I'm facing an interesting question as I work on the early chapters of the WiP. My fantasy setting is actually a lost colony world in the far future. The colony descendants don't know their history; as far as they're concerned, the world always functioned the way it does. I'm writing the book is such a way that they've bred with the resident species over the generations. "True" humans are rarely born, and those are only female. Males are always half-breeds, and are part of the ruling class in the matriarchal society I'm creating. Most people are either fully alien (commoners) or a mix (the ruling class).

There are other species in this world. Some reptilian (though I'm not expecting/planning on them playing a major role in the WiP) and some artificial, based on the surviving technology used by the original colonists. So, how do you feel about humans breeding with aliens that resemble satyrs? My heroine is with child, and the father is her half-satyr/half-human half-brother. Genuinely curious here.

Poll #1254172 How Do You LIke Your Species?
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Breed with an alien species on a lost colony world?

I remember a conversation with ccfinlay about how some of his early short stories were explorations into how to use different skills and styles. I can't recall whether the conversation happened in person or online. However, I do recall coming away from the exchange appreciating his skill and craftsmanship. Charlie always seems to set the bar higher for me in regards to writing, elevating what I do from hobby and dabbling to the point where I consider it a profession. A part-time one for me at the moment, but still a profession where you go through an apprenticeship before eventually moving on to something approaching a skilled craftsman.

Because the novel is moving along. Slowly, but steadily. After an initial 3-5 pages the first day, I've only put together a page the following two days. And I should feel discouraged. The initial attempt I made trying to write City of Fire ended up running nearly 30 pages before I left for vacation. I had submitted the initial material to the writing group, received some good feedback on my world building, and I felt I was set. Then I started rereading Shogun while I was on vacation* and I recalled another exchange with Charlie on the topic of info dumps. He justifiably schooled and scolded me, citing examples from that novel's early pages. Not everyone's skill sets are created equal, and Charlie likes to help fellow writers. Look at all the work he's done with the OWW over the years. But rereading the Clavell book, finishing Four and Twenty Blackbirds by cmpriest on the drive back from Virginia, and just finishing Red Seas Under Red Skies by scott_lynch and tackling Leaving Fortusa by realthog,** brought me to an examination of what's appropriate for a particular project.

I read an enjoyable post by Orson Scott Card several years back, where he examined early drafts of Ender's Shadow and how the work changed and grew as he rewrote the opening. There was a lesson there, which I took as "show, don't tell," and it was a good lesson. One that I needed reinforced for the WiP, because while I've only knocked out 7-8 pages, those seemingly sparse 2,000 or so words represent material it only took 2-3 paragraphs to convey in my initial pass.

Most of this growth is due to changing the point where I start the story. While it's still in media res, it's a different one that I originally selected. My central female character seems fully developed, and I'm still able to place her into harm's way. There's more background information, but that's because I'm not shying away from info dumps prompted by the character's examination of how her world is changing around her or how she relates to other characters within her culture and environment. The original four pages will grow to chapter length, and so far the book seems better for it.

Time will tell whether I'm striking the right balance. The current pace indicates I'll get a lot done in the next four months, but as the book gathers momentum it's length is likely to increase. Partly because I'm approaching this as a stand-alone. There's room in this world for other stories, but this one's going to run as long as necessary until it's complete. Damn conventional wisdom; you can't put a square peg into a round hole. The autumnwrite deadline is New Year's Eve, and I can only do my best to reach the 150,000 word goal by that time. I've written another page already today, so I'm likely to get 500 words today at least. Two pages a day for year works out to a 700+ word manuscript. That's pretty respectable. I'm looking forward to seeing how this all ends.

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* -- It was difficult to cart around a hard cover while walking the streets of Bar Harbor, Maine, so I left Lynch's book back on the boat. I'd wanted to replace my original paperbacks of Clavell's books for a while for the new cover design and because of general wear.

** -- It's a grim book. I'm planning on finishing it and posting a review before the October release.

My science fiction short story "Mother of Exiles" is live over at Ideomancer as part of Volume 7, Issue 3, along with stories by Shannon Celebi, Erika L. Satifka, and poems by Robert Borski, Liz Bourke and Adam Bales.

Credit for the story is due to my uncle, Joseph Piros, my father, Steve Nagy, Jr., and Joe Haldeman, all of whom taught me something about the nature of war and war stories by what they said and what they didn't.

Because it's in the interest of writing, I've joined the autumnwrite community, which starts a run this coming Monday. The goal is to write 150,000 words in four months. That's about 5 pages a day, which is a tad bit more than what I've had to generate for novel_in_90, but resembles the output I want if I'm going to get the fantasy written in a reasonable time period.

It's all about deadlines and performing under pressure, right? :-)

I'd meant to do this for a while, then saw stillnotbored did one for Sherwood.

( Only The Dead )

First bit, I'm diving into the deep end on the WiP, which is untitled once more.

As the story developed during brainstorming/outlining while I was on vacation, I discovered that a bit more happens (and needs to happen) before the action moves to the supposedly ubiquitous "city of fire" and so that doesn't sit right with the muse as a working title. Neither does Mal-Se because the muse starts dithering over the use of the dash, possible mispronunciations (the Se should sound like "say"), and the fact that they're only only stage in the first third/first quarter of the book. Which I'm breaking into three parts: Foundations Built On Sand, Houses Wrought from Glass, Stones Cast By Sinners. I hope the next time I surface here to post an update I can say I've finished at least the first part and I've a better handle on what to call this monstrosity.

Second bit, I forgot to mention that eldest daughter met Ralphie from A Christmas Story while we were on the cruise. She spied some people across the dining room one night who were wearing lobster hats. Red beanies with large eye stalks. One of our table mates went over with her to take pictures and discovered one of the beanie wearers was Peter Billingsley, best known for playing the young man who wanted a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas, despite the warning he would shoot his eye out.

Third and final bit and piece, the family really enjoyed Four and Twenty Blackbirds, which I read on the drive down to and back from Norfolk. My voice was hoarse for days, but it was an interesting experience reading an entire book out loud from start to finish over the course of 17-18 hours. We had to make frequent stops because I sucked down so much water to soothe my throat.

via michaeljasper

Rules:

Copy the list below.

Mark in bold the movie titles for which you read the book.

Italicize the ones that you’ve watched.

1. Jurassic Park

2. War of the Worlds

3. The Lost World: Jurassic Park

4. I, Robot

5. Contact

6. Congo

7. Cocoon

8. The Stepford Wives

9. The Time Machine (1960 version)

10. Starship Troopers

11. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

12. K-PAX

13. 2010

14. The Running Man

15. Sphere

16. The Mothman Prophecies

17. Dreamcatcher

18. Blade Runner (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?)

19. Dune

20. The Island of Dr. Moreau

21. Invasion of the Body Snatchers

22. The Iron Giant (The Iron Man)

23. Battlefield Earth

24. The Incredible Shrinking Woman Man

25. Fire in the Sky

26. Altered States

27. Timeline

28. The Postman

29. Freejack (Immortality, Inc.)

30. Solaris

31. Memoirs of an Invisible Man

32. The Thing (Who Goes There?)

33. The Thirteenth Floor

34. Lifeforce (Space Vampires)

35. Deadly Friend

36. The Puppet Masters

37. 1984

38. A Scanner Darkly

39. Creator

40. Monkey Shines

41. Solo (Weapon)

42. The Handmaid’s Tale

43. Communion

44. Carnosaur

45. From Beyond

46. Watchers

47. Nightflyers

48. Body Snatchers

Conclusion? I need more time to read. Here's hoping I win the lottery sometime soon. And I watch a lot of television. Thankfully, I use it as background noise when I'm writing, so I'm not a complete couch potato; I did lose 6 pounds on a cruise vacation. :-)

Because I was away, I missed a few, so here are four. :-)

Happy birthday, raecarson!
Happy birthday, paulwitcover!
Happy birthday, ellameena!
Happy birthday, clarkesworld!

In no particular order, the highs of the vacation were ...

1) the food
2) the service
3) relaxing with the family at magic shows, comedy shows, and juggling acts
4) coming home to nearly 1,500 emails (mostly spam) and finding one from the publisher at Ideomancer, informing me my short story "Mother of Exiles" is scheduled to appear in September's issue
5) the Citadel in Halifax
6) making new friends
7) losing 6 pounds

In no particular order, the lows were ...

1) the drive back through Virginia, where we found ourselves trapped 4 or 5 times in traffic jams
2) sinus congestion

Last post for several weeks, as I'm going without a computer for a few weeks. I do have pencils and steno pads for writing. Plus, lots of books to read.

Best way to take time off from work? Break your glasses. Was just sitting on the couch today and they snapped in half at the nose piece. So, the last few hours were spent getting an eye exam at Lenscrafters and then glasses at Pearle Vision (the former did not have my lens type and called the other store to check for its availability). I'm poorer than when I started the day, but I can see better. And I think I can consider any vacation jinx (where things go wrong at some point or another) officially passed. I know Melissa felt a whole lot better. She handled the break with great aplomb, grabbing some dental floss and tying the two halves together so I could wear them until I got my new pair. Worked a lot better than super glue.

Hope everyone enjoys their time on LJ and in the real world. I'll miss the updates.

Well, one of my book decisions was taken out of my hands yesterday. Spouse suggested I read aloud to youngest daughter during the 9-10 hour drive down to and back from Norfolk, entertaining her and the other passengers.* So, we went over the list of books, determining what was appropriate for a pre-teen girl and a senior citizen. Luckily, youngest daughter enjoys some genre fiction and isn't against a good scare. I read the first pages of Four and Twenty Blackbirds to her after her softball game last night** and she gave it the stamp of approval.

If you take American Gods out of the mix (and offering it as a choice in the poll made the whole process a bit of a no-brainer, as it easily won), the first Eden Moore book by cmpriest made a good showing. Depending on the reaction I get after the first hour or two, I might have to pull out On Stranger Tides as backup. Which means my carry on bag is going to seem quite heavy. May need to switch from the computer bag to the big blue monster I received during World Fantasy registration last year.

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* -- My father-in-law apparently likes the sound of my voice when I read aloud. Perhaps a second career waits in the wings?

** -- Her team played for the championship last night. They lost, 13-10, but she made a good showing, coming in to pitch in relief and recording 4-6 strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings. Some of her pitches were "smoking" if you listened to other parents in the stands. :-)

via rachel_o







What Planet Are You From?


this quiz was made by The Autist Formerly Known As Tim

Last night's UWG meeting was productive, critiques on the first pages of City of Fire highlighting things I felt I did right with characterization and things I felt I did wrong with setting. It's very nice to find out that the internal editor is in the groove. Consequently, I'm making a new start to the story. All the comments last night were good, even the strongly voiced ones questioning why characters were as alien as presented. One point to address here: I don't have any "human"* characters. Which means I need to make sure readers can identify with their "humanity" right from the start.

Writing novels is a solitary act. Writing good novels isn't, whether the feedback comes from external sources, frequent drafts, or the vagaries of time and maturity.

So, I'm keeping the first paragraph. I believe that still works as a I take a more linear approach to the aftermath of the battle opening the book.

Pillars of smoke clawed toward the sky from the broken fortress, casting a shroud across the destruction. The rising sun scattered molten rays above the horizon, and then slowly disappeared from view, consumed by the overcast.

I'm going to let readers start with Raspan, who isn't necessarily a bad fellow, though he will seem ruthless at times. I wouldn't call him a hero. He is the lord of his House, and acts as such. He's entering the fortress, victorious, but he's not the least bit pleased by the things he sees and finds.

Counting today, I've 70 days before my birthday, and I'd like to use that as a deadline for the first draft. After last night, I think that's achievable; I've good directions and I feel less lost than I did in the last two weeks. I won't have much to report until midway through August. Hopefully I'll come back from vacation with a good third of the novel written--and in longhand. :-)

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* -- Two main races are the equivalent of satyrs. A bit more aggressive and territorial in some cases, definitely materialistic and subversive and dangerous in most cases. The third race is decidedly alien, constructed from crystals and metal alloys.

The muse still finds City of Fire amusing enough to provide me with words, though we're both still ambivalent about the title. I'm not as far along as I'd like, but the pages I've got are good pages, and I'll get some good writing done while I'm on vacation. I'm calling this first part Foundations, and I'm assembling some good stuff here early on. Back story on many of the main protagonists, cultural idiosyncrasies, underlying conflicts. The story falls somewhere between epic fantasy and new weird. With analogs for goats and robots.

Today's darling (so far) is a piece of dialogue: "While time reveals all truths, necessity determines their value."

kiviuq recently noted how your current WiP seems darker, and anyone who follows my journal knows I favor that end of the spectrum, so I've got to feel there's some sort of current moving through the creative ether favoring that, as my "heroes" don't wear white hats. Or even white fur or white horns, if I want to be specific. The order of the day is ambiguity, as evidenced by the John Picacio-inspired wallpaper that I cadged from the new Tor website after examining their freebies bonanza. It's based on the cover art for L.E. Modesitt's Viewpoints Critical and I just liked the mix of similarities and differences depicted in the two figures.

Part of my preparations for my vacation is figuring out what book to read. Some of the books listed below are getting first reads, some second reads. But since I'm going to have lots of time to relax, I'd like to have something that I can either sink my teeth into or will enhance my enjoyment.

We're taking a cruise, so some of the choices favor or move toward nautical themes/scenes, such as the Lynch and Powers book. Or the Lumley, which involves a cruise liner infested by vampires. Others are weighty and require undivided attention, such as the first Baroque book by Stephenson,* which I put on the list because Anathem releases soon. I considered adding The Scar by China Mieville or some Noviks, for obvious seaworthy reasons, but ran out of slots.

As we're driving to Norfolk, I'll have 20 hours to read on the road trip portion of the vacation, so I'm going to get lots read. Enjoy the poll. I always like seeing what people suggest. :-)

Poll #1227828 So Many Choices ...
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Vote for a book:

Or suggest one:

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* -- Speaking of Stephenson ... he's making an appearance (and signing?) at Nicola's toward the end of September. I'm really looking forward to that.

Almost missed it, but the third and final act is still available at www.drhorrible.com.

Act II of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is as good as Act I. Even better at points. Much better. I started grinning like a fool at about 1:45 when I caught NPH in the background.

Turning into a post day, but when I stumbled across the following entry by Will Shetterly while surfing LJ this morning, I had to pass it along. It fits nicely with my thoughts about first, second and third drafts.

Which leads to my own observations about the current WiP, which is still first draft material, but which I'm enjoying. Definitely being pulled along at the 4-5 page rate.

Act I of Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Well worth the 15 minutes. Looking forward to the coming acts on July 17 and July 19.

Did some brief channel surfing after work yesterday before heading to younger daughter's softball game and I stumbled across repeats of Hogan's Heroes on TV Land. I loved the show when I was a kid, gobbling up as much of it as I could in its reruns on WUAB 43 back in Ohio.

The episode I caught showed a scene where Hogan and his crew are in the tunnels below Stalag 13, communicating with a British submarine over their radio. The sub commander is drinking tea, pinky out, and relaying Hogan's message back to HQ in London. All the while, everyone is saying "Stalag 13" and "Hogan" this and "Hogan" that and I'm going nuts as my thoughts immediately turn to encryption and communication protocols and spy craft.

I'm officially an adult now, because I would freak if I was Hogan and people bandied about my name and my location in the air like that. I know, the show was ridiculous. I couldn't really believe it was possible ... and I didn't, really. But it was fun. Kids playing in a tree fort on a summer day stuff.