Tag: writing

Political Correctness Disease

This posting was stimulated by reading a truly excellent column by Michael Chabon of the Atlantic (via Jay Lake’s link salad) titled The Unspeakable, in Its Jammies. Thanks Jay.

In my humble opinion, the US has far more political correctness than my homeland, but Australia isn’t that far behind. I understand that we should be thoughtful about how we communicate, particularly among the impressionable, but I believe we have gone way over the mark. With the kerfuffle on censoring Mark Twain in the US, which spurred on debate, including Chabon’s, I realized that I have been outraged on numerous occasions on the political correctness theme over recent years. For many reasons.

Let’s use Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn as an example, and the word ‘nigger’. This book was written for the younger set, and the word ‘nigger’ was an accepted part of language. Whether the symbolism of the word, and its actual usage, was right or wrong is irrelevant. It was the word that was used in Twain’s generation. More importantly, it seems to me that reading Huckleberry Finn (or more pertinently, Tom Sawyer, which uses the N word a heck of a lot more) in its original idiom, is an excellent way to provide historical, cultural context, and current linguistic nuances to the uninitiated. It is educational, and it is insightful. It allows a child, or adult, to grow. Of course this requires the right attitude by the person who reads the tome, or who writes the monograph, etc. Responsibility. The antithesis of this viewpoint, are those who want to wrench this responsibility from individuals and instead impose censorship. Frankly, it disgusts me.

I am rather glad I still can hear ‘Merry Christmas’ from people’s lips during late December, instead of some compulsory "Happy Holidays" or whatever, to ensure we don’t offend those precious little ears who aren’t supposed to be infused too heavily in Christianity. Here in Australia the retail industry nearly did away with it, but managed to find some common sense.

As a writer, my skill is in part measured by the way I can harness words and anticipate the way they will be received by readers. This relationship (words/readers’ minds) is what excites me. There are some in society who feel that they have a better grasp of what is decent and what isn’t, what is right and what is wrong. Under normal circumstances I would just have a chuckle about such folk (for after all, ignorance and control freakishness has existed since humanity walked upright on the plains), but I am not laughing any more. They seem to have succeeded in gaining a good measure of control, using spurious arguments to gain support (or mitigate opposition).

Rant over.
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Tough Job

I don’t normally find short stories hard to write. In fact, they are often a welcome break, in part for their ease. The harder job is going through the polishing process.

Today I finished the first and second drafts of my latest short story (The Comfort of Beanbags)- the first for 2011, but conceived late in 2010. This was the very first time it took more than 3 sittings to get drafted, and it was tough to write. My words were fine – the flow of writing (which is often a common symptom of writer’s block) was unaffected. It was trying really, really hard to get some strong and complex themes across into a format that, by necessity, needs to be easy to read – simple.

Time will tell whether this worked or not.

New Year’s Resolutions

Well, I suppose I better get into the spirit. It is also a handy way of putting on record my goals (notably in writing).

So here it goes:

  1. Be a more tolerant dad. My daughter has Asperger’s Syndrome and, well, anyone who knows what I and my wife goes through, knows what I mean.
  2. Be a great dad and husband.
  3. Lose weight. I have never been heavier, and so my goal for the year is to lose 20kgs. That’s a tough one.
  4. Read more. As a writer I need to read – one of the cornerstones of being good at the craft (target: 24 books)
  5. Outline Bitter Creek by December 2011 (or perhaps do much more).
  6. Revise The Scepter and the Orb by September 2011 (first Evyntyde novel).
  7. Write 3 additional short stories and finalize/publish my Evyntyde anthology, Tales from the Chronicles of Evyntyde – by June 2011.
  8. Complete first draft of my second Evyntyde novel, Crystal Peak.
  9. Write at least 12 short stories in 2011.
  10. Qualify for membership of the SFWA.
  11. Addendum – write and complete YA Dystopian novela, The Comfort of Beanbags.

Point 10: Here is my Heat Map of getting into SFWA – the easiest path is to publish 3 short stories in recognized magazines etc. When I get three green slices of the circle, I qualify. Legend: Yellow means I am currently submitted to an SFWA mag, not counting green; red means there is a slot I haven’t submitted to, unless green. Green is a success, as stated.


Point: 3: lose 20 kg:
 

Point 4: Current book reading count: 10 out of 24 (not quite, but close to target)

Point 9: Write 12 short stories: 9 (way ahead of schedule)
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2010 Writing Roundup

I might do this six monthly.

I suspect most people aren’t very interested in extremely anal statistics on my efforts to be published, but I do keep meticulous records, mainly to make sure I don’t mess up my submissions (like sending a submission twice to a publisher, or breaking the rules about the length of time before I can send something else). I have to admit that I keep the stats also so that I can measure my success, intrinsically, and in comparison with the past. This is helpful for me, and my ego.

Perhaps, and only perhaps, other writers can get an idea of how much effort and how much potential reward (including disappointment) comes with the effort. I can only say that if you are a serious writer, writing short stories is smart, and submitting them and getting a foot into the industry, even if some of it is the tail end, IS WORTH IT.

So here are the simple facts (notwithstanding some last minute stuff happening – which will mean I will update this – so if you are reading this after 1 Jan 2011, it is up to date and complete).

Firstly, here is a breakdown of my submissions (they include short stories and novels. Rejections do include 3 withdrawals on my part because a given publisher is an ignoramus, or simply didn’t respond after a very long period of time). I also include efforts at various awards and contests  – note that all bar one will not resolve until 2011.

 

I consider myself a fantasy writer, but interesting enough I had my fair share of scifi success. Another interesting stat is that I got a very good hit rate with anthology submissions. Note that some of my successes will not publish until 2011. "Pub" is basically novels.

If you don’t count the ‘No unfinalised’, my hit rate overall is 18%, or 1 in 6. I am happy with that. In fact, 12 successes is, in my view, a good result for the first year I am serious about this stuff. My goal next year is to have the same number, but to publish at least 3 of my stories in an SFWA acceptable medium. Watch this space.

Here are some graphic representations, for the heck.

And finally, my list of successes for 2010:
 

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Steampunkery – Some Observations

I entered the field of the Steampunk Universe in an odd way. It came via two threads of activity in my life, and not the usual way.

The first thread goes back a few decades. When I was young (up to my twenties) I was a massive Moorcock fan and read all of his works, and also, I enjoyed reading (and viewing, in terms of movies etc) Wells and Verne stories. In other words, I was immersed in the stuff that pre-dated Steampunk, and which were some of the critical sources of the subgenre. To add to that, in my middling roleplaying days,  I was introduced to an absolutely fantastic roleplaying game called Space: 1899. If anything was pure Steampunk, but predating the subgenre, this would have been it (I am guessing there are no small number of Steampunkers who actually play it to this day).

The second thread is my current writing effort, reflecting my early influences (thread 1), and actually writing the stuff. I have written 3 steampunk stories (as I define them), and two have been accepted to date.

The reason why I am writing this journal piece is because I am reading Anthology of Steampunk (Sonar4 Publications), which is, obviously, a rich collection of steampunk stories. This is the first time I am actually reading ‘mainstream’ steampunk stories (one of which is mine), and assessing what I may have missed in my journey in the subgenre. In other words, what was thread 3 like, since until now, I missed it?

I have two, almost conflicting opinions. Firstly, I believe my stories are consistent with the representation of the subgenre, and for that, I am happy. In a way, by not being heavily read in the current literature, I was able to find my own voice, and for that I am eternally grateful. However, I can also kick myself for not reading more. There’s a lot of good stuff out there, including in this anthology. I have read about a third of the stories, and the standout for me, is Tonia Brown’s short, Excellent Service, which isn’t just awash in Victoriana and steampunkery, but it also was strong in social commentary and the plot was, quite simply, highly original. Well done, Tonia (I don’t want to give away the story – heck, buy it!)

I have grown as a writer, and particularly in the short story craft, and I don’t normally write pure plot-driven stories anymore. I want to grab the reader by the testicles (or equivalent) and make them think. I want them to feel delighted (in a dark, light, or whatever way) when reading my stories through to the last word. The beauty of steampunk is that it, among many other subgenres, can, and will be, a rich medium for excellent writing.

These are some of my observations, today.
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Special Time

Yes, I just finished the day job and it is Friday evening. Not going back to work until 5 January. Have some Christmas commitments, and will enjoy time with the family. And I will write, edit, outline, etc. Yes, it is a special time.

Want to finish the high level outline of Bitter Creek. It is starting to take over all my spare time of thinking, which is a good thing. Unfortunately, due to stupidity on my part, I left some of my resource material in a chest that is stored away until my house is built – we are talking July or August 2011. Oh well.
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Outlining Bitter Creek

As committed in an earlier post, one of  my tasks running into next year is to outline my long-standing novel concept, whose working title is Bitter Creek. I started today. There is a bit of a history to this story, and I suppose I can reveal a little:

Firstly, it is the oldest, legitimate idea for a novel for me. While the Chronicles of Evyntyde can be traced back to about 25 years ago, when I was about 25, Bitter Creek‘s core idea came to me when I was about 15 years old. That makes it ancient.  I was traveling with my parents in their car and I was staring out of the car window – I certainly was a moody teenager at that age. I saw a bleak countryside, which Australia has a lot of in summer, and I suddenly had a vision – a set of thoughts, concepts, images – what would happen if out of that bleak landscape… and is it possible that it is happening because of…   It was a powerful sequence, perhaps running for about ten minutes, and this inspiration has never left my thoughts. It has been on my list of things to do for at least 5 years.

Now a sad story. About 5 years ago I wrote an outline (typed actually, on a spreadsheet), and despite my fastidiousness with computers, I found a few years later that I lost it. Ugh. I remember a lot, but it hurts – even now. The outline that I am creating is in effect a rework. Thank goodness this was the one and only time I lost data. I have a 3 Terabyte external hard drive to make sure that never happens again!!!

So, of the several things I promised to do over the next twelve months, I have commenced the first.

The tantalizer:

David is an Australian palaeontologist with a remarkable academic record. He is in his forties and has already pretty much done it all. He gave up his amazing position at a prestigious US College and returned home, to enjoy working the field in the Australian desert, which he so much loves. He is digging at Bitter Creek, a South Australian region where an unusual episode, eons ago, changed microbe life from one form to another. Inexplicably, although the theory is that an asteroid event caused it, he, and a former student of his, discover something different indeed, and it was about to impact the entire Earth.

in the meantime, another ex student of his, and a girl he had fallen in love with – which caused the most tumultuous and complicating episode of his life – is now working in Antarctica, and encounters something fantastic, but at the same time deadly, to all life on Earth. She doesn’t know there is a connection with what David had discovered, but she calls for his help.

They reunite and get caught in a global fight for humanity’s survival. Their skills, as esoteric and academic as they are, are called, and become indispensable in the struggle.

Sounds corny without specifics, but it is, in my estimation, unique. I look forward to outlining and writing it.
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The ‘Social Contract’ for Reviewers and Authors

The Social Contract has often been used as an example of how various processes can better work. Let me explain.

Without going into detail, and falling prey to those who have studied the period in history, I quote from Wikipedia: "The notion of the social contract implies that the people give up sovereignty to a government or other authority in order to receive or maintain social order through the rule of law. It can also be thought of as an agreement by the governed on a set of rules by which they are governed."

Over recent decades, this concept of vertical, two-way responsibility has been used as models for other processes – a notable one is the relationship between IT entities in a given organization and the business it supports. It adds depth and purpose to all facets of the business as a whole, and adds a modicum of protection.

It occurred to me that the relationship between the author and a reviewer (or critic, or similar) should follow a similar paradigm.

What got me started was reading an insightful blog post on a topic closely related, by Jay Lake. Jay received a communication from a reader that was, in my view, extremely rude and devoid of logical argument. Jay took it on the chin, published an excerpt of the communication, and used it to re-energize himself via the blog. I tip my hat to him.

However, via a strong empathic force, I thought about this reader (commentator) as well as recent events where one of the authors who I closely work with, as well as my small publishing house, was subject to similar vitriol. It has synthesized into a number of concepts which I would like to share with you.

Getting to the Social Contract paradigm, it seems to me that both authors and commentators really should equally be infused with a sense of  responsibility for what they say, and should also be accountable – both these concepts are intrinsic to the Social Contract. Of course, this is not enforceable, but hey, it can still be aired. As an author, I write for the reader (as Jay so beautifully puts it), and I have to accept that people can and should comment on my work. It just simply goes with the territory. I am accountable for what I write. Established critics are in the same boat. If they write reviews that are a crock, they will lose their jobs – in other words, they are accountable for what they write. No difference. A rather pleasant balance, if you ask me.

But what about those who write directly to an author, or who write something in a blog. There is no accountability. Aside from the small percentage of wackos and degenerates, there are those who choose to exercise their poor (or excellent) skills in writing and review, and there are those who choose to follow a path of balanced responsibility (or fall prey to their base emotional/personal agendas). Two dimensions, with extreme examples of each. Good and bad, if you will. Responsibility and accountability versus anarchy.

The World Wide Web is a wonderful place, but it does give a huge amount of swinging room for the wackos, degenerates, the unskilled, and the ‘ulterior motivated’. From a 20,000 foot height, I can live with this, as the benefits afforded society, and to me, far outweigh the negative elements. However, I think that we (when we are reviewers who choose to air our thoughts), must be thoughtful about what we write.

We should, as reviewers and critics, review our own work and ask the question, ‘is this responsible? am I taking accountability?’
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The Value of Dreams

This is just a small posting. In my experience dreams often instill the kernel of an idea in my creative writing (but I should note that I am one of those unfortunate people that rarely remembers his dreams). However, last night I had a fitful sleep – it really consisted of several disrupted sleeps, and in one of them I dreamed that I was dreaming and that what occurred in it would make an absolutely fantastic story for my monthly short story challenge (for those who don’t know, I am a member of a small writing group where we all optionally take part in a writing challenge, based on a painting, song, poem, concept, whatever).

Now the denouement of this post – on waking, and thinking closely about the story idea, I realized it was absolute crap. So much for the value of dreams… sometimes.