For the record, we like it here just fine. It wouldn't hurt if this week's weather turned less gloomy though.
(I know, I missed yesterday. Am trying to come up with a new post topic that's of interest to anyone, so if you have a suggestion, D-rop it in the comments, puhleeze. Thanks.)
Living in ‘the Gloom Belt’ Read More »
Forgot to mention that I got my contributor's copy of the Nebula Awards Showcase 2009, edited by the one and only Ellen Datlow. My contribution is an essay about the incredibly excellent work being produced under the umbrella of YA science fiction and fantasy*. And, aside from the essays, the selection of stories is truly exceptional. Ellen talks about what's included here.
*It's a pretty cool umbrella.
That's right, friends, for today's BEDA entry I'm going to take you on a little tour of one of modernity's most sinister evils: the craft store.
While running some errands today (shoes! a pair even named "the Gwenda," which I had to buy), Christopher needed to procure some supplies for a–supremely manly–project he has underway in his lair (work bench area). I decided to accompany him, but, almost immediately upon entering the store, we were cruelly separated. What follows are the actual texts and photos documenting the seedy underbelly of craftdom.
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The Dark Side of Crafting Read More »
Well, we knew the rumblings of cancellation were coming at some point, right? Of course, the truly surprising thing is that Fox is committed to airing 12 episodes, not that they aren't airing the 13th. Tonight's ep is:
I must admit that the main show I'm still pulling for to escape cancellation isn't this one–it's Life. That was some finale, and if it has to be the series finale, it'll work, and almost beautifully. But there's still a lot of (::groan, eyeroll::) life left in that show. Come on, NBC execs. Don't be jerks this time.
(p.s. I think we're going to take in a movie this afternoon. Any suggestions? We haven't seen anything that's come out in the last, oh, two months.)
Dollhouse Discussion Read More »
…here today, though I'm technically meeting my BEDA obligations, so ha! There is lively discussion in the comments of both yesterday's post on chocolate and SF and the day before's on series.
We had a visit from an excellent dog trainer yesterday, who shares our distrust of the Cesar Millan Be A Pack Leader Approach, and instantly had both Puck and Emma's numbers. (Puck's the one mainly in need of assistance, as he hates all strangers on sight and is territorial. Emma's just smart and bossy, a winning combination.) Anyway, a fun evening was spent learning how to dissuade dogs from bad behaviors, and now we practice for a week and report back. A good trainer? Worth every penny.
Or is there?
Stumped for a topic to post on today, I consulted my twitter buds who helpfully suggested blogging about chocolate (Nicola) and science fiction/writing (Charlie Jane).* Long, long ago–2006!–I wrote about my annoyance with futuristic showers:
Stay with me here, because I'm going to attempt linking these two things.
Where is the chocolate of the future? I'm trying to think of books where desserts figure in and not coming up with much, though I do have a vague sense of cube-shaped desserts that taste like deliciousness. Of course, even this concept ignores the part of eating good food that uses the senses besides taste. I'm thinking a gelatinous cube still has the texture of a gelatinous cube even if it tastes like cheesecake. Er, chocolate cheesecake.
And I know there must be thousands of banquet scenes of the future where there is food, but I can't think of any that are particularly memorable off the top of my head. Of course, there are vast holes in my knowledge of SF, which is where y'all come in. Point out good examples of food in SF (bonus points for dessert) in the comments, if you think of any.
Because it seems like the future of chocolate could make for some really interesting world-building opportunities. Does it still exist? If not, is there a synthetic version? What if in the future there is ONLY Hershey's syrup? What if cocoa becomes a fuel source instead of a joy source? What if the parts of the world where cacao trees grow no longer exist in a way that can produce the good stuff?
Certainly, in real life there's a fascination with the food astronauts eat–freeze dried ice cream and Tang, anyone? So why not in fiction?
Maybe this is more tied to the sense of discomfort science fiction has embraced. Yes, the vistas are vast and the stories all over the place, but when I think of characters in SFF stories, I don't think of hedonists. I don't think of foodies. I have trouble thinking of protagonists who especially enjoy that necessary part of life. Certainly, they aren't enjoying it as often as they step into the futuristic shower.
So, I guess that's what I'm saying: We need some foodies in science fiction. (And be careful not to be lame when you try to reinvent the chocolate of the future.)
*Yes, I think it's obvious I have no real point here. But my daily quota has been fulfilled. Thank you for playing along!
There Is No Chocolate in Outer Space Read More »
As y'all know, there's nothing I like more than a good process discussion. So for the past few days I've been reading with great interest the posts at the Fangs, Fur, & Fey livejournal community, where a bunch of authors have been posting their responses to the question of the month, "How did you plan the last novel you wrote (and successfully finished)? Outline? Synopsis? Summary? Divination Rod? Nuthin' at all?" (Here's links to a few, and you can seek them all out using the link above: Laura Anne Gilman's, Maggie Stiefvater's, Janni Simner's, and Megan Crewe's.)
This all falls under the category of when you're thinking about something, suddenly you see it everywhere. One thing I'm trying to do as I approach my next book (or what I'm fairly certain is my next book) is give it a little more cooking on the front end. My process seems to be shifting over time to allow more planning, with the caveat that the story still sometimes manages to jump tracks and end up somewhere completely different. I have no expectation that I'll ever completely eliminate that track-jumping, at least not in the smaller sense, and I don't really want to. What I do want to try to do is get more of a feel for the story, the world, and the characters before I start actually constructing them on the page.
So I've been thinking about that–stopping myself from actually starting the book, as is my usual modus operandi–and slowing down and letting the pieces come together a bit more first. I'm sure this won't actually turn out to be that slow a process, since I also believe that too much planning can be useless or, worse, detrimental. Witness all the research I did on Aztecs and the Romani in the earliest of early drafts of what was to eventually become a book that uses only Greek mythology (the book I just finished). Now, that stuff will come in handy–in fact, I expect some of it will come in handy on the project I'm doing all the thinking about. But I certainly didn't end up needing it for the last book, so I'll be doing my researching as I go this time. Because despite all this front-end work, I still thoroughly expect that I won't know exactly what I might need to research until I get into the placing of one word after another.
Which brings me to the second thing I've been thinking about–what are the elements that seem to be common to successful series? By series here I mean both open-ended series with lots of books and the more traditional trilogy; for my purposes, the key elements would likely be the same. I'm thinking the next thing I write might be such a trilogy, and that also necessitates more planning up front, at least in theory. Here's what I've come up with so far, and then you smartypants can (hopefully) add or comment on things I missed.
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