Lyda Morehouse's Blog, page 48
May 8, 2013
Iron Meh
First, I want to say: library day was a big success. I ended up reading the first three Manga volumes of Naruto. (I'm totally hooked!) Mason read the newest "janitor" book as well as one called JINX, which he'd had on hold. It was kind of cool to pick out books, check them out, read them while sitting there, and return them before we left for the day. We also had money on a Noodles & Co. gift card we got for Christmas, so we had a free lunch (and they say there's no such thing!)
In the middle of the day I got a text from my Marvel Movie buddy
seanmmurphy
. He's been wicked busy, so he finally had some time to go see Iron Man 3 and did I want to go? Of course I did!
A lot has been said about this movie. I read Charlie Jane Anders' review in io9 and so I was expecting big things. Entertainment Weekly also gave it a A-.
I... was less impressed. As I've said on Facebook, I was never a huge Iron Man reader back in the day, so my comic book canon fu is low when it comes to villans and story lines in the Iron Man title. ("The Wolverine" is going to be a tougher sell for me because Silver Samurai and the whole Japan storyline was a favorite of both Shawn and mine back in the day.) But what I'm saying is, my problems with Iron Man 3 had nothing to do with any kind of canon fail... at least not in a nit-picky kind of way. But it also meant that the SPECTACLE of the suits worked for me, but only so far...
I will say in what I hope is a spoiler-free way, that Marvel very carefully gives its heroes weaknesses that are critical to the character, and I felt, at the end, perhaps Tony Stark's was severely undercut.
I think my problem was very simply that Tony Stark never changes. A bunch of stuff happens to him in this movie that sort of parallel Thor's fall from grace, but, unlike with Thor, I never felt a real transformation from Tony. I never bought he was humbled by any of it, because he remained the quippy, surface guy he was in the very first Iron Man movie (well, more like who he is in the 2nd Iron Man and Avengers, because at least in the origin story he has to go from military industrial playboy wanker to superhero playboy wanker.)
[ Spoiler (click to open) ]
But what about the panic attacks, you argue? My problem there was that, while they were a good character moment (and possibly the first on-screen version of superhero PTS) he got over them INCREDIBLY EASILY and, more importantly, they never happened to him during battle, when losing his nerve could have actually cost himself his life OR SOMEONE ELSE's. Thus, they were kind superflious to the plot... and honestly to his character development. He doesn't seem to learn anything having gone through them, about the perils of being a hero. Sure, he's worried about Pepper and throws away his electro-magnet heart, but I just don't buy it. He'll be back. He's Iron Man. He says so at the end, which, again undercuts any real tension and character development.
So, yeah, I felt Iron Man was sort of Iron Meh.
In the middle of the day I got a text from my Marvel Movie buddy
seanmmurphy
. He's been wicked busy, so he finally had some time to go see Iron Man 3 and did I want to go? Of course I did!A lot has been said about this movie. I read Charlie Jane Anders' review in io9 and so I was expecting big things. Entertainment Weekly also gave it a A-.
I... was less impressed. As I've said on Facebook, I was never a huge Iron Man reader back in the day, so my comic book canon fu is low when it comes to villans and story lines in the Iron Man title. ("The Wolverine" is going to be a tougher sell for me because Silver Samurai and the whole Japan storyline was a favorite of both Shawn and mine back in the day.) But what I'm saying is, my problems with Iron Man 3 had nothing to do with any kind of canon fail... at least not in a nit-picky kind of way. But it also meant that the SPECTACLE of the suits worked for me, but only so far...
I will say in what I hope is a spoiler-free way, that Marvel very carefully gives its heroes weaknesses that are critical to the character, and I felt, at the end, perhaps Tony Stark's was severely undercut.
I think my problem was very simply that Tony Stark never changes. A bunch of stuff happens to him in this movie that sort of parallel Thor's fall from grace, but, unlike with Thor, I never felt a real transformation from Tony. I never bought he was humbled by any of it, because he remained the quippy, surface guy he was in the very first Iron Man movie (well, more like who he is in the 2nd Iron Man and Avengers, because at least in the origin story he has to go from military industrial playboy wanker to superhero playboy wanker.)
[ Spoiler (click to open) ]
But what about the panic attacks, you argue? My problem there was that, while they were a good character moment (and possibly the first on-screen version of superhero PTS) he got over them INCREDIBLY EASILY and, more importantly, they never happened to him during battle, when losing his nerve could have actually cost himself his life OR SOMEONE ELSE's. Thus, they were kind superflious to the plot... and honestly to his character development. He doesn't seem to learn anything having gone through them, about the perils of being a hero. Sure, he's worried about Pepper and throws away his electro-magnet heart, but I just don't buy it. He'll be back. He's Iron Man. He says so at the end, which, again undercuts any real tension and character development.
So, yeah, I felt Iron Man was sort of Iron Meh.
May 7, 2013
Library Day and Fan Fic Thinky-Thoughts
Remember when I had to take my car into the shop and I spent the day at Ramsey County Library? Well, Mason was wildly jealous, and has been bugging me to give him a "library day." Today, is library day for us. Mason is off for the month on Intersession, so we're going to head out as soon as the library opens around 10 am and make a full day of it. Should be fun, I think.
...Or he'll be bored after a couple of hours, which will be fine too. It's a lovely day. It's supposed to his 78 degrees (F). If he feels like bailing, maybe I'll talk him into a walk around Como Zoo and Conservatory or a hike through Hidden Falls or something.
In other news, I had an epiphany yesterday. Not as exciting as it may sound. I'm actually fairly prone to epiphanies, and when I articulate it, you'll probably be all, "whatever. *I* knew _that_." This is why I'm prone to ephiphanies, and why no one should alert the national media when I announce I've had one. Things that are obvious to other people will suddenly hit me like a sack of bricks. Just ask my dad about Montreal. (We both felt stupid about that one!)
At any rate, here is it: writing is hard.
See, I said you'd be disappointed.
But, specifically, the thing I learned yesterday regarding the hardness of writing is that it's hard for both the writer AND THE READER.
I should say that I'm talking about original fiction here, and that by comparing fan fiction critque to to original fiction critique is how I learned this startling fact. At a fan fiction writing party I went to last Friday, I was hanging out with my fan fiction writing friends and the conversation turned to original fiction. Both myself and one of the other women there are trying to write original fiction for sale (she's sold some coloring books, I've, of course, sold novels and am trying to break back into that gig.) Anyway, we agreed that what was missing from original fiction writing was the cheerleading. She agreed to cheerlead my original fiction projects, so I posted the very rough beginning of my Deep Space Lawyer up on Google Docs for her.
If my novel start had been a peice of my fanfic, I have no doubt I would have gotten the "whoosh" of excitement as she ran off to read it.
Instead, I got crickets.
In fact, I gave up waiting for critique from her and revised it based on some things that my writers' group said about an unrelated novel start, the one that takes place on Mars (because I thought that their thoughts applied to this one as well.)
Maybe I should be annoyed or disappointed by this reaction, but instead I asked myself, why I am I so much more excited to read the lastest from my friend
empty_mirrors
's amazing alternate universe Bleach epic, and yet I have to drag my feet through reading a submission from Wyrdsmiths? (A phenomenon so common we all jokingly refer to having "read our homework on the bus" sometimes, because, despite having these manuscripts often for TWO WHOLE WEEKS in advance, we _all_ have times when wait until the very last moment to sit down and read them and then RL conspires to make it impossible to read before the group meeting. So, sometimes I'll arrive at the coffee shop early and everyone is quickly reading the last of the handouts....)
I think this happens partly because, ultimately, original fiction is work for the READER, too. Particulary in critique, but perhaps all the time. I was also having a lovely email chat with Kyell Gold, my fellow GoH from Gaylaxicon, and we were talking about the sense a lot of science fiction fans (and pros) have of being woefully under-read in our field. This feeling sometimes causes us to sit down with a particular IMPORTANT author's work and plow through the MEANINGFUL NOVEL, like it's the biggest chore on the f*cking planet.
To be fair to Kyell, he didn't actually suggest that the book he'd read was a chore, but the discussion in general made me remember the times *I'd* done that and felt that way.
Fanfiction gets a different response, I think, because the reader knows s/he's already invested in the story and the characters. I like Renji so much, I'll pretty much try ANY story where he's a character. But I also tend to be picky. I'll try, but I'm very likely to bounce off, so when you finally meet a writer whose writing you actually like, but perhaps even ADMIRE, it's NOT a chore to read their beta-drafts, it's a F*CKING PLEASURE.
I've been known to have the same experience with original ficition, of course. There are authors whose work I'm so in love with that I rush off to buy/borrow their latest INSTANTLY and, if they asked, I would drop EVERYTHING to be their beta/critique reader. But, when a friend, even a friend whose work you know you like, asks you to read their original fiction (especially if it's NOT a continuation of a favorite story with characters you already know you like) it's a lot harder to get motivated to dig in. Perhaps, too, because original fiction has to be read in a different way and -SOMETIMES- the critique is more intense, more in-depth.... or at least it's a different kind of critique in that there are different expectations for original fiction than there are of fanfiction.
So, writing is hard for the reader too.
I think this is why it's important for me to have a group like Wyrdsmiths, who are basically beholden to read my original fiction and try to help me fix it (because I have promised to do the same for them). I wonder, too, if this is an especially painful problem for people trying to make the switch to writing original fiction after growing up/being immersed in the fanfic community? I think it could be potenetially very disheartening to get crickets if you're expecting whooshes. It would probably be very tempting to imagine that the crickets come from the fact that 'my writing is NO GOOD!' thoughts, rather than what is probably the truth--that reading original fiction is a chore, no matter how good the writing and the story.
Thoughts?
...Or he'll be bored after a couple of hours, which will be fine too. It's a lovely day. It's supposed to his 78 degrees (F). If he feels like bailing, maybe I'll talk him into a walk around Como Zoo and Conservatory or a hike through Hidden Falls or something.
In other news, I had an epiphany yesterday. Not as exciting as it may sound. I'm actually fairly prone to epiphanies, and when I articulate it, you'll probably be all, "whatever. *I* knew _that_." This is why I'm prone to ephiphanies, and why no one should alert the national media when I announce I've had one. Things that are obvious to other people will suddenly hit me like a sack of bricks. Just ask my dad about Montreal. (We both felt stupid about that one!)
At any rate, here is it: writing is hard.
See, I said you'd be disappointed.
But, specifically, the thing I learned yesterday regarding the hardness of writing is that it's hard for both the writer AND THE READER.
I should say that I'm talking about original fiction here, and that by comparing fan fiction critque to to original fiction critique is how I learned this startling fact. At a fan fiction writing party I went to last Friday, I was hanging out with my fan fiction writing friends and the conversation turned to original fiction. Both myself and one of the other women there are trying to write original fiction for sale (she's sold some coloring books, I've, of course, sold novels and am trying to break back into that gig.) Anyway, we agreed that what was missing from original fiction writing was the cheerleading. She agreed to cheerlead my original fiction projects, so I posted the very rough beginning of my Deep Space Lawyer up on Google Docs for her.
If my novel start had been a peice of my fanfic, I have no doubt I would have gotten the "whoosh" of excitement as she ran off to read it.
Instead, I got crickets.
In fact, I gave up waiting for critique from her and revised it based on some things that my writers' group said about an unrelated novel start, the one that takes place on Mars (because I thought that their thoughts applied to this one as well.)
Maybe I should be annoyed or disappointed by this reaction, but instead I asked myself, why I am I so much more excited to read the lastest from my friend
empty_mirrors
's amazing alternate universe Bleach epic, and yet I have to drag my feet through reading a submission from Wyrdsmiths? (A phenomenon so common we all jokingly refer to having "read our homework on the bus" sometimes, because, despite having these manuscripts often for TWO WHOLE WEEKS in advance, we _all_ have times when wait until the very last moment to sit down and read them and then RL conspires to make it impossible to read before the group meeting. So, sometimes I'll arrive at the coffee shop early and everyone is quickly reading the last of the handouts....)I think this happens partly because, ultimately, original fiction is work for the READER, too. Particulary in critique, but perhaps all the time. I was also having a lovely email chat with Kyell Gold, my fellow GoH from Gaylaxicon, and we were talking about the sense a lot of science fiction fans (and pros) have of being woefully under-read in our field. This feeling sometimes causes us to sit down with a particular IMPORTANT author's work and plow through the MEANINGFUL NOVEL, like it's the biggest chore on the f*cking planet.
To be fair to Kyell, he didn't actually suggest that the book he'd read was a chore, but the discussion in general made me remember the times *I'd* done that and felt that way.
Fanfiction gets a different response, I think, because the reader knows s/he's already invested in the story and the characters. I like Renji so much, I'll pretty much try ANY story where he's a character. But I also tend to be picky. I'll try, but I'm very likely to bounce off, so when you finally meet a writer whose writing you actually like, but perhaps even ADMIRE, it's NOT a chore to read their beta-drafts, it's a F*CKING PLEASURE.
I've been known to have the same experience with original ficition, of course. There are authors whose work I'm so in love with that I rush off to buy/borrow their latest INSTANTLY and, if they asked, I would drop EVERYTHING to be their beta/critique reader. But, when a friend, even a friend whose work you know you like, asks you to read their original fiction (especially if it's NOT a continuation of a favorite story with characters you already know you like) it's a lot harder to get motivated to dig in. Perhaps, too, because original fiction has to be read in a different way and -SOMETIMES- the critique is more intense, more in-depth.... or at least it's a different kind of critique in that there are different expectations for original fiction than there are of fanfiction.
So, writing is hard for the reader too.
I think this is why it's important for me to have a group like Wyrdsmiths, who are basically beholden to read my original fiction and try to help me fix it (because I have promised to do the same for them). I wonder, too, if this is an especially painful problem for people trying to make the switch to writing original fiction after growing up/being immersed in the fanfic community? I think it could be potenetially very disheartening to get crickets if you're expecting whooshes. It would probably be very tempting to imagine that the crickets come from the fact that 'my writing is NO GOOD!' thoughts, rather than what is probably the truth--that reading original fiction is a chore, no matter how good the writing and the story.
Thoughts?
May 6, 2013
May Day in Minnesota
I dragged Mason to the Heart of the Beast's 39th Annual May Day Parade and Pagent yesterday. I had a great time. He did pretty well just sitting on the hill where the pagent was setting up until the crowds rolled in. He was enjoying reading in the sunshine and eating all the fun food that vendors had set up around the man-made lake in the center of the park (fresh cut french fries! Italian ice! Hot tamales! Stuff too expensive but excellent smelling from food trucks!). But Mason started to get grouchy when it became wall-to-wall people, many of whom refused to sit down (we were right next to a traffic aisle, unfortunately,) when the action started.
I brought along the camera, but I accidentally had it stuck on movie mode, so all my "pictures" are actually micro-movies that all end with shots of my pants, because I think I'm setting the camera down... hillarious, really. Anyway, I may attempt to crib some other folks pictures just to give you a sense of the strange and awesome that is this yearly ritual.
This year's theme was Hallelujah, or something like that, but the pagent was its usual cryptic strangeness. There was what I could only describe as a live-action powerpoint presentation (in 15 languages!), the ghostly moose of doom, the Sun Goddess arriving from across the lake, and the dancing renewed moose.
At one point Mason leaned over to me and said, "If there's going to be an obligatory pagan quiz, I get it. Cycle of death and rebirth, right?"
The hilarious part? I hadn't really gotten it, until he pointed it out to me. I was all, "Wha...? Moose???" Although I should have figured it out because moose are one of those animals (as my friend Bill pointed out, like the polar bear,) that are very sensative to environmental changes--as he says, 'a proverbial canary in a coal mine,' and so Minnesota is in danger of losing its moose population to global warming. In my defense, moose make super surreal creepy puppets. Plus, the Heart of the Beast puppeteers are really good at mimicing animal movements and clever enough to take advantage of the natural hidey-holes in the terrian. So, when the ghost moose appeared, it was like s/he came out of nowhere. And then she led all the 'dead children' away and people clapped so I was all, "Do we like the moose of doom?"
Very spooky.
It's probably hard to imagine the scale of these puppets, too, but they're HUGE. Here's a stock photo of the Maypole Goddess to help you imagine:
It was a beautiful day yesterday. Both Mason and I managed to get sunburn on our faces. Also, I think we had the misfortune of sitting next to some people from Minnesota Normal and I might have gotten a slight contact high from all the pot being smoked in the vacinity. Perhaps that's why the Moose of Doom struck me as so DEEP and MEANINGFUL. I'm not sure.
Mason also got a balloon hat and sword, neither of which made it home intact. We almost never watch the parade, so a large part of our frustration every year is the waiting for the damn thing to start. Pagan Standard Time, don't ya know?
I brought along the camera, but I accidentally had it stuck on movie mode, so all my "pictures" are actually micro-movies that all end with shots of my pants, because I think I'm setting the camera down... hillarious, really. Anyway, I may attempt to crib some other folks pictures just to give you a sense of the strange and awesome that is this yearly ritual.
This year's theme was Hallelujah, or something like that, but the pagent was its usual cryptic strangeness. There was what I could only describe as a live-action powerpoint presentation (in 15 languages!), the ghostly moose of doom, the Sun Goddess arriving from across the lake, and the dancing renewed moose.
At one point Mason leaned over to me and said, "If there's going to be an obligatory pagan quiz, I get it. Cycle of death and rebirth, right?"
The hilarious part? I hadn't really gotten it, until he pointed it out to me. I was all, "Wha...? Moose???" Although I should have figured it out because moose are one of those animals (as my friend Bill pointed out, like the polar bear,) that are very sensative to environmental changes--as he says, 'a proverbial canary in a coal mine,' and so Minnesota is in danger of losing its moose population to global warming. In my defense, moose make super surreal creepy puppets. Plus, the Heart of the Beast puppeteers are really good at mimicing animal movements and clever enough to take advantage of the natural hidey-holes in the terrian. So, when the ghost moose appeared, it was like s/he came out of nowhere. And then she led all the 'dead children' away and people clapped so I was all, "Do we like the moose of doom?"
Very spooky.
It's probably hard to imagine the scale of these puppets, too, but they're HUGE. Here's a stock photo of the Maypole Goddess to help you imagine:
It was a beautiful day yesterday. Both Mason and I managed to get sunburn on our faces. Also, I think we had the misfortune of sitting next to some people from Minnesota Normal and I might have gotten a slight contact high from all the pot being smoked in the vacinity. Perhaps that's why the Moose of Doom struck me as so DEEP and MEANINGFUL. I'm not sure.
Mason also got a balloon hat and sword, neither of which made it home intact. We almost never watch the parade, so a large part of our frustration every year is the waiting for the damn thing to start. Pagan Standard Time, don't ya know?
May 5, 2013
Free Comic Book Day
There was a lot going on yesterday for Free Comic Book Day, but I managed not to do very much of it. I did, at least, stop at Uncle Sven's Comic Book Shop on St. Clair for my official FCBD swag bag.
A lot of it, as you can see, is kind of trash. Strawberry Shortcake? Pippi? But, there were "kids" bags and "adult" bags, and the adults got the Hellboy RPG guide and The Tick and some of the other more interesting titles. I was kind of surpised at the distinct lack of Ironman swag, given that FCBD coincided with his movie release. Maybe if I had actually braved one of the bigger comic book stores like The Source, where my friend comic book artist Christopher Jones was signing.
We also missed out on a cool event the owners of one of those "Free Libraries" was doing. http://libraryofjustice.blogspot.com/2013/04/youre-invited-to-free-comic-book-day.html. I blame the weather. The beginning part of the day was dreary and rainy and cold. Shawn and I were supposed to check out a neighborhood plant sale too, but she ended up with a barametric pressure induced migraine. Mason had a playdate with his friend Molly, and so we managed to get some shopping done, but then Shawn had to crash. I stopped at Sven's on the way back with Mason. When we were ready to go to the Library of Justice event, the sun had come out and he was outside playing with his friends on the block.
Mostly I did this:
Which is to say nap on the couch with the kitty.
Anyway, as a bonus, in top FCBD picture you can see the new unfinished folding table that's going out on our front porch. We don't have an amazing front porch like some of the houses here in St. Paul, but it's nice enough that we like to try to sit out on it when the weather is nice. We've tried, for the most part, to keep it clutter free (though with somewhat limited success.) The addition of the table will help us get it reorganized for this summer. Shawn wants me to paint it eggplant purple. Should be fun.
A lot of it, as you can see, is kind of trash. Strawberry Shortcake? Pippi? But, there were "kids" bags and "adult" bags, and the adults got the Hellboy RPG guide and The Tick and some of the other more interesting titles. I was kind of surpised at the distinct lack of Ironman swag, given that FCBD coincided with his movie release. Maybe if I had actually braved one of the bigger comic book stores like The Source, where my friend comic book artist Christopher Jones was signing.
We also missed out on a cool event the owners of one of those "Free Libraries" was doing. http://libraryofjustice.blogspot.com/2013/04/youre-invited-to-free-comic-book-day.html. I blame the weather. The beginning part of the day was dreary and rainy and cold. Shawn and I were supposed to check out a neighborhood plant sale too, but she ended up with a barametric pressure induced migraine. Mason had a playdate with his friend Molly, and so we managed to get some shopping done, but then Shawn had to crash. I stopped at Sven's on the way back with Mason. When we were ready to go to the Library of Justice event, the sun had come out and he was outside playing with his friends on the block.
Mostly I did this:
Which is to say nap on the couch with the kitty.
Anyway, as a bonus, in top FCBD picture you can see the new unfinished folding table that's going out on our front porch. We don't have an amazing front porch like some of the houses here in St. Paul, but it's nice enough that we like to try to sit out on it when the weather is nice. We've tried, for the most part, to keep it clutter free (though with somewhat limited success.) The addition of the table will help us get it reorganized for this summer. Shawn wants me to paint it eggplant purple. Should be fun.
May 4, 2013
Hot off the Presses!
Hot off the e-press, electrons still smokin' hot, (and in time for all your May the Fourth science fictional needs):http://www.wizardstowerbooks.com/products/fallen-host-lyda-morehouse
As I said over on the Wyrdsmiths blog, this is the second book in the AngeLINK series, but the VERY FIRST to go out of print. Ironically, I learned it was going to be remaindered about two days before I got the news that it had made the preliminary Nebula Ballot. No surprise, all the available copies were snapped up and bookstores were unable to reorder. Briefly, this was a really hot commodity. I once saw it going on Amazon.com used (or maybe eBay) for $45.00.
So, hurray, finally, you can buy it NEW again. NEW and IMPROVED, no less, because we were able to spot and fix some typos that managed to go out in the original.
If you are a fan of my fanfic, you may like this book. Why? Because my Satan is a total bishounen and a large portion of the book takes place in Japan. I will also say, I wrote all my original tetrology books to be stand-alones. So, even if you know nothing about my universe, you could pick up and read this book without having read Archangel Protocol, which came before it (though the e-book is cheap: http://wizardstowerpress.com/books-2/archangel-protocol/).
At any rate, I actually had a lot of fun re-reading this for copyediting. It had been so long since I'd read it, I actually forgot whole chunks of the story and was saying to Shawn, "Huh. I wonder what's going to happen next??"
As I said over on the Wyrdsmiths blog, this is the second book in the AngeLINK series, but the VERY FIRST to go out of print. Ironically, I learned it was going to be remaindered about two days before I got the news that it had made the preliminary Nebula Ballot. No surprise, all the available copies were snapped up and bookstores were unable to reorder. Briefly, this was a really hot commodity. I once saw it going on Amazon.com used (or maybe eBay) for $45.00.
So, hurray, finally, you can buy it NEW again. NEW and IMPROVED, no less, because we were able to spot and fix some typos that managed to go out in the original.
If you are a fan of my fanfic, you may like this book. Why? Because my Satan is a total bishounen and a large portion of the book takes place in Japan. I will also say, I wrote all my original tetrology books to be stand-alones. So, even if you know nothing about my universe, you could pick up and read this book without having read Archangel Protocol, which came before it (though the e-book is cheap: http://wizardstowerpress.com/books-2/archangel-protocol/).
At any rate, I actually had a lot of fun re-reading this for copyediting. It had been so long since I'd read it, I actually forgot whole chunks of the story and was saying to Shawn, "Huh. I wonder what's going to happen next??"
May 3, 2013
A Few Announcements and Stray Thoughts
A few announcements, in no particular order:
I have no idea if this is legit, but there was an advert on 'Writers for Diversity's Facebook page for "Fan Fiction Writers Wanted," which directed me here: http://www.writejobs.info/2013/05/fan-fiction-writers-wanted-for-online.html They appear to be looking for participants in a study group, possibly, from what they're saying will be the requirements, to test out a new software/posting format. Regardless, they say they'll pay $100 - $200 bucks. In my never ending quest to legitimize the amount of time I spend writing fic, I sent them my information. What can it hurt?
Also, next Wednesday, I'll be reading at DreamHaven Books and Comics. The information that was posted by Einblatt is as follows: Wednesday, May 8, 6:30-7:30PM. Speculations Reading Series - Lyda Morehouse. DreamHaven Books, 2301 E 38th St, Minneapolis. FFI: Eric, 612-721-5959, eheideman@dhzone.com It should be an interesting reading, as I have no new book to sell. I'm not exactly sure what I'll read from, but if people have suggestions (even if you can't attend) I'd love to hear them. And, yes, I'd totally read my slash. It might be fun to read from Fallen Host since the e-book should be coming out any day now. Maybe I'll make up postcards promoting that....
Lastly, it's snowing. I realize that as a resident of the Twin Cities, I have no right to complain. The folks south of us are dealing with 13 or more inches. Ours is only supposed to accumulate through the morning and then turn to rain. I've decided that to deal with this, I'm going to go into winter mode and bake loaves of bread to warm up the house. Our plan had been to have chicken curry tonight, but we may just have to have home-baked bread as an appertizer.
Stray thought: does any fanfic organizer do anything for National Masterbation Month? Someone should. It'd be fun to run one of those kinkbang type things celebrating all things masterbatory. If I knew how those things were run, I'd totally offer to coordinate it. I'm sure I'm not the first to think of it, though.
Right. Off to bake some bread!
I have no idea if this is legit, but there was an advert on 'Writers for Diversity's Facebook page for "Fan Fiction Writers Wanted," which directed me here: http://www.writejobs.info/2013/05/fan-fiction-writers-wanted-for-online.html They appear to be looking for participants in a study group, possibly, from what they're saying will be the requirements, to test out a new software/posting format. Regardless, they say they'll pay $100 - $200 bucks. In my never ending quest to legitimize the amount of time I spend writing fic, I sent them my information. What can it hurt?
Also, next Wednesday, I'll be reading at DreamHaven Books and Comics. The information that was posted by Einblatt is as follows: Wednesday, May 8, 6:30-7:30PM. Speculations Reading Series - Lyda Morehouse. DreamHaven Books, 2301 E 38th St, Minneapolis. FFI: Eric, 612-721-5959, eheideman@dhzone.com It should be an interesting reading, as I have no new book to sell. I'm not exactly sure what I'll read from, but if people have suggestions (even if you can't attend) I'd love to hear them. And, yes, I'd totally read my slash. It might be fun to read from Fallen Host since the e-book should be coming out any day now. Maybe I'll make up postcards promoting that....
Lastly, it's snowing. I realize that as a resident of the Twin Cities, I have no right to complain. The folks south of us are dealing with 13 or more inches. Ours is only supposed to accumulate through the morning and then turn to rain. I've decided that to deal with this, I'm going to go into winter mode and bake loaves of bread to warm up the house. Our plan had been to have chicken curry tonight, but we may just have to have home-baked bread as an appertizer.
Stray thought: does any fanfic organizer do anything for National Masterbation Month? Someone should. It'd be fun to run one of those kinkbang type things celebrating all things masterbatory. If I knew how those things were run, I'd totally offer to coordinate it. I'm sure I'm not the first to think of it, though.
Right. Off to bake some bread!
May 2, 2013
Kids These Days
I have to run off to a quick grocery store run, but I had to post an update about my Loft blog. I found my original blog about the secret handshake (which I postulate is manuscript format.) I reworked it a bit to fit a more general audience. The original was written for SF Novelists, so it assumed a science fiction/fantasy writing reader with a bit of insider information, familiarity with terms, etc. At any rate, the finished product was a little over 700 words, at most.
When I sent it in, I explained that it was a bit focused on business and submitting to markets, so if this was meant to promote my teen class I could think of a different subject. I was informed it was okay, but that, frankly, I was old.
Okay, the blog coordinator didn't say it like that, but the basic message was "YOUR EXPLANATIONS TAKE TOO LONG." I was told that the "most successful" blogs have "scannable" content, preferrably with a list the kids these days can digest as they do six other things at the same time.
Wow.
I think what I found shocking about this is that THIS IS FOR A BLOG FOR WRITERS. Okay, if I was writing for CRACKED.COM or even io9, I'd expect to be told to cut to the chase. Stick to the re-tweetable quips and clever sound bytes, people! But, no, this is what's supposed to draw naissant writers into a class about writing ALL THE WORDS. I'm not teaching a class on twitter fic. I'm not even teaching a class about flash fiction (which, btw, cuts off around a THOUSAND WORDS, WHICH IS STILL LONGER THAN THIS BLOG.) No, I'm teaching a class about writing short stories and novels. Surely, my target audience has the patience to read all 700 words!
Apparently, not.
Apparently, only old people read blogs like that. So, I now need to come up with a subject that is listable. Something that can be consumed in passing while traveling at the speed of ignorance....
UPDATED TO ADD: After a very honest and interesting back and forth with the blog coordinator at the Loft, we've decided to run with the "handshake" blog for this next Wednesday, or whenever, because of the quickly approaching deadlines. I agreed, however, for the sake of social experiment, to attempt to write a blog that fit the "scannable," bite-sized model for the future. TBF, she did say that there are a number of blogs on the Loft site that are as long (or longer) than the one I offered. She just found them to be "less successful." I can't argue with that. I presume that the folks at the Loft know what gets hits/retweeted/whatever, and honestly, I'm thinking now about trying to find a way to write about writing that talk about this problem. How do you hold someone's attention in the digital age?
When I sent it in, I explained that it was a bit focused on business and submitting to markets, so if this was meant to promote my teen class I could think of a different subject. I was informed it was okay, but that, frankly, I was old.
Okay, the blog coordinator didn't say it like that, but the basic message was "YOUR EXPLANATIONS TAKE TOO LONG." I was told that the "most successful" blogs have "scannable" content, preferrably with a list the kids these days can digest as they do six other things at the same time.
Wow.
I think what I found shocking about this is that THIS IS FOR A BLOG FOR WRITERS. Okay, if I was writing for CRACKED.COM or even io9, I'd expect to be told to cut to the chase. Stick to the re-tweetable quips and clever sound bytes, people! But, no, this is what's supposed to draw naissant writers into a class about writing ALL THE WORDS. I'm not teaching a class on twitter fic. I'm not even teaching a class about flash fiction (which, btw, cuts off around a THOUSAND WORDS, WHICH IS STILL LONGER THAN THIS BLOG.) No, I'm teaching a class about writing short stories and novels. Surely, my target audience has the patience to read all 700 words!
Apparently, not.
Apparently, only old people read blogs like that. So, I now need to come up with a subject that is listable. Something that can be consumed in passing while traveling at the speed of ignorance....
UPDATED TO ADD: After a very honest and interesting back and forth with the blog coordinator at the Loft, we've decided to run with the "handshake" blog for this next Wednesday, or whenever, because of the quickly approaching deadlines. I agreed, however, for the sake of social experiment, to attempt to write a blog that fit the "scannable," bite-sized model for the future. TBF, she did say that there are a number of blogs on the Loft site that are as long (or longer) than the one I offered. She just found them to be "less successful." I can't argue with that. I presume that the folks at the Loft know what gets hits/retweeted/whatever, and honestly, I'm thinking now about trying to find a way to write about writing that talk about this problem. How do you hold someone's attention in the digital age?
Spotty Censorship Among Other Things
I came across something very interesting in one of the JUMPs I was reading last night. Keep in mind that both these pictures were published in English-language versions of this story. One came out in a magazine, the other was published as a Manga of the collected issues of the story that originally appeared in the magazine. Both, I believe, are owned and produced by VIZ Media in America/(possibly other English-language speaking countries.) Perhaps
empty_mirrors
can tell me if her Manga are different, but I suspect not.
The scene is set by the fact that our hero, who has been adventuring in the afterlife, left his physical body behind. That body has been inhabited by a subsitute soul, a character named Kon, who is immature and girl-crazy and... well, gross.
IN JUMP, when we (as readers) return to the Human World, we come across Kon this way:
The subsequent dialogue implies that Ichigo's return has woken Kon from a sexy dream about several of the female character.
HOWEVER, IN THE MAGNA, what he's doing is a little more explicit:
.
Here, Kon is clearly masterbating
It doesn't surprise me that a scene like that would have been modified for an American audience, but what's weird to me is that TECHNICALLY IT WASN'T. Most of the teenagers I know, read Manga collected, rather than through JUMP (particularly now that JUMP doesn't exist in paper, only electronic.)
Perhaps this has nothing to do with America or English-speakers being percieved as more prudish. I feel like Bakuman (the Manga from which I "learned" all that is "true" about Manga-writing in Japan) implies that the editors at JUMP feel like their audience is actually fairly YOUNG boys. In Bakuman, there's a whole arguement between the manga-writer/drawer couple and their editor about whether or not a subject matter is too dark for the percieved audience for JUMP, and are offered the option of a teen version of a shonen magazine. So, perhaps what we see above actually ocurred to suit the Japanese market, where JUMP is consumed by a LOT MORE people, many of whom are actually quite young (say as young as 10).
Regardless, I find it fascinating that by the time we get to the Manga version (which, in fact, came later, chronologically,) we have Kon being much more explict.
In other news, I found out that my first Loft blog is due tomorrow. Today I need to figure out what I'm going to write about. If any of you have suggestions, I'll happily take them. I was currently thinking about writing about what I like to call "the secret handshake" of submissions. I wrote something similar many years ago for SF Novelists, but it may be worth revising.
Anyway, if you have anything you might be interested in hearing me expound about for 500 words or so, let me know.
I do have to laugh, though. The blog coordinator wants me to include my twitter handle. Of course I have one as Tate, but I NEVER USE IT. I have my secret twitter account, but I've been reserving that for real friends, because I want to keep my feed managable. If someone wanted to follow my life, they'd be far better off following lydamorehouse on Facebook.
empty_mirrors
can tell me if her Manga are different, but I suspect not.The scene is set by the fact that our hero, who has been adventuring in the afterlife, left his physical body behind. That body has been inhabited by a subsitute soul, a character named Kon, who is immature and girl-crazy and... well, gross.
IN JUMP, when we (as readers) return to the Human World, we come across Kon this way:
The subsequent dialogue implies that Ichigo's return has woken Kon from a sexy dream about several of the female character.
HOWEVER, IN THE MAGNA, what he's doing is a little more explicit:
.Here, Kon is clearly masterbating
It doesn't surprise me that a scene like that would have been modified for an American audience, but what's weird to me is that TECHNICALLY IT WASN'T. Most of the teenagers I know, read Manga collected, rather than through JUMP (particularly now that JUMP doesn't exist in paper, only electronic.)
Perhaps this has nothing to do with America or English-speakers being percieved as more prudish. I feel like Bakuman (the Manga from which I "learned" all that is "true" about Manga-writing in Japan) implies that the editors at JUMP feel like their audience is actually fairly YOUNG boys. In Bakuman, there's a whole arguement between the manga-writer/drawer couple and their editor about whether or not a subject matter is too dark for the percieved audience for JUMP, and are offered the option of a teen version of a shonen magazine. So, perhaps what we see above actually ocurred to suit the Japanese market, where JUMP is consumed by a LOT MORE people, many of whom are actually quite young (say as young as 10).
Regardless, I find it fascinating that by the time we get to the Manga version (which, in fact, came later, chronologically,) we have Kon being much more explict.
In other news, I found out that my first Loft blog is due tomorrow. Today I need to figure out what I'm going to write about. If any of you have suggestions, I'll happily take them. I was currently thinking about writing about what I like to call "the secret handshake" of submissions. I wrote something similar many years ago for SF Novelists, but it may be worth revising.
Anyway, if you have anything you might be interested in hearing me expound about for 500 words or so, let me know.
I do have to laugh, though. The blog coordinator wants me to include my twitter handle. Of course I have one as Tate, but I NEVER USE IT. I have my secret twitter account, but I've been reserving that for real friends, because I want to keep my feed managable. If someone wanted to follow my life, they'd be far better off following lydamorehouse on Facebook.
May 1, 2013
Don't Fear the Reaper
Did this cover work in Japan the way it does here? Do you suppose a lot of time and energy is put into recasting all the covers of JUMP to make them work in English? Or is this exactly how it ran in Japan?
The other goodies I got for my dollar each include (but are not limited to):
An insert explaining the mysteries of Japanese sound effects!
I also got several other black-and-white inserts that explain everything from "how to introduce yourself in Japan" (using a moment from Bleach) to "Case Files" for the Espada. I suspect a lot of these end up collected in things like MASKED and SOULS, the official guides to Bleach, but, hey, it's neat to see them in situ, as it were.
Also... a dollar? I would have paid several for this:
And random pretty...
I will say that there's one set of color pages that made me laugh. It's in the middle of the Ichigo/Grimmjow fight and it's is a HUGE panel of blue sky with blood raining down from it. Yeah, that's what they blew their full-color page on. There are two tiny panels beneath that big one, showing close-ups of seriously intent Grimmjow (released in his Pantera form and looking beat-up) and glaring, determined Ichigo.
But, yeah. Blood.
Anyway, here is a picture of the large pile of goodies:
In other similar news Mason is officialy all caught up. He, like me, is now reading the episodes as they come out either from our on-line JUMP subscription or from Manga Panda, a free fan site. So, that's a yay. There are no more cries of, "IMA! NO SPOILERS!" when I start talking about Bleach.
The other goodies I got for my dollar each include (but are not limited to):
An insert explaining the mysteries of Japanese sound effects!
I also got several other black-and-white inserts that explain everything from "how to introduce yourself in Japan" (using a moment from Bleach) to "Case Files" for the Espada. I suspect a lot of these end up collected in things like MASKED and SOULS, the official guides to Bleach, but, hey, it's neat to see them in situ, as it were.
Also... a dollar? I would have paid several for this:
And random pretty...
I will say that there's one set of color pages that made me laugh. It's in the middle of the Ichigo/Grimmjow fight and it's is a HUGE panel of blue sky with blood raining down from it. Yeah, that's what they blew their full-color page on. There are two tiny panels beneath that big one, showing close-ups of seriously intent Grimmjow (released in his Pantera form and looking beat-up) and glaring, determined Ichigo.
But, yeah. Blood.
Anyway, here is a picture of the large pile of goodies:
In other similar news Mason is officialy all caught up. He, like me, is now reading the episodes as they come out either from our on-line JUMP subscription or from Manga Panda, a free fan site. So, that's a yay. There are no more cries of, "IMA! NO SPOILERS!" when I start talking about Bleach.
Growing Older
For Shawn's birthday this year, my mom got the most PERFECT card. It shows a woman dumping left-over food into the trash and her dialogue bubble says, "La-la-la-la, I'm throwing my vegetables away and no one can stop me!" The inside reads, "There are some perks to growing older."
That's just funny, but the truth is Shawn hates most veggies, so it's even FUNNIER.
I feel like that when I wake up at 2 o'clock am with a nagging sense that there's "stuff to be done!" I'm at the age now where I think, "Ah, hell, I'll just get up and see if I can figure out what it is..." Apparently, the dishes needed doing, so I did those. Then, I needed to finally write back to my parents because, despite the ease of social media, I've apparently forgotten how to write a simple e-mail letter and am terribly behind on familial correspondence. So, I did that.
The next thing on my list is to check to see when I promised the Loft that I would write a blog promoting my up-coming classes. This is the year I teach ALL THE THINGS in the summer. If all three courses fill-up, I have two youth classes I'll be teaching: 'ALL THE FEELS: FanFic 101' and 'MORE THAN THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE: Writing SF/F.' I also agreed to try another on-line class for adults teaching SF, called 'OVER THE TRANSOM: An Intermediate Course for SF/F Writers.' I'm looking forward to them all, but I really, really hope my fanfic class fills, because it would be the great vindication of my life if I could find a way to make a legitimate living from fanfic.
I mentioned the fanfic class at Detour and had tons of people come up afterwards and ask me about it. It's really a shame that I didn't get my act together enough to offer an adult version of that class for next semester. I guess someone is doing a fanfic class for adults though on the theme of 50 SHADES OF FANFIC, so maybe people will try that out. I don't know if that's written by an insider, though, you know what I mean?
Today is Wednesday, so when it's finally a decent hour, I'll be meeting with the Women of Wyrdsmiths for our usual Wednesday gathering. I've been working on another set of sample chapters. I ended up having to set aside Mars for the moment because it started to veer off my synopsis. Normally, that's a GOOD sign, but the editor who's shown interest in the Mars book is the one who rejected Samurai High for a number of reasons, but specifically because it didn't jibe with the proposal. So, that's made me a little gun shy about my usual process of just writing my way into a book until it finds its sea legs, as it were. I decided the best course of action would be to set Mars aside for the moment and come back to it with a fresh pair of eyes in a little while to see if I can wrestle it back on track or if I should just go where it takes me. In the meantime, I've switched to ANOTHER sample chapter project for a completely different editor. This project is one that my friend
empty_mirrors
calls DSL, which stands for "Deep Space Lawyer." This seems to have been a good move on my part, because I woke up several days ago with a zinger opening line and have been on a bit of a roll. I've been looking for a project that will carry me, and DSL might be it. That is to say, this might be the book I just write from start to finish.
My last Wyrdsmiths meeting was kind of rough, though, because I'd handed out part of the Mars project weeks earlier knowing full well that it wasn't working. Even being prepared for the critique, it was surprisingly disheartening to hear just how much it failed. I've been feeling lately like, despite writing every day, I've forgotten a lot of the basics of original fiction writing. That's probably not true/unfair and more a product of NOT SELLING. But it becomes a kind of vicious circle: it becomes mentally harder to get into OF writing the longer I'm without a contract.
And, I will tell you that getting up at 2 am has its perks, but opening my email to a rejection from a short story anthology is not one of them. I'd sent out "Van Buelyn Effect," my time travel couch story to a place looking for time-travel reprints, and got a very nice, professional "alas, does not suit our needs at this time" rejection. I can't really feel bad about not placing in this anthology because a) it was a long-shot to start with, and b) the couch story already sold once... this was for reprints only.
So, here I am at... well, now 3 am, trying to not feel like a loser.
I need to remind myself that there's good news on the horizon. I heard from my British e-book publisher, Wizard's Tower Press, that Fallen Host is in its final round of editing/clean-up and will very likely be out and available for purchase in a matter of days. Interestingly, when my family and I were at HalfPrice Books yesterday I stumbled across a pristine hard copy of Fallen Host. It didn't even have my signature in it (which is especially rare locally.) So, I bought it. It's going to go into a secret stash, for those times when I might like to give away a complete set of the old books.
And, they saw me coming at HPB... I went downstairs to start flipping through the one shelf they reserve for Shonen Jump, and, dang if the manager didn't run to the back room and haul out the rest of the Jumps they had in storage and lay them at my feet. I did walk off with half of them, so apparently that was a good move. I might have to take a photo of my haul again. All I have to say is: "color inserts." I swear to god they're easily worth the dollar I paid for them. Plus, last night I read a really cool Naurto short story that was apparently the original one-shot that launched the series (though it's VERY different, Naurto is a full-on kitsune/yoaki and has the power to shape-shift.)
Mason, meanwhile, walked off with almost 70 bucks in books.
Lucky kid.
That's just funny, but the truth is Shawn hates most veggies, so it's even FUNNIER.
I feel like that when I wake up at 2 o'clock am with a nagging sense that there's "stuff to be done!" I'm at the age now where I think, "Ah, hell, I'll just get up and see if I can figure out what it is..." Apparently, the dishes needed doing, so I did those. Then, I needed to finally write back to my parents because, despite the ease of social media, I've apparently forgotten how to write a simple e-mail letter and am terribly behind on familial correspondence. So, I did that.
The next thing on my list is to check to see when I promised the Loft that I would write a blog promoting my up-coming classes. This is the year I teach ALL THE THINGS in the summer. If all three courses fill-up, I have two youth classes I'll be teaching: 'ALL THE FEELS: FanFic 101' and 'MORE THAN THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE: Writing SF/F.' I also agreed to try another on-line class for adults teaching SF, called 'OVER THE TRANSOM: An Intermediate Course for SF/F Writers.' I'm looking forward to them all, but I really, really hope my fanfic class fills, because it would be the great vindication of my life if I could find a way to make a legitimate living from fanfic.
I mentioned the fanfic class at Detour and had tons of people come up afterwards and ask me about it. It's really a shame that I didn't get my act together enough to offer an adult version of that class for next semester. I guess someone is doing a fanfic class for adults though on the theme of 50 SHADES OF FANFIC, so maybe people will try that out. I don't know if that's written by an insider, though, you know what I mean?
Today is Wednesday, so when it's finally a decent hour, I'll be meeting with the Women of Wyrdsmiths for our usual Wednesday gathering. I've been working on another set of sample chapters. I ended up having to set aside Mars for the moment because it started to veer off my synopsis. Normally, that's a GOOD sign, but the editor who's shown interest in the Mars book is the one who rejected Samurai High for a number of reasons, but specifically because it didn't jibe with the proposal. So, that's made me a little gun shy about my usual process of just writing my way into a book until it finds its sea legs, as it were. I decided the best course of action would be to set Mars aside for the moment and come back to it with a fresh pair of eyes in a little while to see if I can wrestle it back on track or if I should just go where it takes me. In the meantime, I've switched to ANOTHER sample chapter project for a completely different editor. This project is one that my friend
empty_mirrors
calls DSL, which stands for "Deep Space Lawyer." This seems to have been a good move on my part, because I woke up several days ago with a zinger opening line and have been on a bit of a roll. I've been looking for a project that will carry me, and DSL might be it. That is to say, this might be the book I just write from start to finish.My last Wyrdsmiths meeting was kind of rough, though, because I'd handed out part of the Mars project weeks earlier knowing full well that it wasn't working. Even being prepared for the critique, it was surprisingly disheartening to hear just how much it failed. I've been feeling lately like, despite writing every day, I've forgotten a lot of the basics of original fiction writing. That's probably not true/unfair and more a product of NOT SELLING. But it becomes a kind of vicious circle: it becomes mentally harder to get into OF writing the longer I'm without a contract.
And, I will tell you that getting up at 2 am has its perks, but opening my email to a rejection from a short story anthology is not one of them. I'd sent out "Van Buelyn Effect," my time travel couch story to a place looking for time-travel reprints, and got a very nice, professional "alas, does not suit our needs at this time" rejection. I can't really feel bad about not placing in this anthology because a) it was a long-shot to start with, and b) the couch story already sold once... this was for reprints only.
So, here I am at... well, now 3 am, trying to not feel like a loser.
I need to remind myself that there's good news on the horizon. I heard from my British e-book publisher, Wizard's Tower Press, that Fallen Host is in its final round of editing/clean-up and will very likely be out and available for purchase in a matter of days. Interestingly, when my family and I were at HalfPrice Books yesterday I stumbled across a pristine hard copy of Fallen Host. It didn't even have my signature in it (which is especially rare locally.) So, I bought it. It's going to go into a secret stash, for those times when I might like to give away a complete set of the old books.
And, they saw me coming at HPB... I went downstairs to start flipping through the one shelf they reserve for Shonen Jump, and, dang if the manager didn't run to the back room and haul out the rest of the Jumps they had in storage and lay them at my feet. I did walk off with half of them, so apparently that was a good move. I might have to take a photo of my haul again. All I have to say is: "color inserts." I swear to god they're easily worth the dollar I paid for them. Plus, last night I read a really cool Naurto short story that was apparently the original one-shot that launched the series (though it's VERY different, Naurto is a full-on kitsune/yoaki and has the power to shape-shift.)
Mason, meanwhile, walked off with almost 70 bucks in books.
Lucky kid.
Lyda Morehouse's Blog
- Lyda Morehouse's profile
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Lyda Morehouse isn't a Goodreads Author
(yet),
but they
do have a blog,
so here are some recent posts imported from
their feed.
