Alan Baxter's Blog, page 99

I'm a little stunned…

I've just typed "The End".

101,435 words.

I've written a third novel.

Fuck me.

It still needs a lot of work, and it'll be along time before it's ready for anyone to start reading, but the first draft is done.

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Guest post for The Heir Of Night Launch

At Worldcon I was lucky enough to be asked to do a reading of my work. I was also lucky in that I was able to share that reading session with Helen Lowe. Helen is an awesome author from New Zealand and she read from her forthcoming book The Heir Of Night. Well, that book launches in Australia and New Zealand today. I'm looking forward to reading it – the excerpt she read at Worldcon really caught my interest.

As part of her launch party she's arranged for a series of guest posts at her blog, with F&SF authors from all over Australia and New Zealand posting about why writing F&SF rocks their world. I get to be first cab off the rank and my post about why I love F&SF goes up tomorrow. In the meantime, check Helen's site to see the great list of awesome people she's got visiting over the next few weeks. Also today there are book giveaways and all sorts of cool things happening.

I'll post a reminder tomorrow about my guest spot, but check out the site today, as it's launch day and there's loot to be won!

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Thoughts on getting close to The End

Novels are like lovers – you only pick the ones you think you'll like, but no two are really the same. Sometimes they're just awesome and make you feel special. Sometimes they let you down. Often they can surprise you, make you feel a whole range of emotions. And when it's over, you sometimes wish it could go on forever and other times you're glad, because it started to feel like more work than it was worth. Or you're satisfied and it lasted just as long as it was supposed to.

And I'll stop there before my analogy disappears up its own arsehole. The thing is, it occurred to me today that this applies to writing novels as well as reading them. I'm currently around 94,000 words into my third novel. I've written numerous short stories, a couple of novellas and now I'm close to typing those strange words – The End – on my third novel length work. Novels are certainly unique creatures and while many bear similarities, just like lovers, no two are the same. And no two writing processes are the same either.

I'm still very much a journeyman writer. Perhaps when I get to that stage where I've written loads of books I'll have developed some kind of process that's familiar and practiced, but there's a part of me that hopes that never happens. I like the excitement of taking on a new project and if it all started to feel the same I might lose the urge.

RealmShift was the first novel I wrote. Not the first one I started, not by a long way. I've written varying amounts of several novels. But it was the first one I finished and knew was a real novel. It went through many more redrafts and rewrites before it was published, of course, but I remember the feeling of reaching the end of that manuscript. I remember the feeling of writing it, feeling the story pouring out, astounded at how it was telling itself. Other times I struggled, trying to make something work. But there was a distinct vibe to writing RealmShift. I knew the main character inside out, I knew the mission he was on, but I wasn't entirely sure how it was going to end until I got there.

My second book is MageSign, the sequel to RealmShift. When I started writing that I knew exactly how it was going to end. The final climax was the entire reason for writing it, but I wasn't sure how to get there. I had lots of notes and plans written, but there were huge gaps that I trusted myself to fill as I got to them. Which I did. There was a distinct vibe to writing MageSign too, and it felt very different to RealmShift.

Now I'm close to finishing the first draft of my next book. It's the same "world" as RealmShift and MageSign, but a whole new story with all new characters. There are a couple of cameos from key players in the first two books, but that's mainly for the geeky fun of it. This book feels very different again. Where RealmShift grew from the main character, and MageSign grew from the final climax, this one has grown from a strange and weird concept. The concept led me to develop a main character and that subsequently led to the story. It feels quite different to either of the previous two.

I wanted to write something different. My books are dark fantasy thrillers, and this new one is too, but with a slightly different feel, a different pace. I'm playing with different archetypes, different character relationships and a pervading sense of dread rather than a flat out race against time. And it's been a struggle. This story has been harder to get out than either of the previous two. A lot harder, in fact. That's not because it's more complicated. If anything, it's a simpler concept than either of the previous two, with fewer key characters. I don't know yet if it's any good. I think it's awesome, but you always feel like that with a new lover. Hopefully I've written something better than ever, less predictable, more nuanced. The fragile, insecure writer in me wonders if I've blurted out a pile of shit.

When I finish a novel, I immediately go through it again, sorting out all the little issues that occurred to me along the way, that I made notes about as I wrote. Sometimes something will happen later in the book that means I need to change something near the start. Or I'll have a better idea and need to rework something. Then there are all the little bits and pieces that I can weave in here and there to make the whole story arc flow seamlessly, and often some of those things can only be added later, when you know exactly how it all ends.

After that, assuming I don't decide I need a complete rewrite (pleaseno!), the next stage is to put the book away for at least a few weeks. I'll write other things in that time. I have a couple of short stories clamouring to be written and I want to write the next Ghost Of The Black novella. Then I'll go back to this novel and redraft again. That's when I'll really get a feel for what I've created.

Only time will tell. Regardless, I'm very close to the end of actually writing it, as opposed to revising it, and some time in the next couple of weeks (I hope) I'll type those two fateful words. The End. Then I'll sit back in my chair staring at a completed manuscript. I suppose I'll have to brace myself and, after the process described above, send it out to the beta readers and see what they have to say.

I wonder how other writers do it? If there process is anything like mine?

Anyway, it's another novel, like the others I've written in so many ways. It's the kind of thing I think I'll like. At times it made me feel special and awesome. I really hope it doesn't let me down… or would that be me letting it down?

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Well, fuck me with a Koran while I read Harry Potter

Did I get your attention? I hope so. It's International Blasphemy Day today and it's also currently Banned Books Week.

International Blasphemy Day was the concept of the Centre For Inquiry in response to the outrage over the Mohammed cartoons controversy. The Day is designed to commemorate the controversy and to celebrate free expression and everyone's right to mock, ridicule and blaspheme religions. It's also important in the face of increasing censorship of free speech, with things like blasphemy laws being passed in Ireland last year, among other places. The problem with this kind of ridiculous law-making is that it makes opinions illegal. Anyone is free to believe what they want, therefore anyone is free to believe that someone else's beliefs are complete and utter bollocks. This is not a place for law.

The argument is that religious ridicule leads to the incitement of violence. Which is rubbish. Religious belief leads to the incitement of violence in many clearly recorded cases. Ridiculing said religions usually only leads to members of that religion calling for violence against the intolerant. Oh, the crushing irony.

It's perfectly reasonable to hold any opinion you like. If you go online and tell people to attack any religious group then you are certainly inciting violence and should be brought to justice for that. Just like when the religious call for the heads of the infidels. In the same way that you should be dealt with harshly by the law if you actually do violence against anyone, for any reason. But if you go online and say that you think any given belief is a load of rubbish and that its adherents are a bunch of willfully ignorant losers, then that's actually fine. You're perfectly entitled to that opinion. Just like the religious are entitled to their opinion that the Earth is only 6,000 years old, or that a fella that liked nine year old girls was the conduit for god, or whatever.

Would you expect to be jailed for saying that anyone who voted for Tony Abbott in the recent general election is an idiot and should be ridiculed?

Of course not. What makes religion so special that it has to be treated differently?

This crosses well with Banned Books Week, because it's usually religious wowsers that crap on about banning books. I mentioned Harry Potter in the title to this post as so many Christians in the US called for the book to be banned because it celebrated witchcraft. That still astounds me. It's okay for them to tell children that a Jewish zombie that was his own father is the saviour of the world AND MEAN IT while it's not okay for a work of fiction to celebrate a young man rising above adversity and defeating a powerful evil.

Have a look at that Banned Books page (linked above) and prepare to be astounded at some of the books that people have called out. According to the site, "People challenge books that they say are too sexual or too violent. They object to profanity and slang, and they protest against offensive portrayals of racial or religious groups–or positive portrayals of homosexuals."

Oh no! Don't let on that the gays are actually, you know, human or something.

The most confronting things in human nature need to be discussed. Taboos are things that cause division and ignorance. Fictional representations of real human issues are often the best way to generate debate of this kind of thing. Unless a book is a direct work of hate, deliberately targeting a given person or group, then there is no reasonable excuse to ban it. Some things might be considered too intense for kids but that's a whole different debate. You might remember my post about the Taboo panel at Worldcon where classification of books was mentioned. And soundly shouted down. When it comes to kids being exposed to questionable material, that's a matter of parenting. Know should what your kids are reading and vet anything that might disturb them. (Incidentally, if you're an especially religious person, I would suggest that your indoctrination of your kids is doing way more harm than any book they're likely to read.)

Reading and triggering thought and debate is essential. Banning books is just endorsing ignorance. I should declare a certain bias – my own books would certainly be considered blaphemous by pretty much every religious group. But I held this opinion long before I wrote those books. In fact, I'd love a religious group to call for my books to be banned – you can't buy publicity like that. Come on, you fuckers – come and have a go!

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Versatile Blogger Award

Lorna Suzuki was kind enough to award me a Versatile Blogger Award today. She said:

Alan Baxter – not only is he a martial arts master, he is a master storyteller! He blogs about writing and business, and the business of writing.

I wonder if she's thinking about a different Alan Baxter?

This is one of those chain blog awards that you get and then nominate a bunch of other people in a kind of self-congratulatory circlejerk of link sharing. At least, that's the cynical view. The more optimistic view is that you receive the award from someone that really does like what you blog about and you use that power for good, to share links to other blogs that you really care about.

It's a bit out of character, but I'm going to be optimistic today. You're also supposed to list 7 things about yourself, in a warm, fuzzy, get to know the blogger kind of way. Anyone reading here on a regular basis probably already knows far too much about me, so I'll give you a list of one thing about me:

1. I'm slowly training up an army of Kung Fu Assassins. Some starting from as young as 5 years old. So don't fuck with me.

The rules of this particular award say you should list 15 recipients to pass the award on to. Screw that – I can't sit here and think of 15. So I'll just list a few that come immediately to mind. And no, I'm not taking this very seriously. Don't get me wrong, I'm very touched that Lorna thought of me when she was taking her turn at this – I'm just not very good at joining in. "Doesn't play well with others" was often found on my school report cards. Perhaps that why I make a career out of fighting while I wait for the writing to start bringing in the big bucks.

So I'll award the Versatile Blogger Award to (in alphabetical order):

aNadder – Michael Fridman blogs here about all sorts of things, in a most philosophical way;

Angela Slatter – other than being an awesome writer, she's been doing a series of drive-by interviews of other writerly folk that have all been dripping with awesomesauce;

ASiF – Australian Speculative Fiction in Focus. Excellent reviews of Aussie SF;

Evolving Thoughts – John S Wilkins on all things evolutionary, biological, religious and so on;

52 Stitches – A blog of short horror fiction, the versatility being in the variety of stories;

Horrorscope – The Australian Dark Fiction blog;

Metamagician and The Hellfire Club – Russell Blackford's blog of all kinds of stuff to make you think. Also, Russell has teh awesome dance moves;

S F Signal – a beautiful melange of all things SF;

The Creative Penn – Joanna Penn blogs about all things writing related. An especially useful resource for building your author platform, if you're that way inclined.

That'll do from me. I hope you find something new and interesting among that lot.

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See a bald editor to help cure cancer

Russell B Farr, editor at Ticonderoga Publications, is doing a great shave for charity. Look at those russetty locks and that fulsome beard (pic nabbed from Kirstyn McDermott's blog). It's all coming off, hair and beard, to raise money for cancer research. Says Russell:

The ACT Eden Monaro Cancer Support Group have given my mum a great deal of support. The work they are doing is first rate. It isn't easy being in Perth while she battles cancer in NSW, and to have this support group helping her when I can't be there is a great relief.

To show my appreciation for this I am prepared to look like an idiot.

If you look at the photo, you can see that I'm looking rather hairy. When I reach my target, I'll shave it all off – that is beard and hair.

While I'm hoping to reach my target by 1 November, I'd like to reach this earlier if possible. This will give me time to grow some hair back before I visit mum again in December (she doesn't like shaved heads).

You can do your bit to help the hair come off by clicking here and then clicking the Donate button. Go on, it's a worthy cause.

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Adjectives intensified with obscenities

I love xkcd.com for so many reasons, not least of which is the effort and research that goes into some of the comics. Coupled with an awesome concept, we get absolute gems like this:

A bit of geeky fun for the Battlestar Galactica fans

I was reading the paper over the weekend and this story caught my eye. The story is basically about a plan to start coal seam gas drilling and there's controversy because it's going to be near the Warragamba dam, which holds a lot of Sydney's drinking water. The controversy comes from the fact that the company plans to use "the fracking technique."

Fracking, apparently, is hydraulic fracturing, which involves pumping a mixture of water, sand and chemicals deep underground to shatter rock...

While you wait for book three, authors die!

The title of this post is slightly sensationalist, but in a literary sense it's actually very true. I mentioned recently that I've finally started reading A Game Of Thrones, which is the first book in George R R Martin's A Song Of Ice & Fire series. This comment lead to a few discussions in various places that has subsequently lead to this post.

When I mentioned that I was finally getting around to reading A Game Of Thrones a lot of people assumed that also meant that I'd only just bought it. ...

Starfish by Peter Watts – review

When I posted my review of Raft yesterday I realised that I hadn't written a review of the book I'd read before it, which was Starfish by Peter Watts. You'll remember that I've talked about Peter a bit here recently, and you'll probably remember the picture of me pretending his Hugo award was my own. I had the pleasure of hanging out with him a bit during Worldcon, and felt that I should read some of his work. There are so many people out there writing amazing things and I wish I had the...