Things I Know I Know, v. 2.0

For anyone near Copenhagen next weekend I'm a Guest of Honor with Alistair Reynolds at the Danish annual convention Fantasticon. For anyone in the vicinity, here's a link to the website and my schedule: (I'm not sure what a few of the panels will entail but am assured I will be told :-) )

http://fantasticon.dk/fantasticon2012/

Friday 17:00-17:20, Kultursalen
Opening ceremony
Everybody

Friday 17:30-19:00, Cafeen
Videnskabcafeen: The dead, the undead and the vampire romance
Ellen Datlow, Stig W. Jørgensen, Steen Langstrup, Gert Balling (m)

Saturday 12:00-12:50, Kultursalen
Stories we haven’t seen: The good short story
Ellen Datlow, Knud Larn, Henrik Harksen, H.H. Løyche, Ralan Conley (m)

Saturday 2:00 p.m. to 2:50 p.m., Heerupsalen
interview Ellen Datlow
Ellen Datlow, Ahn Lars Pedersen (i)
Saturday 15:00-15:50, Kultursalen
Genres – Necessary distinction or annoying restriction?
Ellen Datlow, Alastair Reynolds, Anne-Marie Vedsø Olesen, Stig W. Jørgensen (m)

Saturday 20:15-??, Festsalen
The banquet

Sunday 13:00-13:50, Heerupsalen
The fairy tale in modern fiction
Ellen Datlow, Nicolas Barbano, Lars Ahn Pedersen (m)

Sunday 17:00-17:50, Heerupsalen
The last panel – final remarks before the convention (end the world?) ends.
Ellen Datlow, Alastair Reynolds, Klaus Æ. Mogensen (m)

SFWA is looking to convene a Norton jury for the 2013 award.

The Norton Award is presented to young adult or middle grade science fiction and fantasy novels. The membership at large votes to place several works on the ballot which the Norton jury can augment with additional selections.

Interested volunteers should contact the office of the vice president at vp@sfwa.org.

Please include your name and email address as well as a sentence or two about the following:

1) Your experience (if any) as a reader or writer of young adult and/or middle grade fiction.

2) Your interest in serving as a juror for this award.

Volunteer applications should be sent by Friday, June 8.

Volunteers must be active SFWA members. Feel free to repost.

Mirrored from SFWA | Comment at SFWA

The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees (2011)
Written by: E. Lily Yu
Genre: Short Story/Fantasy
Published by: Clarkesworld
Rating: It's a Gamble

And at last, we come to the final short story nominated for the Hugo, and incidentally, it was my least favorite of the bunch. Yet, despite knowing it won't get my top vote, I went ahead and read it for a second time before reviewing. My first read was filled with interruptions, and as a result (or maybe the interruptions themselves were a result of the following), I had a hard time grasping the shifts in perspective, of understanding when we'd moved from a human perspective to a wasp perspective to a bee perspective and then back and forth again. On the second read, I had that trouble one specific time, in the beginning, despite knowing what to look for. After that, I was okay with the shifts, and honestly, the story's not so badly written that I should have trouble. Instead, it requires careful attention. A reader must pick up key words to recognize the shift, and a second read really helps in this regard. My first read was not one where I gave full, careful attention, so I'm glad I gave this a second shot for the sake of review.

As previously mentioned, the writing is good. It should be, given the publisher in particular, but the style of prose is enjoyable once you understand the type of story you're getting. It's kind of fable-esque, an allegory, given that we get the point of view of both the cartographer wasps (which is an utterly fantastic premise) and the anarchist bees, reminding of stories like Orwell's Animal Farm, though this isn't nearly so bleak. There was an interesting discussion in the comments as to whether or not this story merited the term "science fiction" (for the record, you can read this story for free and its comments on Clarkesworld's website, and I've got a direct link to the story above), and my first reaction was, "Hell to the no." I'm all for soft and/or social science fiction stories, but short of a commentary on colonialism, there was little to nothing here that lent this story to any kind of SF label in mind. Rather, and you'll notice this distinction in the genre tab above, I felt this story was clearly fantasy. There's a whimsical quality to the story, to the world-building, that lends itself to magic more than it does to SF, and despite some debates I've seen online, a story about colonialism does not immediately make a story SF. Colonialism might be a common theme in SF, but it is not a staple of the genre.

Then I noticed the author's comments regarding the genre of the story, referring to entomology and how many people don't consider it a hard science, but it is, and the author seems to acknowledge the fact that this story pushes many a genre envelope (really, it's best just to call this sucker speculative fiction and be done with it), I got the impression that she, too, considers it science fiction.

Interesting. Entomology is the study of insects, and certainly, given her world-building, the author has put a great deal of real-world research into her cartographer wasps and anarchist bees (I think I read someone that bees can ACTUALLY be anarchists? Fascinating!). But I resist the label of science fiction in particular. On one hand, one can argue that this is a story heavily based in science, and therefore science fiction, and I'd roll with that rather begrudgingly. On the other hand, I'm not entirely certain that just because a book requires scientific research in order to convey accurate world-building necessarily makes the resulting piece of fiction science fiction. To me, it's more of a matter of keeping things authentic and real, so that one's story isn't so bogged down by bad research it isn't taken seriously.

It can go either way. But this is too fantasy/allegorical/fable-esque for me to roll with the hard SF label. Of course, I know next to nothing about wasps and bees, let alone insects, so who am I say for sure? Maybe this is the greatest piece of hard SF ever… if you're a entomologist.

All of this musing came after the second reading, and I'm grateful for it. I missed the colonialism on my first read-through (yeah, that's how distracted I was), though I did wonder on that first read if the author wasn't perhaps positing a theory as to the disappearance of honeybees? Yet there's a prevailing feeling of, well, I don't want to say hope, but persistence. Because despite everything that happens, ideas never die. They find a way to keep going and infecting others, and on my second read, that's what I walked away with.

It's an utterly creative and interesting story, one well worth discussing. Yet compared to the other Hugo nominees, it failed to inspire any emotional connection. "The Paper Menagerie" hit me in the heart. "The Shadow War" made me laugh. "Movement" engaged my intellect on an active level, the kind that gets me genuinely excited for the material. "Homecoming" tried to engage my heartstrings and my wonder, failed utterly, but it did try. Poor "Cartographer" was a fascinating piece of work, and while it engages my intellect, it doesn't do so on an active level. I'm not inspired to learn more about wasps or bees or anarchy or any of those things, and for my two cents, if a story is going to truly engage me on an intellectual level, it must hook me in a way that makes me see the world through a completely new lens. It must fascinate me, engage me to the point of obsession. This is a personal thing, and it's not the author's fault that "Cartographer" didn't grab me.

Which is why the rating is "It's a Gamble." It's an interesting story that's worth reading, with the most fantastic title out of the nominated bunch, but your mileage may vary, and you may need to read it again just to make sure you didn't miss anything the first time.

We just watched the latest (I think) episode of Legend of Korra, “The Aftermath.” I’m continuing to really enjoy this show for a number of reasons.

MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD

Pacing: One of the things that bugged me was the love triangle between Korra, Mako, and Asami. It felt, not necessarily cliche, but easy. It’s an oft-repeated trope, one that could push characters into more cardboard, stereotypical roles and — if other shows are any example — drag out for far too long.

Instead, Asami’s character quickly developed more depth and conflict. The plot moved along, changing her role in the story. The conflict between Korra and Asami progressed through conflict into understanding and sympathy. I loved the quiet moment at the end where Korra tells Mako, “She’s going to need you.”

I’ve seen that pacing elsewhere, and I appreciate that the show doesn’t seem to get bogged down. There’s always a sense of movement.

Lin Beifong continues to be awesome. In many ways, I think she’s my favorite character. Partly because she’s an older woman kicking all sorts of ass. Partly because she, more than anyone else I’ve seen, seems to take full advantage of her bending abilities. The firebenders throw fire. Earthbenders throw rocks. Beifong, on the other hand, manipulates metal cables like Spider-Man, grows blades from her armor to punch through mechs, and seems to push the “What else can I do with this?” angle.

Complexity: The scene with Tahno’s character really jumped out at me. This is a character who’s introduced as a full-on asshole. He’s arrogant, he cheats, and you really wanted Korra to kick his butt in the tournament. Instead, the White Falls Wolfbats won … and thus became the targets of an Equalist attack.

In the next episode, you see Tahno without his powers, and he’s utterly broken. Korra feels for him. She knows what he lost and how close she came to losing her own bending. It was a fairly short scene, but that’s all it took.

The relationship between Tenzin and Lin Beifong is another interesting example. Their history, the contrast of their apparent discomfort with how well they work together in a crisis … I have no idea where that’s going, but I like the dynamic, and at this point I’m trusting the show not to go somewhere overly cliche with it.

While there are certainly characters who seem flat-out Evil, at least at first, I appreciate that things generally aren’t presented in a simplistic black-and-white way. Neither people nor power are simple, and this show respects that fact.

The Animation: This is a very pretty show, particularly in the way it portrays movement and the grace of the different benders. I get done watching, and other cartoons suddenly seem clunkier.

Trusting the Viewers: I was trying to figure out how to phrase this last bit, and “trust” is the closest I can come. I’ve never seen a single episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but it hasn’t stopped me from enjoying Korra. It doesn’t surprise me that they wanted a show that could welcome new viewers as well as old, but it struck me that there just isn’t a lot of exposition or hand-holding, period. There’s no talking down, no assuming that things will be too complicated or difficult to understand. Elements are explained as they become relevant to the story.

I know there are things I’m missing from Avatar, but I can catch up on my own, and I like that they don’t slow down the story to spoon-feed information.

In Conclusion: Okay, I get it. I’m officially a fan, and I have added Avatar: TLA to my list of things to catch up on (when I find the time).

Mirrored from Jim C. Hines.

Mirrored from Marsha Sisolak.

I got my latest evaluation, and my principal sang my praises as if there were no tomorrow. I adapt for each child, I have super classroom management, I’m well respected by my peers and throughout the district, I’m an asset to the school, blah, blah, blah.

Yeah, yeah, and I walk on water. Moving on.

Cut to the staff meeting after school.

Whereupon he says that if we are selected to move to another site (one school is being completely restructured) it is not because we are not good at what we do, but because we ARE very good at what we do.

Can you read between those lines?

I have been in my classroom for twenty-two years. Imagine how much stuff I’ve accumulated. Double it.

I won’t know until Wednesday.

I do believe I’ll be relying on alcohol to get me through the next few days.

Originally published at Cassie Alexander. You can comment here or there.

Okay, I can breathe! We’re at Wiscon now, and we went with roomservice tonight — I feel like we’re finally getting a chance to celebrate :D. (For those of y’all who weren’t on twitter with me on Tues night, I got to eat a ‘celebratory’ Burger King meal since I was still hipdeep in Shapeshifted edits and had no time to go outside ;P ;))

I wanted to shout a few blogs and interviews and things out for being so awesome earlier on in the week — and some of these blogs have Nightshifted giveaways still pending, so if you want to win a copy, here’s your chance!

Ferrett is a friend of mine, I’ll admit — but he still has good taste in books. What’s more, is he wouldn’t lie ;). He wrote a  Nightshifted review, and it’s pretty much the kind of review I’ll read three times to make sure it’s really real, convince myself it isn’t real, then reread it later and be amazed I have such awesome friends who get my writing.

Sally at the Qwillery was the very first person to ever approach me about anything Nightshifted-related ever! And so she has a special place in my heart :D — I’ve got an interview up at her website, and a Nightshifted giveaway, and Nightshifted’s cover won her May release cover competition! :D

Beth Cato interviewed me for her blog, and she’s awesome, I’ll be interviewing her coming up soon too! :D

And Ishita at the Reading Fish is doing a birthday bash for books being released in May — with an interview up! and a giveaway!

Lawrence Schoen has me over at Eating Authors — where I profess my love for chicken fried steak from George’s in Waco ;).

And over at Writer’s Digest I talk about how I found my agent. For those that haven’t heard the saga (and it was a saga!) it might be inspirational. Or extraordinarily painful. One of those two ;).

And Love for Books has an interview I did translated into Romanian. I’m sad she doesn’t have an English language version up, her questions were awesome :D.

And last but not least, I talked about Writing What You Know for Shimmer magazine.

I’ve got a few more promotional things rolling in in the next few days, I’m not all done yet. But I wanted to get at least partially caught up here lest I seem ungrateful. I’ve been super amazed and pleased and thrilled and mystified. It’s very weird that people are out there reading Nightshifted. I finally sort of started to get it last night, when I was done with editing and I could pick up a copy that I’d bought, and there was this recursive loop, sort of like when little kids like to see themselves in a mirror. A “holy cow, that’s my book!” moment. I have to admit, it was pretty dang cool :D.

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware


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Writer's Digest compiles this list annually from nominations submitted by the public. This year, more than 4,000 nominations were received, a record number.

Congratulations to our sponsors Science Fiction Writers of America and Mystery Writers of America, which also made the list, and to all the wonderful websites, resources, and organizations included in this highly useful resource.

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Mirrored from SFWA | Comment at SFWA

Psst! I've just posted the cover reveal for the sequel to Fair Coin over at my writing blog, where you will also find a giveaway to win the very first signed Advance Reading Copy of Quantum Coin!

So, I've become superstitious about discussing my writing, because every time I say something I seem to hit a patch of quicksand and have to flounder my way back out. But it dawned on me that if talking about how well the writing is going jinxes me, maybe saying something when it isn't going so well will have the opposite effect?

Anyway, here's the status report (for my own record, really, as it's likely to be hideously boring to anyone else):

This book began as a short story several years ago ~ the first short story I attempted as an adult, actually. I entered it in a contest and won honorable mention, but every single judge said (and I paraphrase, obviously): We love the idea and the writing, but it's not a short story. It feels too rushed, as if you've skimmed the surface of something much deeper. And I was hurt, because it wasn't my fault the story was too big for 3500 words, right? :D So I stuck it in a folder and noodled around with other projects, but it kept tugging my attention. I dreamed about it. Over and over and over again. I tried re-writing it as a short, but failed miserably because it really *was* too much story to squeeze into a short structure.

I slowly realized maybe it was meant to be a novel. Maybe a novel *I* could write.

So I sat down and slowly pieced together an outline. I slowly scribbled out a very, very, very rough draft ~ which was, honestly, just a glorified outline and synopsis with a few pretty scenes strung along as placeholders. 

And then I sat down and started to *really* write the thing, from the beginning. I am now just shy of 50,000 words in, and 5/8 of the way through the story. 

I love it. 

And I kind of hate it.

This is, for reasons I couldn't articulate but which any of my close friends will recognize, far more personal than anything else I've ever even attempted. If anyone were to point to something I've written that speaks about who I am, this would be it. The thought of letting anyone read it leaves me raw and shaky and a little bit sick to my stomach, and yet the idea of seeing it one day in print is the most intoxicating daydream. 

It's the kind of story I would love to read. The sort of thing that sings in my soul and burns the back of my eyelids when I try to sleep at night. It's so real to me, and so much fun to write.

But it's also sooooooo difficult because I just can't get it right. I've written the first chapter five times. The first three chapters four times. I've written chapter six three times. I'm about to write chapter seven for the third time. Chapters eight and nine are in my notebook with giant red Xs through every page because I hate them. I know - I KNOW - I should just keep writing. I should worry about fixing everything at the end. But every time I think of an adjustment or an addition, I feel compelled to write it right then. I've tried ignoring the urge, but then I can't write at all. At least fixing things as they occur to me keeps me going, I suppose, but it's such a long, slow, agonizing process and it's driving me crazy.

I *want* to sit down and write a linear draft. I want to finish it, and then revise it, and then move on to something else. Instead, I'm stuck in this recursive, circular, chaotic process that feels like trying to shove smoke in a box or a rainbow in a jar. I can see it so clearly in my head, and yet when I try to write it the scenes lose their shape and focus and I'm so intensely frustrated. It's at the tip of my fingertips ~ why WHY why can't I just _write_ the darn thing?

Cover art for my novelette "Faster Gun,"  (Working title: "John Henry Holliday is Sick of the These Time-Traveling Assholes") forthcoming on Tor.com this summer.

The artist is Richard Anderson.