Lyda Morehouse's Blog, page 29

When Rivendell Calls, I Answer

The Rivendell Discussion Group of the Mythopoeic Society has invited me to join their discussion of "The Hobbit: That Wasn't in the Book" at Common Good Books in St. Paul on Monday, September 22 at 7 PM.  (September 22, of course, being the date recognized as Bilbo and Frodo's birthday by most Hobbit/LotRs fans.)  \

Apparently, Gandalf David was having some trouble finding a burglar panelist for this gig.  I'm not quite sure about this funny mark he's left of my door, but I'm sure it will all be fine.  I'm not really the adventurous type, you know.  Do hope there might be a bit of singing, though (and some sexy dwarves.)

Fingers crossed.  See you there, perhaps.

Fingers to the Keyboard, Nose to the Grindstone

 I'm having one of those writing days where I feel like every word I write is stupid and nothing comes easily.  It's only annoying because I haven't had much time to write this weekend, since I worked both Saturday and Sunday.  

When I have days like this, I always remember back to the interview I did with Neil Gaiman for Science Fiction Chronicle back in god-knows-how-long-ago.  He talked about that classic idea that really, showing up is the biggest part of writing, but his contribution to that old saw was that it's worth the effort.  At the end of a novel or story or whatever, for the most part you can't really tell the difference in the writing between the days when every word was like squeezing blood from a turnip and the ones where you felt like the Muse dribbled gold out each finger.  So, you know, the difference between someone who writes and someone who doesn't, is that the writer just keeps banging away, even when it's hard. (That's the gist of it, except, of course, he said it cleverer.)

Also, I take comfort that someone like Neil Gaiman has had shit-for-writing days, too.

Why So Dark, YA?

Today at the library I got cornered by one of those  people who you just know is winding up for a rant about something.

After asking me if I worked there, she launched into a Thing about how dark young adult novels were getting and how we shouldn't be surprised when our children axe-murder us in our sleep after reading things like that.  Tisk, tisk and all that.   

I mostly nodded politely because I don't believe for a minute that teenagers are any more likely to axe-murder me over something they read or a game they played, than I would have when I was that age and read and played the same sorts of things.  (Look, when I was coming of age, it was the horrors of Dungeons & Dragons... there's always something that's going to Ruin the Youth of Today.)  

However, what this woman complained about is old news to some extent, and she's certainly not alone in worrying about it.  I told her so.  I also told her that I felt that some of what she was worrying about is actually a somewhat new (though, again, not really) trend in young adult books towards dystopian futures, which aren't actually about feeling sad and powerless at all, but about the need at a certain age to change the world, a desire to have a clear-cut enemy, and to DO SOMETHING to make things right.  This is a Good Thing disguised as a Bad Thing.

I didn't tell her, because I knew she couldn't hear that, that I also believe books about self-harm and other things aren't so much 'how-to' books for self-destruction as novels that help people feel less alone (like I did when I discovered that there were other gay people, thanks in large part to science fiction). Maybe these were never issues written about when we were young, but... I knew people who self-harmed when I was a teen, so you know, writing about it doesn't bring it into existence, it just makes the issues less invisible.

But that was an argument I was sure to lose, so I just nodded politely.  And, you know, YA *is* darker now than when I was a teen, but when I was a teen it also wasn't its own section.  We didn't really have YA as a separate thing.  We had juvenile and we had grown-up books.  A lot of people my age had to get our parents' permission to have free range of the library once we'd grown out of Dr. Seuss.  So, you know, I tried Lady Chatterly's Lover at sixteen (I missed the sex.  Seriously.  Completely.)   I also read Go Ask Alice and didn't become a drug-addict, funny enough.  Thus, I've never worried over much about books corrupting people.  

At any rate.

When she really, really wanted to agree with me that it was All Bad, I told her I don't make the buying decisions for the library.  If the kids want it, we stock it.  What are you going to do?

Ultimately, she thanked me for such an interesting discussion 

Have I mentioned I love working at the library?  I do, actually.  I really do.

Fan Fiction Course Offerings

It occurs to me that people who read me here may be interested to know that I have several fan fiction writing gigs that I'll be teaching via The Loft Literary Center coming up:

First, for TEENS:

On Monday, October 13 from 6:00-7:30 pm I'll be the Loft's "First Pages" instructor for "Writing Fan Fiction" a program for teens at the Savage Library. The library is located at 13090 Alabama Ave South, Savage, MN.

The program description reads: Do you long to carry on the amazing story lines of your favorite novels, and live with your most treasured characters beyond the final page of the final chapter? That's what fan fiction is for! Learn how to carry on your favorite story lines--and invent your own--in this engaging class on extending the lives of your favorite characters.


On Thursday, October 16 as part of the Teen Writing Converence I'll be teaching a 75-minute workshop called "Capturing Kudos: Pro Tips for Improving Your Fan Fiction

The program description reads: Some people might tell you that writing fan fic is 'easier' because so much has already been established in terms of characterization and world-building. The people who say that, however, probably haven't actually tried it. The truth is, fan fiction requires all the same skills as writing anything, plus the author has to be constantly aware of canon and how it reflects on what they're writing (even AU), as well as readers who might scream OOC! This workshop will give you pro tips on how to improve your writing in general and in specific to fan fic's quirks from the perspective of someone who is not only a professionally published author, but also a prolific fan writer as well. As part of this workshop, we will practice beta reading for each other with an eye on setting, themes, conflict, and sensory details.

Second, for ADULTS:

My friend Rachel Gold and I will be co-teaching: "Using Fan Fiction to Improve Your Writing" on Wednesdays, 6-8 p.m. from January 21 to February 25, 2015--which will be part of the Loft's winter course catalogue.  Technically, we're waiting for Rachel to confirm, but I wanted to get this info out there so that people can plan ahead. The Loft classes can be pretty pricey, but keep in mind there are always a few, limited number of scholarships available.  

I haven;t yet heard from the Loft about whether or not my solo proposal for an in-class winter Science Fiction/Fantasy class is going to go, but I'm excited to be co-teaching with Rachel, if nothing else.  Should be a blast. I'll post our course description once everything is 100% confirmed. In fact, you may be hearing about this class a lot, since I really want it to be successful. First of all, I think there's a huge market for it and it would be wonderful for the Loft to recognize that and offer more classes like it.  Second, it would just be nifty to have a legit way to get paid to talk about fan fic!  :-)

Review, Take 2

Okay, after getting some wonderful suggestions for improvement, here's what I came up with for a second draft of my review of the art book that caused me to FREAK OUT about my art skills.

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Every time I pick up a book about drawing, I end up learning more about myself than I do art.

I ordered Foundations in Comic Book Art: Fundamental Tools and Techniques for Sequential Artists by John Paul Lowe from Blogging for Books this month because I’m a frustrated artist.

As the title suggests, this is a book aimed at teaching fundamentals to beginners. It is a book chock full of exercises aimed at improving basic skills, from learning to draw straight lines to understanding the specialized needs of visual storytelling. The example art throughout is magnificent, and for every lesson there’s a written and visual example. The tone of the book is fairly serious. It is aimed squarely at someone like myself, who is desperately looking a way to ‘level up,’ and gain the extra skill sets needed to become a comic book artist/graphic novelist.

Lowe’s book should have been perfect for me, but after reading through it several times and trying some of the examples, I ended up instead with a visceral emotional response which can be summed up in two words: I suck.

The forward and introduction to Lowe’s book suggest this is the very last feeling that I should’ve come away with. Lowe is very much of the belief (as am I) that art, like any skill, can be learned by anyone regardless of innate talent given enough time and energy.

I’m not sure what it is about this book that left me with that feeling. As I’ve said, this is a textbook aimed at teaching basics. Yet I left it feeling like there was no way I could ever master any of it (despite being far from a novice artist,) and it was all too overwhelming.

I wonder if it wasn’t because all the art shown was so good? This is one of those art textbooks where I’m already green with envy just looking at the instruction images that are supposed to be teaching me to see basic shapes in every day items, and instead of seeing the circles and squares, I’m thinking: damn, look at that cool apple! How come I can’t draw an apple like that??

There are a few playful images in the textbook, but even those examples showcase tremendous skill in background drawing. There were no examples that made me feel: oh, hey, I can do that.

There were no suggestions for work-arounds. Like, for instance, in my own comic book art, I have been known to cheat. I’ll take original photographs and use them as background images:

 

 The other thing that was missing from this book that’s been tremendously helpful for me, as someone who has considered coming into graphic novel writing from the other side is, a script. There’s a very specific kind of writing format that comic book WRITERS use that I’ve been privileged to see thanks to a friend of mine who works for Marvel and DC. What looking at those taught me was how important it is for the writer of comic books (if they’re not the artist) to think visually as well and consider how much text/dialogue can reasonably fit in a panel.

So, while I think this is probably an awesome textbook to go with a class, I’m not entirely sure how well it works for me. There are two huge chapters at the end of this book that are specific to digital programs that I’m not using. I would have preferred that space be used to talk more about the business of comic book writing.

Your mileage may vary.

As I said, my strong emotional reaction to what is essentially a textbook surprised me.

My Potential Review

 As I mentioned in an earlier post, I asked for a textbook about comic book art as part of my Bloggin' for Books deal.  I ended up having a strange emotional reaction to the book.  

My initial thoughts were these:

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Every time I pick up a book about drawing, I end up learning more about myself than I do art. 

I ordered Foundations in Comic Book Art: Fundamental Tools and Techniques for Sequential Artists by John Paul Lowe from Blogging for Books this month because I’m a frustrated artist. 

I love comic books.  I love drawing.  From the moment I could pick up a pencil, I’ve been doodling, sketching, and drawing comic book characters.  During high school, I would easily spend an entire Saturday at my drawing board—(and yes, I mean that literally.  Eight hours.  Plus, I was so into art that my parents bought me an actual, honest-to-god drawing board.) 

In college, I don’t know, something happened.

I think it was time. 

I suddenly had so much less of it between classes, work, and a budding social life that I lost the opportunity for what Lowe calls “daily practice.”  Sure, I took art classes.  I even went to a co-op art studio from time to time and paid my fee to sketch nude figures in a swanky part of downtown north Minneapolis.  By a weird twist of fate, after graduating with an English and history degree, I ended up teaching an afterschool/summer cartooning class to very young kids on and off… for probably close to a decade.

Technically, I guess, that made me a professional artist.  I mean I got paid for my art skills (though it may have been more for my patience with six to ten year olds); I even sold some of my art as greeting cards and at craft fairs.  That’s pretty okay in the great scheme of things, right? 

Yet, despite all that, I never felt like a real artist.  I’m crap at perspective.  Backgrounds?  No, just… no.  Foreshortening?  What even is? 

Eventually, I decided that I’m an awesome copier.  Show me something—a real person, a still life, a photograph, another artist’s work, my own foot—and I can give you a fairly recognizable rendition of it.   Sometimes it even turns out pretty awesome, frame-able, even. 

But… I still can’t get the pictures in my head to come out right.  All the science fiction ones, the fantasy ones, and all the ones that require something I just don’t seem to have.  I can visualize an awesome space battle or a Gorgon queen, but what comes out isn’t at all like I want. I know I need something to push me to the next level.

I need a power-up.

This book isn’t going to be it, but not because of some failing of Lowe’s. 

In fact, I can tell by the way this book is written that it would be tremendously valuable to take a class from this man.  Plus, from the sound of his forward, he’s an awesome teacher who teaches for the love of it and because he believes, like I do, that talent is overrated and that anyone can learn to draw if they have the drive and the discipline.

The problem, you see, is me.

I’ve thought about this a lot.  Because, if you knew me when I was fifteen, you’d say: that girl is going to grow-up to be an artist of some kind, probably of those comic books she’s so into, but clearly art is going to be the center of her life.  Yet, I went off in an entirely different direction.  I ended up in a similarly creative career that also requires me to be self-disciplined and focused.  So, it can’t be that I lack the two “D”s Lowe talks about (Desire and Discipline).   I think, for me, comes down to time… and probably one letter up, “C” for confidence.  You see, I could see myself getting better at writing faster, and, possibly more critical to my success, I was able to make teachers out of my peers.  I could talk to people about writing every day.  I could bring my writing to the bi-monthly critique session, read work, critique it, and come out stronger, because my ‘daily practice’ was super-energized when I had someone to bounce off.  One thing I learned about myself is that I’m the sort of person who needs a teacher… or an audience.

If I could learn from books, I think this book could work from me.

But I can’t.

Believe me, I’ve tried.

Lowe talks very wisely about ‘daily practice’ and gives real, practical exercises that I know I should do.  I might even try them for a week or two.  The truth is, any time there’s a book that talks about the importance of working through the chapters in sequential order (and especially any that have a lot of exercises,) I end up stalling out somewhere.  What happens is, even with the very best intentions, I’ll hit one exercise or project that I can’t find the time to do or find somewhat difficult, and there the bookmark will stay.  Forever.

It’s funny, because I have the opposite problem with books about writing. I still rarely finish the book, but I’ll get a chapter into it, hit something interesting, and go off and write.  I’ve read Elements of Style fifteen times.  I swear I learn something new every time. 

Maybe the difference is that, like I said above, I found away to make teachers out of my colleagues.  If I could do that with art, I might be on to something.

In the meantime, this book will sit on my shelf with all the others that I picked up hoping to find the key to leveling up.  Sadly, I think the key isn’t in the books.  I think it’s in me, and it’s already unlocked something else.

Something I devoted all my “D”s to. I’m plum out of capital “D”s.  Maybe I’ll have to content myself with the other “d,” the lowercase one, for dabbler.

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Which is a lovely confessional/whine about my art skills, but I'm not sure it says enough about the book.  I mean, I suppose I could go on and say WHY the book crushed me so intensely... if I knew what that was.  It might be the art. The pictures used as examples are like already twenty times more awesome than anything I could do.  Plus, they have those ones where, you know, they start with a circle and the next picture is a fully rendered apple and you think... what?  HOW???

(Actually, to be perfectly fair, that particular example in the book was meant to show how everything is made up of fundamental shapes, but STILL.)

The point is, I think the review still needs something.  Thoughts?  What would you want to know about a book like this?

So, Like I'm on Dreamwidth Now

Dreamwidth has this cool importer feature and they just imported my thousands of years of LJ to: http://lydamorehouse.dreamwidth.org .  So, I guess I'm over there now?

What I'll probably do is double post for a while and keep reminding people to switch over to find me there.  (And start changing all the links...)

Manga Wednesday

Mason and I giggled our way through this week's MangaKast, 21: Zombies Loose Their Sh*t.  In this one, we discussed our usuals (Bleach, One Piece, and Toriko) and talked about how far Mason has gotten in Fairy Tale, the new anime I start watching (Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun), how Hourou Musuko inspired a cross-dressing dream, a shout out to our love of Bleach List Girl, and random silliness.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy, if you listen.  Mason and I had a tremendous time recording this morning even though our day started out in the crapper.  My car (alternator?) died.  Shawn was pretty mad, but honestly, it could have been so much worse.  I was able to pull the car over at the end of our block and, because we were leaving so early (practicing for Mason's school's new starting time), the tow truck came quickly and Shawn was able to hop a bus that took her directly to MHS's front door.  I can't say we were lucky, since the best luck would be for none of it have happened at all, but in the great scheme of things--well, I guess I can't complain.

We'll see if my feelings change when the bill comes.

Plans and an Update

It's Tuesday, so that means Tate has posted the newest installment of UnJust Cause for you over at WattPad.  In this episode, Alex discovers just how much she sucks at being a fugitive....

Part 20: Shatterer of Worlds

Also, I'm still trying to decide what to do with this blog.  I wish I had a better sense of how, if at all, this site was viewed by may family and friends. In the meantime, I think I will take advantage of the no-limit photo sharing of Tate's Blogspot account and post my pictures there.  I have, after all, been trying to figure out a way to drive more traffic to Tate's site, so maybe being a regular blogger there as well as here might be the trick.

Out of Space, Time to Upgrade?

I figured out my problem with the pictures... I've apparently filled up the scrapbook that comes with my free account.  I considered deleting my entire scrapbook, but the little message that popped up said that the pictures would be removed from the blogs they were linked to and I've got YEARS of pictures up.

Paying for an account isn't expensive.   I've been on LJ for years and have never bothered to purchase any upgrades.  I feel like this is maybe a no-brainer.  Like, karmically, it's the thing to do.

But my question to people out there is: is it safe?  Also, given LJ's rep (on the decline), is it worth it?

I mean, for me, this is still a great venue. I love being able to post con pictures and pictures of our various vacations.  I don't usually get a ton of comments here, but when I talk to people it seems like a lot of people check in here still.  I suppose I could migrate to another format like WordPress or Blogspot, but that would be ironic given that my friend offcntr just joined.

Thoughts?