Writing: Latest Work

In a fairly concentrated period I wrote a 5k short story yesterday and, like God resting on the seventh day, found it was good. Well, ultimately readers will decide that bit, but I felt good that I got it out of my system. This seems to be the way with my short fiction writing lately – with all my day job, family and publishing commitments, I need to be productive with the eyes of the storms that come my way, and yesterday was one of them.

This story, titled The Girl Who Floated To Heaven, is a dark and tragic piece, which isn't always my style, but I do tend toward the dark these days. The best 'dark' stories are ones that show a glimmer of hope, or at worst, provides some insightful comment. I think this story is more the latter.

I always post my stories into my writers' group wiki for comments, so soon after that cycle of review, I will find a market for this precious little gem.
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Book Review: Against The Elements by Esme Carpenter

I have had the privilege of reading this book prior to publication. This is a young teen fantasy, that was written by a teen – that is, when Esme Carpenter was a teenager. She has revised it at the age of twenty.

The story is about a girl called Delphi, living on an island that doesn't state, but has the definite feel, of a Mediterranean island. She is a servant in a regimented household, but quickly gets thrust into an adventure that is both life-threatening and has the state of the world at stake. A familiar line? Yes, but what makes originality isn't the macro-plot – there are no such new beasts anymore – but it is the way all components of the title hang together. It is original and fascinating.

The land where Delphi lives – the world – isn't just that. The universe is held together by the balance, and the co-existence, of worlds that represent the four elements. And it is Delphi's task to journey through these four elemental lands as part of a quest – one I would rather not spoil by divulging to you, the good reader.

This story has it all that a young teen would love (and possibly a mature pre-teen), and most importantly it excludes what young teens don't want – they don't want over-indulgence of love, nor the angst of 'teenagerhood'. This story is adventure-driven with nail-biting episodes. It has magic, deities, and battles. More importantly, it has strong characters, a sense of what evil is about, and what goodness entails. It is also about companionship and faith.
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I heartily recommend this story to children from about twelve to fifteen, but adults will love it as well. A deserving 5 stars.
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Book Review: Blackthorns Of The Forgotten by Bree T. Donovan

The IFWG Publishing blog site provided an intriguing description of what Blackthornes Of The Forgotten is – by stating what it isn't. Firstly, it is labeled as a paranormal/romance story, for want of a better label (which, I agree, there isn't). The site then says that even though it isn't paranormal, it has no vampires, werewolves, zombies or witches, nor does it have unrelenting action and gore. And yet it is paranormal. While it is labeled as romantic, there are no long passages of passion, and certainly no erotic narrative. But it is about love, and more importantly, it is about 'soulmateship'.

I am not big on paranormal fiction, and certainly not on romance, but this story was a superb read. And the reason why was because a) it was technically well written, and b) it has its own, unique voice, hence the labeling issue.

This is a story where there is an incredibly strong connection between the world as we know it (Ireland in this case), and the 'higher plane' which is only obliquely described – in fact, hardly at all. It really is Irish in my mind, and how modern day Irish people who believe in such things, would look at it. This makes for a subtle, evocative set of parallel worlds, devoid of ham, over-worn tropes, and the over-theatrical.

Another thing I liked about the book is the complete lack of black and white, good and evil. The angelic types have amazingly serious (and ironically human) flaws, and the few evil types have their chances of redemption – they are grayish-black, so to speak. In other words, the characters are well crafted, and to be honest, represent the core of what makes this novel. That, and the enduring power of love and sacrifice.

If you are after action and pyrotechnic magic, you will be disappointed. If you are after torrid sex scenes, or small talk in Victorian parlors, etc – or the emerging sexuality of young adults, then you will definitely be disappointed.

If you are after subtle relationships among adult characters – not always in the expected manner – that are three-dimensional, and if you want an in-depth probing of what love is about, and what soul-mates are, set in a vivid world that parallels another, then you will be delighted.

Five stars without question.

Book Review: Ferryman by Jonathon Wise

Paul Goat Allen, B&N speculative fiction reviewer, says that 2012 will be the year for post apocalyptic fiction, in no small way to do with the media beat up of the Mayan end of the world predictions. I heartily agree, not just because of his logical reasoning, but because if Jonathon Wise's new novel, Ferryman, is indicative of what's turning up in 2012, I'm happy to read many more.

Ferryman is, in my mind, treating well worn tropes in a fresh way, and I am impressed with the extent to which he raised the bar in this sub-genre of science fiction. These are, in my mind, the main reasons why it is fresh:

1. There are no zombies.
2. There are no zombies. There, I got that out of the way.
3. While there have been top notch virus-based post-apocalyptic fiction in the past – the one that comes to mind as one of the best, was Michael Crichton's The Andromeda Strain, most such stories are focused on the main protagonists solving the problem – finding the cure for the virus, snuffing out the contagion, or some other rescue technique. This is goodness, but it is also, in mind, rather well-worn. Ferryman is clearly about the effects of the virus that affects humanity (and in fact, most animals – naaaasty), but this is secondary, the backdrop. This story is about people – how they are affected in various ways by a catastrophic disaster and how the human spirit rises. Again the human spirit thing is not new, but the way Wise balances the science/effects and placing focus on those who survived, is remarkably fresh.
4. This isn't about good versus evil, which is so well constructed by Stephen King in The Stand. There is definitely evil generated in the aftermath of the pandemic, but it isn't intrinsic. It has reasons attached to it, explored in detail by Wise's excellent narrative. There are moments in his story that wrench your heart – both in terms of brutality as well as sacrifice or unjust loss among some of the characters the reader emphathises with – this is a differentiating feature of the Ferryman.
5. The conclusion. I won't give it away, but I found it appropriate, well balanced, and unexpected. We don't have a cataclysmic good versus evil clash, nor a laboratory cure of a disease. But we have a very good ending nevertheless.

Ferryman is appropriately titled because the main protagonist is a man who, through complex and evolving reasons, turns into a hero. A man who saves others, by getting them from one place to another. A ferryman. Wise develops complex and vivid characters, which is certainly another key feature of this novel.

This is a stand-out novel of 2012, and well aligned with the popular interest in post-apocalyptic fiction (I should mention here that no mention is made of the Mayan end of world prediction – this is also, in my mind, refreshing).

Five well deserved stars.
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The Sweet Spot – How Much Detail Does A Character Need?

This topic jumped at me after thinking about a post I replied to in Facebook. Bear with me with some background information.

The posting was about the revelation that JRR Tolkien was nominated for the Nobel Prize in literature by C.S. Lewis in 1961, and poor Tolkien was discounted early in the selection process – apparently for poor storytelling, or something similar. This article was topical because of the fame of LOTR, and in particular by Peter Jackson's screen adaptations. Many people 'ooed and ahhed' because they viewed him as a master writer, but a friend of mine, John Hughes, pointed out that Tolkien was far from being a literary genius. Nuances apply here. Setting aside whether a reader likes LOTR or not (or Tolkien or not), a successful storyteller he is, and given the generations and multitudes of people who read, and reread LOTR, he is in my mind a master storyteller. There is a distinction between master writer versus master storyteller, when it comes to the assessment of literary excellence. While I'm not saying the Nobel Committee are the doyens of literary assessment, I think they got it right with Tolkien, from a literary point of view, and especially in 1961.

Now, to the thoughts I really wanted to share with you. If LOTR isn't a literary masterpiece, by some high standards, why is it so successful, including in pre-Jackson days? I think it's because it is a darn good yarn. Tolkien himself stated that his objective was to write a really long tale and sustain interest – he scoffed all his life at efforts to dissect his work, to find meaningful allegory. He most certainly did succeed in writing a sustained yarn. But are his characters written well – with depth and insight? More importantly, did they need to be?

I think we come to an area of fiction writing that applies universally, but in different ways depending on the writer, the genre/style, and the audience: even the most 'literary' writers don't spell everything out when it comes to character portrayal. The most difficult, and rewarding part of writing, in my experience, is being able not just to describe what needs to be described, but in a way use absence of information to enable readers to fill in the gaps. The art of illusion. Some writers spend a lot of time on character description – by show and tell, preferably more by show. These works are often centrally concerned with characters – this is what these writer's readers want – and is often motivated to draw out emotions, states of mind, etc, that simply cannot be invoked by pure, plot-driven narrative. This is goodness. On the other hand, there are works of literature that might want to emphasize theme, or, like Tolkien, plot (a tale, a yarn). Needless to say the permutations of what lies between are virtually limitless.

Regardless of how much characterization a writer wants to drive, in combination with the many other elements of what makes a piece of fiction, there is nevertheless a balance required, and good craftsmanship. LOTR wasn't devoid of characterization, and there certainly are many characters who come across vividly. But a lot of it comes from Tolkien's skill as a writer who knows how to craft 'absence' of information. Tolkien liked the narrative style (hey, have a go at the Silmarillion), and he stuck to his brand of voice. The key here, is that he found, within his voice, the sweet point – the balance, in LOTR (and the Hobbit, and fragments of work he did not publish).

Does this mean Tolkien should have won the Nobel Prize? No. I don't believe so. I think the Nobel Prize isn't geared toward the type of fiction Tolkien wrote – it represents, ideally, a lifetime's work in experimentation and exercising of skills in virtually all facets of fiction. It is also, quite frankly, a literary award in the most pure, snobbish sense. The Hugos, Nebulas, Bram Stokers, etc etc cater for genre fiction, and where there is a little (and I emphasize, little) more flexibility with regard to where along the literary spectrum the sweet spot is required (I think of Paulo Bacigalupi's The Windup Girl, as a perfect example of all the ideals of 'literary' fiction in genre fiction).

So, how much detail does a character need? Answer, it depends. But to achieve the 'sweet spot', there is just as much effort in determining what is written, from what can be drawn from what is not.
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2012 New Year’s Resolutions

Well, back to the resolutions. They are essentially the same as last year's and I can do a mini assessment of 2011's goals.

10 goals:

  1. Be a great dad and husband. I can't judge this – others have to, but I feel I can do better. This is especially important with a 6 year old daughter with autism.
  2. Lose weight. I have never been heavier, and so my goal for the year is to lose 20kgs. That's a tough one. I failed in 2011 – I must succeed in 2012. I have never been unhealthier.
  3. Read more. As a writer I need to read – one of the cornerstones of being good at the craft (target: 24 books). Succeeded in 2011, and intend to succeed again.
  4. Outline Bitter Creek by December 2011 (or perhaps do much more). This went nowhere. Must do in 2012.
  5. Revise The Scepter and the Orb by September 2011 (first Evyntyde novel). Half done in 2011. I want this done by March 2012.
  6. Write 3 additional short stories and finalize/publish my Evyntyde anthology, Tales from the Chronicles of Evyntyde – by June 2011. This is done, but I'm holding back on publishing at this stage. I will revise this at half year mark.
  7. Complete first draft of my second Evyntyde novel, Crystal Peak. Not a word done in 2011. I want to do this by end 2012.
  8. Write at least 12 short stories in 2011. I wrote 17 stories (in fact, one was rewritten into a novella, so you could say I did 18). My goal for 2012 is 12 pieces of short fiction again.
  9. Qualify for membership of the SFWA. Not a single qualified story. However, my stories are just getting better each year. Let's try again for 2012!

2011 Addendum – write and complete YA Dystopian novela, The Comfort of Beanbags. This was done.

So, as a summary for 2011, it truly was a mixed bag. From a writing perspective, my short fiction has performed well (I published 11 pieces), but I haven't hit those high marks quite yet. From my larger work point of view, I have just been too busy to progress, and I have to do something about it. On a personal level – again mixed. I'm a good dad and husband I think, but my weight/health is a major concern.

Detour: my market performance for 2011:

25 submissions, including nominated awards, were carried over from 2010 to 2011.

Counting the carry-overs,

165 submissions were collated.
122 were rejected,
11 were accepted
32 were unfinalized.

8 of the 11 acceptances were for anthologies.

In total percentage terms:

10% of finalized horror submissions were successful
8.7% of finalized scifi subs were successful
6.38% of finalized fantasy subs were successful
8.27% of all finalized subs were successful.

Discounting carried over subs:

140 submissions were collated.
98 were rejected,
11 were accepted
31 were unfinalized.

8 of the 11 acceptances were anthologies.

In total percentage terms:

12.12% of finalized horror submissions were successful
10.53% of finalized scifi subs were successful
7.89% of finalized fantasy subs were successful
10.09% of all finalized subs were successful.

Now to tracking my Resolutions (the ones that can be):

2. Lose 20 kgs. I will report regularly here.
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3. Read 24 books. Slow.

4. Outline Bitter Creek novel. I want to do this by July 2012.

5. Revise The Scepter and the Orb by March 2012. A bit slow here.

6. Make a decision about Tales From The Chronicles of Evyntyde anthology by July 2012.

7. Complete first draft of Crystal Peak (sequel to The Scepter and the Orb) by December 2012.

8. Write 12 short fiction pieces in 2012. Ahead of schedule – written 3 by end of February.

9. Publish/Have Accepted 15 short fiction pieces in 2012. OK – 2 acceptances in January. None published yet.

10. Qualify for SFWA. Here is my status (amber means currently going for it, red means not even going for it, and green is a success – 3 stories must be published by recognized mags/publishers):

These are my New Year's resolutions – good luck with yours!
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Book Review: Tales From The Fathomless Abyss, Edited by Philip Athans

It was with no small amount of glee that I downloaded Tales From The Fathomless Abyss, as I was instantly caught up in the idea of a shared world project, via a posting on Jay Lake's blog. He advertised it because he was one of the authors, one of the world-builders. Basically there is a wondrous core concept of this world (so to speak) – there is this whopping great big vertical shaft that appears to have no bottom. It always exists, but periodically the top of it opens in some random where and when. Including alien planets – not just Earth. Stuff fall down – not everything all the way. Creatures, people, plants, you name it, can live on the inner face of the Abyss, or in tunnels, ledges etc. A fantastic tableaux for writers to spin stories on.

And so Philip Athans, the central control in this project, gathers a stellar collection of writers, including himself, and spin six stories: aside from Philip, we have J.M McDermott, Mel Odom, Mike Resnick/Brad R. Torgersen (co-writers), Cat Rambo, and Jay Lake. This was another reason to purchase this e-tome. These are 'tales' and what will follow will be longer works, published as single monographs – my understanding is that they will be roughly novellas in size. I will certainly partake of some of them.

Before I get into a qualitative spiel regarding the tales themselves, I want to mention two things about the ebook that annoyed me. Firstly, being an ebook as a sole platform (as opposed to print), the quality of the formatting was terrible. While they got the hyperlinks right, the centering of stuff needing centering, and the full justification – why in hell didn't they indent the first lines of the paragraphs? It amazes me they didn't. It really was distracting and in places even lowered the impact of some of the passages. Secondly, only the last two stories in my estimation (Rambo and Lake) were truly self-contained tales. The others were preambles to bigger stories. While this, on the surface, is not necessarily a bad thing, I felt mildly cheated that four of the six stories didn't quite have endings. I think this should have been made more clear to the reading public.

Having said what I said about 'incompleteness' of the first four stories, I should state for the record that all the stories were well written. I didn't expect any less from seasoned and talented writers. However, it does rankle me that the first four stories were prologues to other stories. Another thing that rankled me a bit, in terms of the plots, was that such a large percentage of the writers chose to write with alien races as the protagonists. Each were done admirably – in the case of Cat Rambo, stupendously well – but from an editorial point of view I just felt that it was a bit lop-sided, out of balance in terms of overall content. This was an editorial weakness, not a writing failing.

To some extent, by lack of coincidence, I'm sure, the two stories that were complete stories: Rambo's A Querulous Flute of Bone, and Lake's That Which Rises Ever Upward (I can spot a Lake title anywhere!), were also the best tales in the anthology by far. They were SHORT STORIES, by any decent definition, and had a lot to say, and to entertain. Rambo's take on the world, the microcosm of the protagonists and antagonists (in fact, showing there is a blurry line there), is nothing short of uber-unique, and her command of descriptive narrative was an absolute pleasure to read. Jay's story is also quite unique (on a par with the other four stories) but he constructs a wondrous short-epic journey through a man's life, spinning all manner of emotions in such a short number of words. These two authors were worth the purchase.

I don't want to belittle completely the other authors. Each story had me captured in their prose and the quality of their writing. But I…well, I've already said it. I have also deliberately left the detail out of each story so the reader can read them sans spoilers.

All in all, this work is good, within a growing world-building project that really is already great. Rambo and Lake's stories are gold.

Four stars.
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