Kelly McCullough's Blog, page 20
June 25, 2014
New MangaKast and Some Thoughts
Mason and I had a blast doing out 14th MangaKast: https://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/06/25/fourteen-for-the-team/
Go check it out if you want to hear me babbling about manga without coffee--well, technically, I HAD a couple of cups, but... I felt like I was in a sitcom or something because, not finding any of the good stuff on the shelf, I simply ran water through the old filter. Yeah, that was just about as gross as you might imagine it would be.
Anyway, what I find fascinating about the podcast is that, unlike my WattPad project, I really could care less if no one listens. The process of making it with Mason is just so MUCH fun. So, you know, check it out... or not. I will keep doing this because I love it.
I only wish I felt that way about other things I do...
I wish I could figure that out.
At any rate, here's another screen shot from this week's Bleach (by Tite Kubo.)
June 24, 2014
New Installment of WIP and Some Thoughts
My newest installment of UnJust Cause, my serialized work-in-progress is up:
Alex hasn't used her magic since she accidentally blinded Devon (the half-werewolf/half-vampire). Now, feeling cornered, she instinctively lashes out... at a friend.
http://www.wattpad.com/56251842-unjust-cause-part-13-a-dangerous-rush-of-powerI thought that maybe here on the thirteenth episode, I should take a moment and discuss my feelings/experiences working this way.
There are, for me, some distinct advantages to having a strict 'publishing' deadline. Having set myself a weekly goal of getting something up, some forward momentum made, is probably the only way I would have written as much as I have to-date. Considering the extent to which writing original fiction has been difficult for me in these last few years, this stands out as a HUGE benefit.
The disadvantage is that writing like this is also very seat-of-my-pants. If I go down a road, I'm committed to it. Revision is only going to be possible once the story is completed and ready to become an e-book. I'm already feeling places where I wish I could go back and restructure things a bit.
The way I've decided to deal with that is that I've handed out some of this to Wyrdsmiths with the idea that I can be concurrently working on a more polished draft for the e-book. Of course, the first-draft-y-ness of this serialization may ultimately turn off some readers. I'd been hoping, of course, for the kind of community that AO3 (archive of our own) gives a writer, where there might be a strong back-and-forth during the process, between the writer and the community of readers. I'm not getting anyone brave enough to point out my faults yet, and that really kind of bums me out.
This is, btw, one of the main reasons I don't come out on AO3 as a 'professional' writer. I have a feeling all the criticism would stop dead under the silly idea that 'well, she must know what she's doing,' which is of course not only nonsense, but which actually discourages me. I like the back and forth. I like knowing people are into a story enough to get mad about some turn of events or a moment that seems out of character or whatever.
*sigh*
Well, all the same, at least I'm writing. This is much more than I can say that I'd be doing without WattPad. So the experiment continues to be "profitable." We'll see if I'm able to grow an audience as I'd like to, and whether or not it will translate into e-book sales once everything is done and dusted.
June 23, 2014
Locus Writers' Workshop
Apparently, there's still some space left in the Locus Writers' Workshop:
http://www.lsff.net/awards/workshop2014/
http://www.lsff.net/awards/workshop2014/
June 20, 2014
Workshopping and Critique
Today was my very last "More than the Zombie Apocalypse: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy" class that I taught as part of the Loft's Youth Summer Writing Program. It was tough to say goodbye to these students.
I didn't actually lecture very much. I don't really believe in it.
When I was fifteen, only a few really amazing lectures would hold my attention, but even the most stellar of them would get a margin full of doodles. As a teenager what I really, really wanted to do was engage and DO. So, with that in mind, I suggested we try workshopping--doing what I get the pleasure to do every time I attend Wyrdsmiths.
It worked amazingly well.
Even though it's been around a long time, I always handout http://www.crayne.com/howcrit.html. It's exhaustive. It's a good tool for someone who has never, ever critiqued before because it let's you know what to even look for in terms of dialogue and pacing. I really doubt that my kids read all of it, but they had it in their hands in case they needed it.
Then I taught them the thing that my very first Loft instructor (the one who began Wyrdsmiths 20 years ago) taught me.
Read twice. Once as a reader without thinking beyond enjoyment (or not) and then write down your very first impressions.
Then, especially because these are kids (but honestly I still could use this from time to time), it's important to start with with strengths, even if it's 'you spelled everything right'! Because, it's so much easier to hear what needs fixing when you already have heard you don't suck. I was so proud of my students, because they GOT this. There was none of that "it was like waiting for Godot, but without all the action" crap.
Weaknesses comes next, though for the class I'm careful to talk about in terms of improvements. I try to make sure that the students think in terms of what they'd want from a critique session. Again, I was super impressed with my students. Sometimes they were maybe a bit overly honest, but there was a tenderness towards their colleagues that impressed the hell out of me.
Then, I have people finish with overall, mostly so that after whatever weaknesses have been discussed you can remind them about the general feeling of the thing, that, you know, there were some confusing bits, the characters were charming or whatever.
They really got this.
Mama-bear was proud.
I didn't actually lecture very much. I don't really believe in it.
When I was fifteen, only a few really amazing lectures would hold my attention, but even the most stellar of them would get a margin full of doodles. As a teenager what I really, really wanted to do was engage and DO. So, with that in mind, I suggested we try workshopping--doing what I get the pleasure to do every time I attend Wyrdsmiths.
It worked amazingly well.
Even though it's been around a long time, I always handout http://www.crayne.com/howcrit.html. It's exhaustive. It's a good tool for someone who has never, ever critiqued before because it let's you know what to even look for in terms of dialogue and pacing. I really doubt that my kids read all of it, but they had it in their hands in case they needed it.
Then I taught them the thing that my very first Loft instructor (the one who began Wyrdsmiths 20 years ago) taught me.
Read twice. Once as a reader without thinking beyond enjoyment (or not) and then write down your very first impressions.
Then, especially because these are kids (but honestly I still could use this from time to time), it's important to start with with strengths, even if it's 'you spelled everything right'! Because, it's so much easier to hear what needs fixing when you already have heard you don't suck. I was so proud of my students, because they GOT this. There was none of that "it was like waiting for Godot, but without all the action" crap.
Weaknesses comes next, though for the class I'm careful to talk about in terms of improvements. I try to make sure that the students think in terms of what they'd want from a critique session. Again, I was super impressed with my students. Sometimes they were maybe a bit overly honest, but there was a tenderness towards their colleagues that impressed the hell out of me.
Then, I have people finish with overall, mostly so that after whatever weaknesses have been discussed you can remind them about the general feeling of the thing, that, you know, there were some confusing bits, the characters were charming or whatever.
They really got this.
Mama-bear was proud.
June 18, 2014
From Doug...
Douglas Hulick found this resource "25 Quick Tips from Mike Underwood on How the Publishing Industry Works" on Tor.com.
June 17, 2014
More Than an Idea
Today in class, I handed out and read out loud Neil Gaiman's essay about where ideas come from. That blog post has long been one of my favorites because it's funny and TRUE and deeply, deeply inspiring.
It's a really great place to start thinking about ideas.
The problem I have with story generation is not one that Neil talks about, however. He talked obliquely about the process of sitting in your chair and doing the hard work with ideas, but, because this essay is meant to be about one thing, he doesn't really go into what that work *is.*
Of course, the other reason he doesn't go into that, I think, is that what that work *is* is different things for different writers.
For me, before I can hang anything on an idea like "what if a werewolf bit a chair?' (his) or "what if that song the humpback whales are singing is about their myths and remembrances of life on land?" (mine), I need to have a reason to tell the story. I need to know "what's at stake?" for the main character.
Because ideas are cool and everything, but stories that really work are, for me, at least, stories that are about something.
Sometimes that something isn't anything big--or it is, only it's masquerading as something dull and uninteresting seeming. For instance, I just read a novel by Tana French called The Likeness and it's about the quiet desperation of a police officer who has lost her sense of purpose, her sense of self, really, and, only by becoming someone else while undercover, does she regain it. The desperation, however, is very subtle, very heavy on the quiet. So, it doesn't always have to be explosions. But, there does have to be some kind of core, some kind of character change or something that... well, matters.
Neil himself is actually a master of this. I think one of the reasons I was such an avid fan of his Sandman comics in particular is because of the fact that his stories were always about something--something that mattered a lot. In his case, because of the medium he was writing in, it wasn't always character change, per se, (superheroes aren't really allowed too much of that), but yet he tackled major issues like the meaning of life and death and how dreams work and any number of profound things... things that, for the story to come to a conclusion, I had to learn or feel or process something.
For me, that's a real, necessary part of making a story work. I think that even stories that set out to be rip-roaring adventure tales, usually leave you with a sense that the story mattered to the actors in it.
It's a really great place to start thinking about ideas.
The problem I have with story generation is not one that Neil talks about, however. He talked obliquely about the process of sitting in your chair and doing the hard work with ideas, but, because this essay is meant to be about one thing, he doesn't really go into what that work *is.*
Of course, the other reason he doesn't go into that, I think, is that what that work *is* is different things for different writers.
For me, before I can hang anything on an idea like "what if a werewolf bit a chair?' (his) or "what if that song the humpback whales are singing is about their myths and remembrances of life on land?" (mine), I need to have a reason to tell the story. I need to know "what's at stake?" for the main character.
Because ideas are cool and everything, but stories that really work are, for me, at least, stories that are about something.
Sometimes that something isn't anything big--or it is, only it's masquerading as something dull and uninteresting seeming. For instance, I just read a novel by Tana French called The Likeness and it's about the quiet desperation of a police officer who has lost her sense of purpose, her sense of self, really, and, only by becoming someone else while undercover, does she regain it. The desperation, however, is very subtle, very heavy on the quiet. So, it doesn't always have to be explosions. But, there does have to be some kind of core, some kind of character change or something that... well, matters.
Neil himself is actually a master of this. I think one of the reasons I was such an avid fan of his Sandman comics in particular is because of the fact that his stories were always about something--something that mattered a lot. In his case, because of the medium he was writing in, it wasn't always character change, per se, (superheroes aren't really allowed too much of that), but yet he tackled major issues like the meaning of life and death and how dreams work and any number of profound things... things that, for the story to come to a conclusion, I had to learn or feel or process something.
For me, that's a real, necessary part of making a story work. I think that even stories that set out to be rip-roaring adventure tales, usually leave you with a sense that the story mattered to the actors in it.
June 16, 2014
Changing Times... and the Importance (or Not) of Definitions
Today was the first day of a week-long science fiction class, "More Than the Zombie Apocalypse," that I'm teaching at the Loft as part of their Youth Summer Writing Program.
For the past... oh, I don't know, decade or so of my teaching career, I have started all my science fiction/fantasy classes by going through a kind let's play the definition game of SF. Science fiction is actually fairly difficult to define when you think about it. Orson Scott Card has a lovely run-down of the various ways in which science fiction can be defined in the beginning of his book on writing including, "Because it says so on the spine." Normally, this is a discussion that is fairly important because it helps writers start to think about their work (often for the first time) in terms of how they might describe it to a potential editor or agent.
As I flailed my way through class today (like I do), I derailed myself (for the second or third time) mid-lecture by wondering if any of it mattered any more.
The students in my class are 15 - 17 years old. As we were talking, it occurred to me that they don't really give much of toss whether or not a book says "science fiction" or "fantasy" on the spine, because most of the books they read DON'T HAVE SPINES. I had to describe to them what it was like in the Late Cretaceous when I was young, and we had to browse bookstores--when it was really rather critical that books of the same sort all be piled together because there was no automatic algorithm that told you "if you like this book, you might also like these." You simply had to trust that the next book on the shelf was sort of similar, but more what you were looking for.
And, while I'm not much of a publishing industry doomsayer, I do have to wonder how important it will be to these future novelists and short story writers to be able describe what they're writing to agents and editors looking to represent print books with spines and fairly narrow and ridged genre definitions.
Already these are the readers who have "Young Adult" as a genre, which, by default includes ALL THE THINGS--be they fantasy, science fiction, horror, romance, mystery, historical, etc. Perhaps a publishing future is coming where genre, as a definable thing with EDGES won't matter much. I suspect that there will always be readers who are drawn to one type of thing over another, but how they'll find new books is a mystery to me.
And maybe genre won't be part of it.
For the past... oh, I don't know, decade or so of my teaching career, I have started all my science fiction/fantasy classes by going through a kind let's play the definition game of SF. Science fiction is actually fairly difficult to define when you think about it. Orson Scott Card has a lovely run-down of the various ways in which science fiction can be defined in the beginning of his book on writing including, "Because it says so on the spine." Normally, this is a discussion that is fairly important because it helps writers start to think about their work (often for the first time) in terms of how they might describe it to a potential editor or agent.
As I flailed my way through class today (like I do), I derailed myself (for the second or third time) mid-lecture by wondering if any of it mattered any more.
The students in my class are 15 - 17 years old. As we were talking, it occurred to me that they don't really give much of toss whether or not a book says "science fiction" or "fantasy" on the spine, because most of the books they read DON'T HAVE SPINES. I had to describe to them what it was like in the Late Cretaceous when I was young, and we had to browse bookstores--when it was really rather critical that books of the same sort all be piled together because there was no automatic algorithm that told you "if you like this book, you might also like these." You simply had to trust that the next book on the shelf was sort of similar, but more what you were looking for.
And, while I'm not much of a publishing industry doomsayer, I do have to wonder how important it will be to these future novelists and short story writers to be able describe what they're writing to agents and editors looking to represent print books with spines and fairly narrow and ridged genre definitions.
Already these are the readers who have "Young Adult" as a genre, which, by default includes ALL THE THINGS--be they fantasy, science fiction, horror, romance, mystery, historical, etc. Perhaps a publishing future is coming where genre, as a definable thing with EDGES won't matter much. I suspect that there will always be readers who are drawn to one type of thing over another, but how they'll find new books is a mystery to me.
And maybe genre won't be part of it.
June 4, 2014
Podcast and Pacing
Mason and I have produced our 12th MangaKast for your... well, I hesitate to say enjoyment, but, well, there it is: http://mangakast.wordpress.com/2014/06/04/a-dirty-dozen/
In this podcast, I also discuss a new anime that I'm watching called Yowapeda. In the podcast, I mostly talk about how it relates to Bleach (there are voice actors in common). But, here, I thought I'd take a moment to talk about how strange Japanese storytelling pacing often is for a Western viewer.
For instance, here I am, about to start episode 4, and the premise of the show--an "otaku" (Japanese nerd/geek) joins a bicycle racing club--hasn't really even happened yet. We've met our hero, had many discussions about the dorkiness of his 'mamachari,' "Mommy bike," and met a few other characters. People have mentioned the biking club in passing, BUT NO ONE HAS JOINED YET.
I think, by now, this show would have been cancelled in the U.S.
To be fair, there was an exciting race at one point, up a very steep hill, and there were many IMPLICATIONS that our otaku hero might actually be even stronger/faster than he knows. But, it kind of amazes me the extent to which speculation has fueled the "action" of this story.
I always tell my writing students that you have to start strong, lay it all out, get to the point, so that people will know what the story is about, what's at stake... basically, show why a reader should invest their time and keep reading. We spend a lot of time as writers talking about 'the hook' and how important it is to get our 'hooks' into readers so that they will be dragged deep into the story from the get-go.
There's something about this that is utterly and truly DEFIED by animes like Yowapeda. By rights, I should CARE LESS. I mean, really, all that I know that's at stake is that our anime-loving hero would really, really rather join the anime club, but it cancelled due to lack of interest. THIS SHOW SHOULD BE CANCELLED DUE TO LACK OF INTEREST, but it's in its second season and, frankly, I'm fairly captivated.
I wonder if it has something to do with character. Because character can be its own hook, and, frankly, our little nerd hero represents a lot of things a lot of people are and WOULD LIKE TO BE. I'm a nerd. I'm scared of sports clubs (or was, when I was in high school), and I would really, really love to be recognized for my specialness (wouldn't we all?) So, right away there's a kind of guilty pleasure watching people looking at our dork/geek hero and saying things like, "Oh, even on his Mommy bike, he does x and y like a pro!" The implication is: this guy is special. Without even having joined the biking club yet, you start to get the feeling that this little doofus is going to be critical in elevating everyone to a higher level.... and there will be cheering and trophies and heartbreak along the way.
I'm in.
Totally. Just on the IMPLIED promise alone.
In this podcast, I also discuss a new anime that I'm watching called Yowapeda. In the podcast, I mostly talk about how it relates to Bleach (there are voice actors in common). But, here, I thought I'd take a moment to talk about how strange Japanese storytelling pacing often is for a Western viewer.
For instance, here I am, about to start episode 4, and the premise of the show--an "otaku" (Japanese nerd/geek) joins a bicycle racing club--hasn't really even happened yet. We've met our hero, had many discussions about the dorkiness of his 'mamachari,' "Mommy bike," and met a few other characters. People have mentioned the biking club in passing, BUT NO ONE HAS JOINED YET.
I think, by now, this show would have been cancelled in the U.S.
To be fair, there was an exciting race at one point, up a very steep hill, and there were many IMPLICATIONS that our otaku hero might actually be even stronger/faster than he knows. But, it kind of amazes me the extent to which speculation has fueled the "action" of this story.
I always tell my writing students that you have to start strong, lay it all out, get to the point, so that people will know what the story is about, what's at stake... basically, show why a reader should invest their time and keep reading. We spend a lot of time as writers talking about 'the hook' and how important it is to get our 'hooks' into readers so that they will be dragged deep into the story from the get-go.
There's something about this that is utterly and truly DEFIED by animes like Yowapeda. By rights, I should CARE LESS. I mean, really, all that I know that's at stake is that our anime-loving hero would really, really rather join the anime club, but it cancelled due to lack of interest. THIS SHOW SHOULD BE CANCELLED DUE TO LACK OF INTEREST, but it's in its second season and, frankly, I'm fairly captivated.
I wonder if it has something to do with character. Because character can be its own hook, and, frankly, our little nerd hero represents a lot of things a lot of people are and WOULD LIKE TO BE. I'm a nerd. I'm scared of sports clubs (or was, when I was in high school), and I would really, really love to be recognized for my specialness (wouldn't we all?) So, right away there's a kind of guilty pleasure watching people looking at our dork/geek hero and saying things like, "Oh, even on his Mommy bike, he does x and y like a pro!" The implication is: this guy is special. Without even having joined the biking club yet, you start to get the feeling that this little doofus is going to be critical in elevating everyone to a higher level.... and there will be cheering and trophies and heartbreak along the way.
I'm in.
Totally. Just on the IMPLIED promise alone.
June 3, 2014
The Jazz Dance of Justice
Tuesday! So that means there's another installment of UNJUST CAUSE for you to read up on Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/53052964-unjust-cause-part-11-jazz-dance-of-justice
"Jazz Dance of Justice" a title that will make more sense when you read the installment, but which has to do with the fact that Alex's superpower can be somewhat... unhelpful, since sometimes the messages she gets from 'beyond the grave' are garbled at best.
Enjoy!
Next week I may not get my installment up on time as we're going to be on honeymoon in the Boundary Waters. There's limited internet there, so I will try, but no promises....
"Jazz Dance of Justice" a title that will make more sense when you read the installment, but which has to do with the fact that Alex's superpower can be somewhat... unhelpful, since sometimes the messages she gets from 'beyond the grave' are garbled at best.
Enjoy!
Next week I may not get my installment up on time as we're going to be on honeymoon in the Boundary Waters. There's limited internet there, so I will try, but no promises....
May 29, 2014
Joys of Obscurity
We all have this dream. It goes like this: write a book, get it published, and live the life of the rich and famous authors like J.K. Rowling.
Most published authors don't live like J. K. Rowling. Instead, they live like me... and this guy: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/books/review/please-turn-to-the-chapter-on-obscurity.html
My favorite part of this column is the bit that goes like this:
It reminds me all to well of the time I was booked at a B. Daltons or Borders (when those still existed) and they gave me a card table in the hallway near the food court. I was reduced to hawking my wears to passers' by, most of whom looked baffled to be harangued by an author (this was Minnesota, after all.) A woman gives me a sneer and said snootily, "I'm sorry, I don't read." "At least you're sorry!" I replied.
Like Mr. Rosenblatt, I've play to audiences of three... sometimes even none--beyond the awkward, apologetic bookstore liaison/event organizer. I've also had the experience of sharing a signing with a FAMOUS author, and watching his/her line stretch around the corner and out the store. Both are frustrating, but I've always been lucky to have friends who will push through the crowd and shout, "OMG! TATE HALLAWAY!! WILL YOU SIGN MY BOOBS!?!" (because those are my friends...) This is, btw, a true story, and I remain proud because it made Neil Gaiman turn his head to see who I was to rate boob signing....
So you have to make the best of it as Mr. Rosenblatt says. Learn to take joy in the obscurity.
Most published authors don't live like J. K. Rowling. Instead, they live like me... and this guy: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/books/review/please-turn-to-the-chapter-on-obscurity.html
My favorite part of this column is the bit that goes like this:
In Boston, a woman approached me after the Q and A., her face tense with anguish and disappointment. "I thought you were going to be Alice McDermott," she said. "So did I," I said.
It reminds me all to well of the time I was booked at a B. Daltons or Borders (when those still existed) and they gave me a card table in the hallway near the food court. I was reduced to hawking my wears to passers' by, most of whom looked baffled to be harangued by an author (this was Minnesota, after all.) A woman gives me a sneer and said snootily, "I'm sorry, I don't read." "At least you're sorry!" I replied.
Like Mr. Rosenblatt, I've play to audiences of three... sometimes even none--beyond the awkward, apologetic bookstore liaison/event organizer. I've also had the experience of sharing a signing with a FAMOUS author, and watching his/her line stretch around the corner and out the store. Both are frustrating, but I've always been lucky to have friends who will push through the crowd and shout, "OMG! TATE HALLAWAY!! WILL YOU SIGN MY BOOBS!?!" (because those are my friends...) This is, btw, a true story, and I remain proud because it made Neil Gaiman turn his head to see who I was to rate boob signing....
So you have to make the best of it as Mr. Rosenblatt says. Learn to take joy in the obscurity.
Kelly McCullough's Blog
- Kelly McCullough's profile
- 370 followers
Kelly McCullough isn't a Goodreads Author
(yet),
but they
do have a blog,
so here are some recent posts imported from
their feed.
