Liz Williams's Blog, page 2
August 5, 2015
August
Busy days. I started a new day job in April and in the aftermath of my father’s death we’re now in the final stages of a family house sale, so all of this has been taking up some time. Lots of property stuff happening: we're having part of the roof re-done. I’ve also been teaching a creative writing summer school, which is always a pleasure, and keeping up with the Skype classes.
However, I’ve been putting together a new short story collection (some published material, some new) for a publisher, which will be out either later this year or in 2016 and working on some anthology commissions and subscription stories. Once everything settles down, which won’t be long now, I’ll be putting together some non fiction material as well. There is an on-going novel project, but I need to get out into the county and do some research: old churches, mainly. It'll all get done in due course.
Otherwise, we’ve had a wet week, but summer is well and truly entrenched: runner beans and marrows in the garden, beautiful hanging baskets in town, and the landscape is taking on that tranquil post midsummer aspect with all the hay bagged and the fields golden in the distance.
However, I’ve been putting together a new short story collection (some published material, some new) for a publisher, which will be out either later this year or in 2016 and working on some anthology commissions and subscription stories. Once everything settles down, which won’t be long now, I’ll be putting together some non fiction material as well. There is an on-going novel project, but I need to get out into the county and do some research: old churches, mainly. It'll all get done in due course.
Otherwise, we’ve had a wet week, but summer is well and truly entrenched: runner beans and marrows in the garden, beautiful hanging baskets in town, and the landscape is taking on that tranquil post midsummer aspect with all the hay bagged and the fields golden in the distance.
March 18, 2015
March and the written word
Rochita Loenen-Ruiz has an excellent post up at Strange Horizons on toxicity here:
http://strangehorizons.com/2015/20150316/loenenruiz-c.shtml
citing an equally good article on call-out culture by Asam Ahmad.
*
My own novel is proceeding at a stately pace, which some might term glacial, but at least it is proceeding. I'm about to send off some material for a new collection, and otherwise we are gearing up for spring, which is well and truly sprung here in the south west of England - hyacinths and daffodils out everywhere, bird cherry filling the hedges, and orchards to be mown. Guess what I've been doing...
In Glastonbury, we've had a great weekend with the Faery Ball, and seeing old friends. Artist Anne Sudworth has been down for a few days and we've really enjoyed catching up. Good to see Brian Froud in town, too. Although I think everyone is saddened by the death of Terry Pratchett, who lived not too far away from here. A huge loss to the genre.
http://strangehorizons.com/2015/20150316/loenenruiz-c.shtml
citing an equally good article on call-out culture by Asam Ahmad.
*
My own novel is proceeding at a stately pace, which some might term glacial, but at least it is proceeding. I'm about to send off some material for a new collection, and otherwise we are gearing up for spring, which is well and truly sprung here in the south west of England - hyacinths and daffodils out everywhere, bird cherry filling the hedges, and orchards to be mown. Guess what I've been doing...
In Glastonbury, we've had a great weekend with the Faery Ball, and seeing old friends. Artist Anne Sudworth has been down for a few days and we've really enjoyed catching up. Good to see Brian Froud in town, too. Although I think everyone is saddened by the death of Terry Pratchett, who lived not too far away from here. A huge loss to the genre.
March 8, 2015
March
In like lamb and lion. Many thanks for your birthday wishes, and to everyone who messaged me about the heads-up on Radio 3.
Last month was mainly about furniture removal and work; this month will be mainly about....well, the same. My parents' house is now clear, and we're incorporating my mother's furniture into her flat. I'm supposed to be painting the shop, but rain has stopped play, so I'm sitting in a cafe instead, planning lessons.
Last month was mainly about furniture removal and work; this month will be mainly about....well, the same. My parents' house is now clear, and we're incorporating my mother's furniture into her flat. I'm supposed to be painting the shop, but rain has stopped play, so I'm sitting in a cafe instead, planning lessons.
February 10, 2015
Requires comment
It’s now been some time since Laura Mixon’s initial report on Requires Hate. I didn’t comment independently a great deal on the first report, as anything of relevance that I had to say was contained within it, so these are my own follow-up comments; my colleagues are also posting their thoughts.
I have, as stated, reported Requires Hate and her UK cohort to the police here in the UK: not under harassment charges in regard to myself, but with relationship to her threats against UK/US military personnel and to Western tourists in Thailand. After the murder of soldier Lee Rigby, and the post-IS climate in the UK, threats of beheading and mutilation are taken seriously, and the relevant authorities here now have full information: a paper trail and history.
I won’t be asking for an apology from Requires Hate: not even her most ardent supporters gave the last one any credence, although I fully support those who would like one, plus an assertion that they will not be persecuted further. With regard to her work, I continue to hold to the view that writing should be considered separately from the personality of the writer: however, it would exceedingly naïve to deny that actions do count and editors, agents and other writers are also at liberty not to deal with people who are guilty of gross professional misconduct. Attempting to destroy other people’s careers, blackmail, and intimidation fall well within that description: for example, RH’s long career of spite, and Alex MacFarlane’s well-documented online bullying of women of colour and attempted blacklisting of rivals.
Moreover, editors tend not to be impeccable automata programmed with unshatterable rules – most of them in genre are overworked, underpaid, deluged with material and looking for any excuse, however minor, to reject work. If presented with a piece that comes with an unpleasant personal track record and no history of bestselling, they may want to court controversy, in which case, this kind of strategy works in the author’s favour. Or, and this is more usually the case, they may simply think ‘Oh, that asshole,’ and toss it in the bin.
It perhaps needs to be pointed out that neither I, nor any other writer, are under an obligation to read other people’s work, unless paid for it, or are on an awards jury. In this instance, I quite like RH’s prose and worldbuilding, but that’s at the expense of other crucial elements and the work as a whole is too derivative (as even her main editorial proponent has admitted) for me to bother seeking it out – if I’m going to spend my very limited time on other writers’ material, it’s likely to be spent looking at the work of many excellent writers whom RH targeted. As a member of the Clarke and WFC juries, I have obviously had to read work by the thankfully few people whom I personally dislike: a primarily subjective endeavour which needs to be approached as objectively as possible, which includes not over compensating (“A story from the foul X! I must find something to like in it at once!”). And I’ve supported fiction by people whom I do not like.
Going forward, I would prefer to support Laura and her team’s endeavours in making SFF a more genuinely diverse genre – Rachel has a great list here (http://rachelmanija.livejournal.com/1176322.html?nc=2) of good writers to read - and the eradication of a climate in which professional misconduct is regarded as something to which to aspire, and something which will be rewarded: in general, it won’t.
Comments are closed. I’ll be joining in the book discussion over at Rachel’s.
I have, as stated, reported Requires Hate and her UK cohort to the police here in the UK: not under harassment charges in regard to myself, but with relationship to her threats against UK/US military personnel and to Western tourists in Thailand. After the murder of soldier Lee Rigby, and the post-IS climate in the UK, threats of beheading and mutilation are taken seriously, and the relevant authorities here now have full information: a paper trail and history.
I won’t be asking for an apology from Requires Hate: not even her most ardent supporters gave the last one any credence, although I fully support those who would like one, plus an assertion that they will not be persecuted further. With regard to her work, I continue to hold to the view that writing should be considered separately from the personality of the writer: however, it would exceedingly naïve to deny that actions do count and editors, agents and other writers are also at liberty not to deal with people who are guilty of gross professional misconduct. Attempting to destroy other people’s careers, blackmail, and intimidation fall well within that description: for example, RH’s long career of spite, and Alex MacFarlane’s well-documented online bullying of women of colour and attempted blacklisting of rivals.
Moreover, editors tend not to be impeccable automata programmed with unshatterable rules – most of them in genre are overworked, underpaid, deluged with material and looking for any excuse, however minor, to reject work. If presented with a piece that comes with an unpleasant personal track record and no history of bestselling, they may want to court controversy, in which case, this kind of strategy works in the author’s favour. Or, and this is more usually the case, they may simply think ‘Oh, that asshole,’ and toss it in the bin.
It perhaps needs to be pointed out that neither I, nor any other writer, are under an obligation to read other people’s work, unless paid for it, or are on an awards jury. In this instance, I quite like RH’s prose and worldbuilding, but that’s at the expense of other crucial elements and the work as a whole is too derivative (as even her main editorial proponent has admitted) for me to bother seeking it out – if I’m going to spend my very limited time on other writers’ material, it’s likely to be spent looking at the work of many excellent writers whom RH targeted. As a member of the Clarke and WFC juries, I have obviously had to read work by the thankfully few people whom I personally dislike: a primarily subjective endeavour which needs to be approached as objectively as possible, which includes not over compensating (“A story from the foul X! I must find something to like in it at once!”). And I’ve supported fiction by people whom I do not like.
Going forward, I would prefer to support Laura and her team’s endeavours in making SFF a more genuinely diverse genre – Rachel has a great list here (http://rachelmanija.livejournal.com/1176322.html?nc=2) of good writers to read - and the eradication of a climate in which professional misconduct is regarded as something to which to aspire, and something which will be rewarded: in general, it won’t.
Comments are closed. I’ll be joining in the book discussion over at Rachel’s.
January 14, 2015
January
Back to awful computer problems, which resulted in the loss of 5000 words. Nothing to do but rewrite them, so I did. This is a new book, called Butterfly Winter, and is a kind of Somerset magical realism - some of Milford have seen it. I am, now, beginning to move forwards. My father's illness and death, and my mother moving in with us, took up most of last year and the process is still ongoing, as we have to clear and then sell their house. This in itself is an experience: it initially seemed a huge and daunting task, then became increasingly broken down into stages, and then slowly and now suddenly we are in the final stage, organising furniture vans and valuations. This was the house in which I grew up, happily, and it is hard to let it go, but also exciting to know that the house itself will be moving into its next incarnation with another family. It's an ordinary house, but not far off a hundred years old now (it being, alarmingly, not far off a hundred years from the 1930s) and its history is ongoing. My mother, who will be 87 on Friday, has adapted astonishingly well to moving, again slowly then suddenly, out of the house which has been the whole of her married life for 50+ years.
I don't have a publisher for Butterfly Winter, though I will be looking once it's done. I'm enjoying writing out of deadline, and taking my time with it. I'm at a point where writing it is the important thing, rather than what becomes of it; my mother stopped being published by Robert Hale in the early 80s, but is still writing. You reach a point where the internal process, and the compulsion of the world building, is more important than its external reception. Perhaps this is making the best of a bad job, but I don't think so in this instance. Maybe it's paralleling the house? One's narrative changes.
I don't have a publisher for Butterfly Winter, though I will be looking once it's done. I'm enjoying writing out of deadline, and taking my time with it. I'm at a point where writing it is the important thing, rather than what becomes of it; my mother stopped being published by Robert Hale in the early 80s, but is still writing. You reach a point where the internal process, and the compulsion of the world building, is more important than its external reception. Perhaps this is making the best of a bad job, but I don't think so in this instance. Maybe it's paralleling the house? One's narrative changes.
January 3, 2015
2015
A happy New Year to all.
We had a quiet Christmas. The NY is already being plagued with computer problems - I'm on a borrowed laptop as mine is all too clearly starting to circle the drain (I can't get on FB from here, though, if you usually see me there). The new teaching year has already started - I mainly work on Skype and much of the English-learning world doesn't follow Christmas. And this month has to be when we get to grips with selling my mother's house: we went up on NYD and brought back what's almost, but not quite, a final load of stuff. Then it's the furniture and cleaning...and that's it.
We're mainly taking turns in the shop. I'm catching up with beating the Xmas leftovers into submission....curry, stew, pea and ham soup.
I will be writing this year, but am not going to say too much about that for the moment. May those of you with ongoing projects see them to a satisfactory conclusion in 2015.
We had a quiet Christmas. The NY is already being plagued with computer problems - I'm on a borrowed laptop as mine is all too clearly starting to circle the drain (I can't get on FB from here, though, if you usually see me there). The new teaching year has already started - I mainly work on Skype and much of the English-learning world doesn't follow Christmas. And this month has to be when we get to grips with selling my mother's house: we went up on NYD and brought back what's almost, but not quite, a final load of stuff. Then it's the furniture and cleaning...and that's it.
We're mainly taking turns in the shop. I'm catching up with beating the Xmas leftovers into submission....curry, stew, pea and ham soup.
I will be writing this year, but am not going to say too much about that for the moment. May those of you with ongoing projects see them to a satisfactory conclusion in 2015.
December 11, 2014
Morningstar/short fiction
Many thanks to all of you for your support for these novels over the years. All the Chen backlist is now available, both as print and e-copies, with Open Road Media in New York (you can find them here: http://www.openroadmedia.com/snake-agent).
The time has now come to return to the final (for now) Chen novel, to finish the story threads that have been building over the previous books: the tension between Heaven and Hell with Earth in the middle; some mysteries about the badger teakettle; Jhai and Zhu Irzh's marriage, and Chen and Inari's baby.
SHORT STORIES - 2014-15
The last set of stories have gone out for 2013-14 (email me if you'd like to order these - they are still available), and I am floating a new series of stories for the next year.
THE MIX: I will be writing 8 stories.
CHEN: and 4 more stories for Chen and friends!
The first set of these have gone out - I'm in the process of writing the next set now.
Short Stories
The Mix £25.00 GBP
Chen £10.00 GBP
All of them £35.00 GBP
The time has now come to return to the final (for now) Chen novel, to finish the story threads that have been building over the previous books: the tension between Heaven and Hell with Earth in the middle; some mysteries about the badger teakettle; Jhai and Zhu Irzh's marriage, and Chen and Inari's baby.
SHORT STORIES - 2014-15
The last set of stories have gone out for 2013-14 (email me if you'd like to order these - they are still available), and I am floating a new series of stories for the next year.
THE MIX: I will be writing 8 stories.
CHEN: and 4 more stories for Chen and friends!
The first set of these have gone out - I'm in the process of writing the next set now.
Short Stories
The Mix £25.00 GBP
Chen £10.00 GBP
All of them £35.00 GBP
December 7, 2014
State of the personal nation - December
As most of you who are on Facebook will know, this has been a gruelling autumn, mainly spent on hospital and nursing home visits, consultations with doctors and social services etc. My father survived his 92nd birthday in September, but died in early November. We held a small family funeral here in Somerset and are now adjusting to his absence: we will greatly miss him. My mother will continue to live with us; a lot of time has been spent on house clearance, therefore, but we are getting there. I’ve been going back and forth to Gloucester, reconnecting with the Severn Valley, and we should be done by the end of January.
Shortly after my father’s death, my teaching load increased substantially, we had a massive computer crash (the PC and 3 laptops stopped working properly) and thus the writing has had to take a backseat. I must apologise to those of you waiting for stories: I am working again, though slowly, and two out of the three stories for this quarter are almost done.
If you need to contact me, here, email or facebook are the best way to do it. I have had a mobile phone for the duration of my father’s illness, but will not be continuing with its use: I find having one is too stressful these days, and am limiting my online time to sites which are not one long argument. I don’t care what the arguments is, or how justified; my limited time and energy needs to go elsewhere (tweeting me is pointless: I never check it). However, there are some good personal developments coming up in my writing work next year, and also some positive and much wider initiatives in SFF, aimed at supporting newer writers, in which I will be playing a part. More on those as they happen.
Shortly after my father’s death, my teaching load increased substantially, we had a massive computer crash (the PC and 3 laptops stopped working properly) and thus the writing has had to take a backseat. I must apologise to those of you waiting for stories: I am working again, though slowly, and two out of the three stories for this quarter are almost done.
If you need to contact me, here, email or facebook are the best way to do it. I have had a mobile phone for the duration of my father’s illness, but will not be continuing with its use: I find having one is too stressful these days, and am limiting my online time to sites which are not one long argument. I don’t care what the arguments is, or how justified; my limited time and energy needs to go elsewhere (tweeting me is pointless: I never check it). However, there are some good personal developments coming up in my writing work next year, and also some positive and much wider initiatives in SFF, aimed at supporting newer writers, in which I will be playing a part. More on those as they happen.
October 28, 2014
Morningstar: update
I've sent the novel out this morning. If you subscribed to it and have not received it, let me know asap and I'll email it to you!
September 30, 2014
Morningstar: update
Where are we with the final-for-now Chen novel? Well, we're nearly there. I have finished the book, but I am still in the process of final revisions. It's been a hectic month, with my father now settled in a nursing home; he was in an end-of-life unit but surprised everyone by pulling through. With a teaching schedule and the shop, it's meant a lot of disruption - but the book is now done and it will be with you soon.
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