Harry Connolly's Blog, page 163

Halloween followup

Friday night, my wife and son stayed up until midnight listening to L.A. Theater Works's production of War of the Worlds and Lost World. You can listen at the site, at least for a while. Give it a try. My son rated it "Awesome!"

The picture says it all

Happy Halloween!

Remember, the original TV series Kolchak the Night Stalker is available on Netflix Streaming. Me, I'll be getting back to my Kolchak rewatch writeups soon.

Screampunk

Is it really useful to point out that steampunk, as a genre, is not exactly known for hard science?

Hey, I know there are folks out there who love their sf hard. I know they think of "hardness" (as the term is used in the genre) as a virtue. And that's fine for them. People should have their fun, especially if it makes them feel virtuous but I think its important to remember what a small subset of the overall readership these folks represent.

Most people don't care, and wagging your finger at authors because, say, their zombies aren't scientifically sound, just makes me shake my head and chuckle.

The political and cultural critiques of Steampunk have more weight, imo, to the degree they are fair and accurate.

Anyway, now that steampunk is pretty mainstream, it's time for a new "-punk" sub-genre to spring up. Here are my predictions:

Pepperpunk–Set during the spice trade during the late 16th century, featuring wooden sailing ships and the sort of hostile native people we used to see "Chongo" fight on the Banana Splits. For the first few years, all novels will feature various thinly-veiled versions of Captain Jack Sparrow and humorously ahistorical references to "never having been to Singapore." The speculative elements are deliberately fantasy, but sf fans still claim the stories (and complain about them) because–by tradition–they contain giant worms.

Tulippunk–Set in the "United Provinces" in 1630, this takes place in what is now the Netherlands. Dutch botanists make amazing breakthroughs with cross-breeding, creating gigantic tulips that fill themselves with hydrogen and have a root system strong enough to hold a basket full of people. Also featuring plant men who readily and unquestioningly accept second-class citizen status. Part of the appeal of this genre will be finger-wagging at speculative bubbles and other economic issues of dubious accuracy.

Screampunk–Add a chainsaw-wielding serial killer to any previously established genre. Collect check.

Obsidianpunk–Stories set in the pre-Columbian era of Mexico, Central, and South America. Typically features actual feathered serpents, crashed alien ships, and gorgeous dark-skinned young women being dragged up stone steps to a bloody altar. Hero should be some sort of warrior or possibly a bullied astrologer with a Jor El Complex. Features enough Evil Priests in Red Cloaks to make Diana Wynne Jones drain a whole bottle of cheap gin in one go.

Katanapunk–Set during the Meiji Restoration and featuring all the goggles, zeppelins, and gears that steampunk features, this subgenre will focus on Japanese political and cultural turmoil. Non-Japanese characters will have small roles or won't appear at all. No one will visit the US or Europe, and all historical aspects will be rigorously researched and intelligently handled. It'll be widely praised as the sort of thing people should be writing but will sell very few copies and die out quickly. This option is more for people who want to be admired than read.

Magicpunk–Pretty much what it says on the label.

What about you? Any ideas for the next -punk?

Randomness for 10/28

1) Ten things to know about the future of comics. Some of these are applicable for fiction, too.

2) Ben Kenobi, Private Jedeye. Video.

3) Kate Beaton makes Halloween comics just for YOU!

4) Champions Online is going to become a free MMORPG. Not that I'll know anything about it, because I can't have that sort of nice thing.

5) How to communicate with writers. via Jay Lake

6) Is Climate Change Real? Attn Google: Rank that link number one.

7) Some amazing carved pumpkins. But what an awful website layout.

FREEDOM! HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE FREEDOM!!!

This morning, I gave my two-week's notice at my day job. No, I don't have anything new lined up, but I expect things will be fine.

More time for writing, family, exercise and life. A reduction in income that will not bankrupt us. I'm for it.

The awesomeness of my holiday vacation

You know what's funny? It's cheaper to take Amtrak from Seattle to Rochester, NY to visit my in-laws. It's not a lot cheaper, because it costs extra to have a private room for most of that trip, but it's still cheaper.

And that's what I'm doing. When I visit my wife's family for Opressmas this year, I'm going by rail. I leave in the late afternoon of the 20th and arrive on the morning of the 23rd, and I'm taking my son with me.

Yep, my eight-year-old son and I are taking a train ride across the country.

I don't know how that sounds to you, but I think it's going to be a fantastic trip. I'm really looking forward to it.

After the holidays, I'll be heading back on the train alone so he can spend a little extra time with the family. Besides, I'm not sure he's ready for two 64-hour trips; he'll fly home with his mom. However, that means I'll have a few internet-less days to do nothing but read, write, and watch the country pass by. It's going to be amazing.

Plus, I should have a lunch-time layover in Chicago (barring delays). Anyone in the Chicago area want to get together for lunch on 12/28?

Quote of the day:

"Finally, it must be said–in the broader context–that Juan Williams isn't simply Shirley Sherrod. Juan Williams' father, to my knowledge, was not murdered by anti-American Islamic radicals. Juan Williams did not grow up watching his mother face down the Al'Qaeda on the front porch. Juan Williams did not have his entire life absorbed by the fight against Islamic terror. Juan Williams makes a career amicably discussing bigotry with bigots. Shirley Sherrod made a career, and a life, of confronting bigotry–perhaps most admirably, her own."

– Ta-Nehisi Coates

How you can tell Halloween is nearly here.

And I know you don't have to ask, but it's not very good wine. Fun, though. And just to demonstrate the staying power of vamps, the Vampire brand was 3 bucks more than the other one.

Rules for photographers (and every other artist)

But first, an essay describing the way I conducted my search for an agent is online now at Black Gate. Check it out, if you're interested in that sort of thing.

—

There's also this, sent to me in email by a smart friend. They're rules for "any young photographer trying to survive."

Here are the rules:

1. Have talent. (Talent is not when your friends tell you they love your work, but when people who don't like you have to admit it's good.)

2. Understand how the world works. (Not just globally, but on a macro level. Understand what people need and don't need. Understand when to approach people and when not to. Develop social skills.)

3. Choose good friends. (There's nothing like an effective network.)

4. Be modern. (Don't do anything that looks like it's someone else's work. Stay on top of technology. Engage on multiple platforms.)

There's more wisdom at the dude's site, but I wanted to talk about this. Also, I want to break it down.

1- Talent: I've talked about talent before (but for some reason I can't find where). Personally, I think "talent" is something you can learn, to a degree. How much of a degree, I don't know, but if its something people can work on it's worth talking about, and if it's not it's not. I prefer to treat it as something you can control, because otherwise it doesn't matter.

So: Practice intelligently, study carefully, and work hard. And if anyone remembers where I argued my "Talent is accuracy" thing (I think it was on someone else's blog) or if you want me to type it up here, let me know.

2- Social skills: Yeah. It's easy to think of this as outside the work we create, as in: I write a great book but I'm such an asshole no one wants to deal with me. Or readers stumble onto my book, love it, search me out online only to discover that my blog is full of crazy hate-filled crap. Or I obsessively follow people around, IRL or online, continually tweeting at Wil Wheaton that he should read my book and tell all his followers how much he loves it.

That's… er… not optimal. But there's a second issue with this: writers who find success are often the people with strongly-held opinions. The writers who find success and last are the ones who can describe the world as it truly is, no matter the genre. I don't mean they have a perfect understanding or that they're without flaws, but that their books reflect some insightful understanding of how the world works.

Of course, most everyone thinks they understand how things work…

3- Friends/Networking: This is the one I expect most people would object to, especially the way the author puts it. No one really thinks you should try to make friends because you think they'll be useful, but it's also important not to make friends who drag you down. Your friends should make your life better, on the whole. Sure, there are times when you'll need to support them through a rough patch–hopefully they'll do the same for you–but if the friend hurts your ability to make your art, you should probably restructure the relationship.

Better is to have friends (and I mean real, actual friends that you enjoy being with) who are doing exciting things. Actually, let me put it this way: Your friends should be good for you. And getting that sort of friend is pretty simple: Be that kind of person yourself.

Have projects! Help people! Do exciting stuff. If someone is doing something that sounds cool, chip in. Maybe a friendship will develop. Maybe not. At least you'll have done something cool. As the old saying goes, the best way to find someone to love is to be someone worth loving.

You'll notice I said it was simple, not easy. I'm terrible at this sort of thing and already feel like I'm stretched thin. Maybe someday when I have enough sleep.

4- "Be modern": This is the one I have the least to say about. Don't write an 80's-style fantasy or a '40's-style science fiction unless you're prepared to do something very modern with it. As for platforms, what can I say? I'm always behind the times on new opportunities. I don't even have a cell phone or a twitter account. Maybe someone else can jump in with useful advice there.

Randomness for 10/23

1) Dog Superhero Costumes. Yeah, you read that right. Now click through and blow your own mind.

2) Why I will always support the serial comma.

3) America's contempt for expertise, part six million and two.

4) A congressional candidate's wife does a political ad… for his opponent. Has to be seen to be believed. Video. Burn! via Jen Busick

5) Cripes. Bad enough you dress up your dog in a costume. But you have to put him in a mask? And done your own matching Na'vi cat lady costume? And make a crazy video for the web?

6) OMG, I don't care if this is real, I'm going to pretend it's photoshop so I can sleep at night. Be sure to look at the picture gallery. Supposedly, they released this thing after the pictures were taken. I assume it was down a long chute from a truck with the engine running. via Danny Grossman

7) Manuscript rejection notice from a silent-era movie studio.