). Most seemed to agree it was actually high fantasy rather than urban fantasy or paranormal romance. We talked about what we would like to see more of.
I must admit that I spent less time listening to answers than thinking about how much time had passed, what question I should ask next, what questions I could add to make sure we took up the right amount of time, and what questions I should cut out as already answered, what I should say and what I should let others talk on, so on. The management of the panel, since I've never officially done something like this before. But I will do it again, and already have an idea for next year, which is on MONSTERS.
I came back to mounds of laundry, but feeling nurtured and surrounded by women in fantasy who are passionate, thoughtful, interesting, and good.
It was a small, intimate conference with maybe 100 attendees and guests. It is the only conference I have ever been to where it was possible for me to meet everyone and remember most of the names (at least during the conference--I make no promises after, sorry!) The lunches were together, and I got to sit down and chat with people, listen in to conversations. One of things that impressed me the most was how many people were sitting and talking about the same books that I loved and cared about. I felt like I could enter any conversation at any time and be welcome. There was little sense of GUESTS versus ATTENDEES.
The second thing I enjoyed about the conference was the academic sense of it. I've been to lots of conferences, but this one had papers being presented, actual dissertations or just thoughtful pieces on women in fantasy topics. I personally took a long list of notes on how to write a brawl/duel on the talk given by Marie Brennan.
I put together a panel on women in fantasy with Sherwood Smith, Holly Black, Rachel Manija Brown, and Janni Lee Simner. It went very well. I was happy that the work I'd put into it panned out. If you weren't there, they did audiotape it and you might be able to get a copy of it. We talked about some of the models of female friendship we've seen (rivals, sisterhood, mentor-mentee, foil, and so on). We talked about what kind of fantasy we felt had more interesting, more forward looking friendships (although I did try to make sure we weren't bashing any author--I think most are trying). Most seemed to agree it was actually high fantasy rather than urban fantasy or paranormal romance. We talked about what we would like to see more of.
I must admit that I spent less time listening to answers than thinking about how much time had passed, what question I should ask next, what questions I could add to make sure we took up the right amount of time, and what questions I should cut out as already answered, what I should say and what I should let others talk on, so on. The management of the panel, since I've never officially done something like this before. But I will do it again, and already have an idea for next year, which is on MONSTERS.
I came back to mounds of laundry, but feeling nurtured and surrounded by women in fantasy who are passionate, thoughtful, interesting, and good.
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