Alexander Jablokov's Blog, page 16

Me and the government shutdown

I am a victim of the government shutdown, in a "First World Problem" kind of way: if all had gone as planned, I would be hiking down below the North Rim of Grand Canyon today. Instead, I am in my basement, typing this.

My annual hiking trip with my friends is something I look forward to all year. And we had tried several times to get space at the limited North Rim campsites in order to do a good loop hike. We did the trial-by-fax application process (OK, my friend Paul did, by going into his o...

Picking up old projects

Now that I have turned my novel in to my agent, I'm turning back to some things I was working on before I really dove into the revision.

There are a lot of unfinished stories and other projects littering my mental universe. I have notes in various formats: an old composition notebook, bundles of notes on yellow 6x9 pads, bundles of note cards, crumpled sheets quickly scribbled on at work or while doing something else, emails to myself, even text generated by Dragon Naturally Speaking when I wa...

On losing a Kindle

I never thought I would like an e-reader. Actually, I'm still not sure I like it, but I sure need it.

As I mentioned, I lost my Kindle on a business trip to Toronto Everyone I contacted was very helpful, including the Toronto Police Department, but it has not turned up. Next week I am flying to Las Vegas and then driving up past Jacob's Lake to do a one-week hike down the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

I like to read in the evening when I hike. And, at this time of year, there is not only eveni...

Forced to proofread

I was on a business trip this week. I was doing something both interesting and stressful: videoing analysts at the company I provide marketing for. I had to learn how to set up lighting and sound, select and buy equipment, and then learn to use all of it. I think it all came out well.

But somewhere along the way I lost my Kindle. I'll try to track it down today. I don't favor the Kindle for regular reading, but when traveling or camping, it's great, given how much it can carry. So I had no oth...

Book Groups, and the Literary Blind Date

Years ago I belonged to a book group. It was a group of biology researchers of various kinds at Harvard, as well as friends and hangers on, who liked taking a break from lab work to discuss literature. It went on for a few years, and I had a great time, made friends, and read some works I would not have found otherwise.

I haven't done anything like that since. Recently, however, I've started checking out various Meetup groups in my area, including a couple of book groups. Last night I attended...

Gestation speed

The germ of the idea for Timeslip (or whatever--as I've mentioned, I'm trying to come up with a better title) came to me while I was a participant at the Rio Hondo workshop in the hills above Taos, NM in May of 2010. Several other people had submitted sections of YA novels, and I thought "hey, maybe I can do that!"

I got up early one morning and drove off to take a hike by myself. As I walked, the character and basic structure of the book came to me. By the time I ran into too much snow to kee...

Done. Now what's the title?

Last night I wrote that I was almost done with editing my latest novel. Now I actually am done.

I've been talking about this one for a while. It's a YA novel about a teenager whose father invents a way to cut through to alternate histories--and then someone comes in through from one of these alternate worlds, kidnaps Dad, and disappears. I just reread every word of the thing without cringing. I hope that's a good sign.

The problem now is the title. It's working title all the way along has been...

Teetering on the brink

For the past few months, I have been revising my next novel, a YA alternate history adventure. At least the character is adolescent, and the language is simple, but I'm not sure it fits the current model of bonding-against-dystopia YA fiction.

And for the past couple of weeks, I've been doing a detailed proof and clean, and resisting the urge to do any deeper editing. As they say, no book is ever finished, just abandoned, and sweet noises this one makes, I'm leaving it on someone's doorstep so...

Genre and non-neurotypicality

Last week I discussed genre, as, in part, a contract between writer and reader, reader presenting an itch, writer agreeing the scratch it. Writers who then refuse to scratch, but instead provide something they claim is vastly better, often fail dramatically.

Believe me, the sales figures for Brain Thief, a humorous cultural critique disguised as a science fiction novel, demonstrate what happens when readers expect one thing and get something else. Remember, if you click that link, you have bee...

Genre, again

As usual, when I was at Readercon a few weeks ago, there were panels on genre, and, again as usual, the highly literary panel participants viewed genre with suspicion and disdain, wondering at how restrictive genre definitions are.

Just as you can't analyze rising healthcare costs without looking at jobs, you can't analyze genre without looking at readers. But if you sit in on these panels, you'll invariably hear a lot of discussion (don't get me wrong: intelligent and thoughtful discussion) a...