tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56814060410840183592024-03-19T14:42:28.445-07:00What I Learned TodayWrite the stories you wish to read in the world.L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.comBlogger145125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-14556069869661168292018-10-16T17:04:00.001-07:002019-04-18T13:40:41.001-07:00Therapy through Comedy (Blank Space Filk) [Revised]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguB8IS7Jxx8IsfuIdNXZVmvbFEnLqJGRA0twXj5AKkQKdZzFXpy5jNlwJV2AAc-4VdqukYv-sShLUwJDdxUzQusxaCds9eWEZekDfgCkAqagbVXZlpNtrZBh57f6GJsvXmVkAGSLKoA2U/s1600/mushroommushroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A cluster of toadstools, red with white speckles, on a lawn, surrounded by green grass and fallen autumn leaves. Image copyright © 2018 Laura S. Taylor." border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguB8IS7Jxx8IsfuIdNXZVmvbFEnLqJGRA0twXj5AKkQKdZzFXpy5jNlwJV2AAc-4VdqukYv-sShLUwJDdxUzQusxaCds9eWEZekDfgCkAqagbVXZlpNtrZBh57f6GJsvXmVkAGSLKoA2U/s400/mushroommushroom.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">Hey, folks. It’s been awhile. I’ve been doing a lot of
personal work while facing significant challenges, health and otherwise.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One thing that I find therapeutic, and healing, and also
fun, is filking. I can’t read music, but I sure can carry a tune. Like I said
in my last <a href="http://themillionwords.net/2018/06/25/rhythm-and-lyrics/" target="_blank">Million Words</a> post, I always have some song or another in my head.
That’s why it’s so easy to filk.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">On that note, I absolutely adore Taylor Swift. As a person
she’s an inspiration, and her songs are always so fantastic. So it was fun to
write this parody filk of “Blank Space”. And much like the I Will Survive / You
Oughtta Know mashup I created last year, crafting this felt right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Edit April 18, 2019: Somehow, I, um, forgot half the chorus.
That's been fixed now.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Efforless (Sad Case)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(To the tune of Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space”; parody by
Laura S. Taylor)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Heya sweetie, how’ve you been<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">How you’ve changed since we bid adieu<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thinning hair, sallow skin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Say, that ulcer looks good on you, but hey,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Don’t feel bad<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It’s clear that you’re no Gallahad<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That’s why you gave up what we had<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Blissful nights, tender days<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I was head over heels for you<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Marriage vows, loving gaze<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And I thought you felt that too, but you switched<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Apron strings for wedding rings<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And while you made my heart sing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Turns out you were foreshadowing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(The night we met, I thought you were joking)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You said you spelled it “effor”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Too much work for you to write the T<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When you decided it was over<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You didn’t bother to inform me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You couldn't be there when needed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That's the bottom line<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And now you've made your bed (kinda)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But me, I'm fine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">'Cause I was young and romantic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I trusted way too much<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Believed in white-picket-fence love<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But apathy's your crutch<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I thought we were forever<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thought that we had everything<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But you’re a sad case baby<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And you crushed my dreams<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Lost future, vanished friends<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I was a pariah overnight<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Fallen tears, loose ends<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Pardon me for trying to fight for us<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">At first I tried <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">To save our love<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But you denied <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">True feelings you just chose to hide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">New arrival, supposed friend<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">She was conveniently present<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Scheming hussy, feelings spent<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">She saw you and said,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Oh my god, he’s the one<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I want him, I’m having fun<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Who cares if his wife comes undone?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(They call it emotional cheating for a reason)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">’Cause it was too much <i>effor</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Too much work for her to find her own man<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">She decided you should be hers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You chose to throw out what you had<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You couldn't be there when needed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That's the bottom line<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And now you've made your bed (kinda)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But me, I'm fine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">'Cause I was young and romantic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I trusted way too much<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Believed in white-picket-fence love<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But apathy's your crutch<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Got a long list of lies she’s told you<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But you can't even do the math<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">’Cause you’re a sad case, baby, and she’s<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A sociopath<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Oh, adulting’s only hard if you force it<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">First you gotta, first you gotta own your shit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Yeah, you said you wrote it “effor”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Too much work for you to write the T<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Communication was just too hard<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For you to work it out with me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You couldn't be there when needed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That's the bottom line<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And now you've made your bed (kinda)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But me, I'm fine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">'Cause I was young and romantic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I trusted way too much<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Believed in white-picket-fence love<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But apathy's your crutch<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Your cowardace was life-changing, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But I’ll be okay ’cause I see<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">That you’re a sad case baby,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And now I’m free</span></div>
L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-26410224257709393722018-07-02T03:00:00.000-07:002018-07-02T03:00:09.960-07:00Chasing the Light: A Secret, and a Sample<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnYAVR8GTUzhKzcP7y3iGYxQj7c8ilzgcZ3gx6_WrW8CpbDUVmCwuOO8Cnt-atZFJcaazrkKTWPVJdN47fJy3jdBptBT6kUMOv9HvWpRRoZoYIQMX3tx8xYP59_lRnSKKso9R0nBwdsCU/s1600/Melanie-Photo-300x200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnYAVR8GTUzhKzcP7y3iGYxQj7c8ilzgcZ3gx6_WrW8CpbDUVmCwuOO8Cnt-atZFJcaazrkKTWPVJdN47fJy3jdBptBT6kUMOv9HvWpRRoZoYIQMX3tx8xYP59_lRnSKKso9R0nBwdsCU/s1600/Melanie-Photo-300x200.jpg" /></a>We were alone in the front living room that drowsy afternoon,
Melanie and I, partway through that first retreat. Intense conversations
drabbled from the kitchen, but not enough to distract us. I readjusted my butt
in the faded floral arm chair where I sat and glanced up at her, lounging on the opposite couch and deep in her work. “I’ve figured out the secret to a productive
writing retreat.”<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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One corner of her mouth quirked up, and so did her brows.
Like we were plotting. “Oh?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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“Yes,” I said. “Treat all of the other people in the room
like generic video game sprites. Non-Player Characters. Don’t get too close or
they’ll engage you in a conversation that will take great strength of will to
escape.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Melanie returned my grin. “And on that note, excuse me while
I do just that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Needless to say, it was a productive afternoon.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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* * *<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Melanie Otto was an amazing person, a bright light that I am
honoured to have known. Quirky and wise, she was amazing woman and an excellent
founding member of our retreat group, the Roaring Writers. Late in the fall of
2016, she was taken by an aneurysm, leaving her partner with extensive medical
bills.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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For ages we’d been batting around the idea of a group
anthology but couldn’t decide on a theme. <o:p></o:p></div>
After she passed, we knew what we
were going to do: contribute pieces that we Melanie loved when she read them, or
would have enjoyed because her delighted laugh was ever-present on our retreats.<br />
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<br /></div>
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Thus <span style="text-transform: uppercase;">Chasing the
Light</span> was born, and the decision to donate all proceeds to help her
partner with the bills was unanimous.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULH3FemTW3iVJTQ2GyjDbKoMZJT-g8ezFnW7RxeKk1K3nwt-TmpJ-0j_tsalH7uB8YnJhS34g8mimb8maCEADlgSNzX40rinhXBuQcpS5PXYtPuYSnaF9ZSGhyphenhyphen2OBYwZI9CpPW9NhNJE/s1600/chasing+the+light.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="301" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULH3FemTW3iVJTQ2GyjDbKoMZJT-g8ezFnW7RxeKk1K3nwt-TmpJ-0j_tsalH7uB8YnJhS34g8mimb8maCEADlgSNzX40rinhXBuQcpS5PXYtPuYSnaF9ZSGhyphenhyphen2OBYwZI9CpPW9NhNJE/s320/chasing+the+light.png" width="211" /></a></div>
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I hope you’ll enjoy this collection, which is filled with short
stories from across the science fiction and fantasy spectrum, and includes
contributions by all of the Roaring Writers and the award-winning authors who’ve
taught us. Check it out today!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Here’s an exerpt from my story, “Preservatives”:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The
glass-and-chrome behemoth on the office kitchen counter loomed with all the pretention
of a wealthy hipster. Not surprising, given who’d acquired the monstrosity
after the old microwave kicked it last week. Tiffany was on another of her
holier-than-thou cleanses, and something like this seemed to fit with her
litany of kombucha, quinoa, and kale. But I was starving, I’d timed my break to
avoid Princess Probiotic, and my lunch was in serious need of therapeutic
radiation, so I didn’t have much choice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I savored the
muted aroma emanating from the foam box I’d pulled from the fridge, then dumped
its contents on a plate. Emperor Ho’s made the best chicken chow mein in town,
and the Phokas College union contract mandated an hour for lunch. After yet
another harrowing morning, I was ready to take my MSG-laden comfort and escape
into the June sunshine. I opened the machine’s wide door—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">“Chinese food,
really?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">She was at my
side as if I’d summoned her, derision dripping from her voice like a leaky
faucet. “Ellen, I thought we talked about this.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">No, you talked </i>at<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> me.</i> Red-faced, I glanced away. “They’re just leftovers.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">“That’s still
not an excuse, you know. You should really consider your health.” Her auburn
ringlets bounced as she strode to the fridge to retrieve her own lunch—a salad,
naturally—before turning back to eye my food. “Well, at least that thing will
see some use.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Right. The
microwave. She’d made such a grand gesture of donating it on Friday—right
before declaring yet another holy war on processed foods. How could I forget?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I glared at the
back of her twin-set as she strode off. There she went again, trying to force
everyone to conform to what she thought was best. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dammit</i>. Svelte and fit she might have been, but Tiffany was the
biggest cow I knew.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">What was it
about losing weight that made a person think they were superior? As if we were
all failures if we didn’t kowtow to her ideas, do what she’d done just so we
could be as “successful” as her. The sad thing was, for the most part, everyone
in our department had fallen in line—<span style="line-height: 200%;">even our boss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not that Milo was
much for conflict. Ever. And so Tiffany and her quinoa reigned supreme.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">While I stuck to the one defiance I
could still get away with: my lunch.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So what if I spent more on eating out
and facial degreasing than clothes? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">A pang in my belly reminded me of
what really mattered. I stuck my food inside the machine. The door closed with
a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">clunk</i></span> as it locked, and I
studied the rows of buttons on its not-so-standard panel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Oh, the usual
options were there. Cook. Power level. Clock. But one button in the panel’s
lower left corner struck me as odd.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Incinerate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I snorted.
Clearly the machine’s creators had a sense of humor. And then I thought, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Why not?</i> The faster I could enjoy my
calorie-laden therapy in peace, the better. I punched in ninety seconds, hit
the button, and popped into the nearby washroom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I shouldn’t have
left.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I’d heard the
microwave beep while I peed. The office walls in our department are pretty
thin, and the kitchen produces a linoleum echo not found in the rest of the
carpeted halls. But when I returned, the room lacked the distinct mouth-watering
scent my greasy leftovers usually produced.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The box was
gone. In its place was a dense green mass on a squarish glass plate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I eyed the
palm-sized glob, cold with disbelief. That was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> my chow mein.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Somehow, in the
two minutes I’d taken to empty my bladder, someone had switched my carton of
scrumptious snackage with this—this—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Whatever the
hell it was, I sure didn’t want to call it “food”.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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* * *<o:p></o:p></div>
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For a taste of other stories in the anthology, check out our blog tour:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: Raleway, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">
Ken Schrader – <a href="https://ken-schrader.com/2018/06/11/chasing-the-light-remembering-melanie/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Chasing the Light: Remembering Melanie</a> – June 11, 2018</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: Raleway, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">
Faith Hunter – <a href="http://www.faithhunter.net/wp/2018/06/12/chasing-the-light/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Chasing the Light</a> – 12 June 2018</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: Raleway, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">
Alex Gideon – <a href="http://themillionwords.net/2018/06/14/null-and-void/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Null and Void</a> – June 14, 2018</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: Raleway, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">
Janet Walden-West – <a href="http://janetwaldenwest.weebly.com/blog/chasing-the-light-blog-tour-and-excerpt" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Chasing the Light blog tour and excerpt</a> – June 18, 2018</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: Raleway, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">
Amy Bauer –<a href="http://storycurrents.net/chasing-the-light-blog-tour-remembering-melanie/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;"> Chasing the Light Blog Tour: Remembering Melanie</a> – June 21, 2018</div>
<div>
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L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-69980995043829048322018-06-25T07:32:00.000-07:002018-06-25T07:33:03.075-07:00Rhythm and Lyrics: A Million Words postMy <a href="http://themillionwords.net/2018/06/25/rhythm-and-lyrics/" target="_blank">latest contribution</a> to The Million Words talks about rhythm and voice.L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-700456165853311492016-10-30T17:51:00.000-07:002016-10-30T17:51:08.916-07:00Defining "Ready": A The Million Words postMy lovely retreat group and I have started a blog together, called TheMillionWords.net, where we talk about our journeys and the lessons we've learned along the path to publication. <a href="http://themillionwords.net/2016/10/30/defining-ready/#more-161" target="_blank">Here's my contribution to the launch.</a><br />
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(Don't worry, there will be more notes soon. But my life has been more hectic than usual, so that's going to have to wait for now. Thank you for understanding.)L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-27300678185268428932016-09-30T09:30:00.001-07:002016-09-30T09:36:29.305-07:00Book Blitz: Suzanne Lazear's THE SECRET LIVES OF ROCKSTARS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACpIaclsUQwgsYQsx8QR_z1NwYdf9F3lF93LP3Ipw_joigxqqRX0DyZ3G2phXL2LTTe9R8NcxOyja7NwKU9GmjIKPQld-_4uYq58XNrzzBk1jcxHoZLwrlV3w8XewBJXCZJkbnAfia3g/s1600/The+Secret+Lives+of+Rockstars+cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACpIaclsUQwgsYQsx8QR_z1NwYdf9F3lF93LP3Ipw_joigxqqRX0DyZ3G2phXL2LTTe9R8NcxOyja7NwKU9GmjIKPQld-_4uYq58XNrzzBk1jcxHoZLwrlV3w8XewBJXCZJkbnAfia3g/s640/The+Secret+Lives+of+Rockstars+cover.png" width="387" /></a></div>
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<i>Saving the world, one tour stop at a time.</i><br />
<br />
Eighteen-year-old Bitsy Butler has never quite fit in, not with the dragons who raised her, the druid who took her in, or even with the non-human members of the cirque noir punk band she thinks of as family. Her chance to prove she can make it on her own comes with her band's first big solo tour. It’s all going according to plan when an angel walks into a bar and demands help with his demon problem.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyZ5m4Rq7t4cJY163ofLfPNxDPDZXPFSy_TG6emZHOAZShnkpysOkinqcwmSkFsggWpm5OpYTkbKggEkZ3ZhtZhhxur8AflaJPsEYtU8GUN4-9-vrw6RQ3IiaWttoRgvaeM4RcMhY4i4w/s1600/SLoRpromo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyZ5m4Rq7t4cJY163ofLfPNxDPDZXPFSy_TG6emZHOAZShnkpysOkinqcwmSkFsggWpm5OpYTkbKggEkZ3ZhtZhhxur8AflaJPsEYtU8GUN4-9-vrw6RQ3IiaWttoRgvaeM4RcMhY4i4w/s200/SLoRpromo2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
If she doesn't step up, a magical war will break out, threatening Arizona and all those who call it home. With the help of a human, a sexy dragon, and the members of her band, Bitsy must stop an angry mob of chaos demons before the band leaves for their next tour stop.<br />
<br />
It’s nice to be needed, but Bitsy has no idea how to defeat the demons and she just might get herself killed trying. But then, at least one problem would be solved...<br />
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Fitting in doesn’t matter if you’re dead.<br />
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Today I'm delighted to host a stop on the YA Bound Book Blitz for book one of Suzanne Lazear's new adult elfpunk novel, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Lives-Rockstars-Suzanne-Lazear-ebook/dp/B01KN7POAU" target="_blank">THE SECRET LIVES OF ROCKSTARS</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBNaS-DEcMo15Yj-yWT8Hgh9QTNRsP_hhAhI-O1Ix8H4c6cDPFtADhLTPdxPsvVYGBXG0jY66B_U2ofrjdtE79Tox4suqZB0QMhtQrcw7euznWEhh3jwyHFcs2AmquRKGRKUgKx4abdRY/s1600/YA+Bound+Tour+Button.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBNaS-DEcMo15Yj-yWT8Hgh9QTNRsP_hhAhI-O1Ix8H4c6cDPFtADhLTPdxPsvVYGBXG0jY66B_U2ofrjdtE79Tox4suqZB0QMhtQrcw7euznWEhh3jwyHFcs2AmquRKGRKUgKx4abdRY/s200/YA+Bound+Tour+Button.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<br />
I absolutely adored this book. This is the kind of story that had my writer's brain working overtime, wondering what was going to happen, and even projecting predictions for book two. There was humour, quirkiness, and an enthralling plot. And one of the neatest aspects of the was the <i>drakken</i>, a race of dragon-like beings with an exciting cultural heritage. Here's what the author has to say about it in her own words.<br />
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<b>Beyond here be <i>drakken</i>: the dragons of THE SECRET LIVES OF ROCKSTARS</b><br />
By Suzanne Lazear</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxfRlyEIvTKvrtPe_g1zQNhf_SmvkN2RxJcSm-lPJ3E3FlKkFnhJQ3WAE3hQxD6COSkabYL67M1Qth8Ov4Z2TzPmO2ZmyGSwVTbq4wbW3RXUDDLFujs3xRs4V_t02UNy1ZzUTKL0jtKPo/s1600/Lazear-photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxfRlyEIvTKvrtPe_g1zQNhf_SmvkN2RxJcSm-lPJ3E3FlKkFnhJQ3WAE3hQxD6COSkabYL67M1Qth8Ov4Z2TzPmO2ZmyGSwVTbq4wbW3RXUDDLFujs3xRs4V_t02UNy1ZzUTKL0jtKPo/s320/Lazear-photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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One of my favorite things about THE SECRET LIVES OF ROCKSTARS is that it has dragons—or <i>drakken </i>as I call them. I love dragons and had been itching to write a story with them. My drakken are shape-shifters. Once, they lived in this realm, but moved to their own parallel realm as the human population grew, which is why there are so many dragon stories.<br />
<br />
My main character, Bitsy, has to stop a demon-fueled war before it harms innocents—and before her band, The Freakshow, leaves Tempe, Arizona, for their next tour stop. She was also raised by crazy drakken, and years later is still trying to deal with everything that happened with her.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“</i>Drakken<i>,” I corrected unthinkingly. “Dragons are creatures in human children’s stories.” Drakken were a shape-shifting people who now occupied a magical realm parallel to ours, but most liked to travel back and forth. Being trapped in the human realm unable to return to the homeland was a pretty serious punishment.</i><i><br /></i><i></i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Serious enough to burn everyone alive in an attempt to get back.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>I rubbed my arms as if trying to rub away the flames licking at my body. “What?”</i><i><br /></i><i></i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“What do you have against the Drakken?” Amusement tinged his voice. “Didn’t you have some Drakken friends back in LA?”</i><i><br /></i><i></i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“They weren’t my friends. And I have nothing against them.” Nothing I wanted to talk about. I knew the crazy exiled Drakken who raised me were very different from most, but I didn’t like advertising my upbringing.</i><i><br /></i><i></i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“Good,” Aidan nodded. “Because they’re a noble, polite, honorable people who don’t get involved in others’ politics.”</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>I rolled my eyes at his Sídhe rhetoric. “They’re not perfect.”</i></blockquote>
Drakken love books and learning, and often come to this realm to attend college. The Freakshow’s current tour stop is a college town. Not only does she run into a few, but if she’s going to stop the chaos demons in time, she needs help from one, Eric.<br />
<br />
The drakken are organized into tribes, and different types of magic are associated with them, however, there is plenty of crossover due to inter-tribe marriage. Eric is western tribe, an earth drakken. Eric has earth magic. Bitsy’s foster sister had been northern tribe and a mistress of lightning. However, the place she and her foster sister grew up in had been run by exiles.<br />
<br />
I also gave the drakken their own language. I tried to use it sparingly, in ways where you wouldn’t necessarily need translation.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>I smiled at the waiter, grateful to get some food. “</i>Bes’sa.<i>”</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The words just slipped out. Old habits.</i><i><br />
</i><i></i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“</i>Na’i te.<i>” Eric smiled; it was the kind that put people at ease and made girls lose their morals. “You speak my language?” he said in Homespeak, the common drakken language.</i><i><br />
</i><i></i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“I just know some,” I replied in the same language. Lies. It was my first language. We never spoke much English in the compound though my foster mother insisted we learn it. Well.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“Some? That’s surprising.” Eric’s eyebrows rose. He probably expected me to say I knew a little. “I don’t often come across a </i>dikka<i> who speaks it.”</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The word </i>dikka<i>, outsider, made me flinch.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“I’m sorry,” he replied, eyes widening. “I mean no offense. I’m western tribe. It’s not an insult there.”</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Western tribe. Earth drakken.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“No offence taken.” I closed my eyes for a moment to help choke back the voices in my head. At the compound it was an insult and I’d been called that far too often as a child, usually with </i>satta<i>, stupid, in front of it. I wasn’t ever smart enough. Or fast enough. Or graceful enough. Or had enough magic.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Most of all, I wasn’t one of them. And never, ever would be.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“</i>Kai’kien, <i>please…” he murmured, hovering over me.</i><i><br />
</i><i></i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“No, really, it’s okay,” I muttered in English, just wanting him to go away.</i></blockquote>
Each tribe has different customs. Also the different tribes and their customs loosely relate to where they came from in the human realm. Drakken are telepaths, especially when in dragon form. Bitsy can hear them just fine. They are also very polite and have a very elaborate culture.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Taking a teapot, she filled the cup with red-brown liquid, steam rising from the surface – but the flame kept burning. She handed to me. I hesitated. This fire can’t hurt you. The cup in one hand, I waved the other over the flame three times, blew it out, murmured </i>kin’ba<i>, and took a drink. The sweet-tart liquid burned my throat in a way that brought back memories of cold afternoons, late night tea parties, and tiny cookies shaped like snowflakes.</i><i><br />
</i><i></i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“</i>Ses’ba<i>,” she added quietly in the background.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Both these things had no translation; it’s something you say when you drink. There were a few of those phrases in Homespeak, but my foster mother always insisted we use </i>kin’ba<i>. She never told me why. But she always did things differently than everyone else in the compound.</i><i><br />
</i><i></i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“Excellent, my complements to the chef,” I told her. The preparation – and serving – of </i>haeibo<i> was an art. My sister always made it look like a dance. My klutzy self had been banned from even touching my foster mother’s precious teapot.</i></blockquote>
Eric’s enthralled with the fact that she knows so much about them. Since most of Bitsy’s memories of the drakken aren’t fond, she’s not too keen on this. The drakken also have their own religion and goddess. Bitsy hides it, but still practices their religion, given it’s what she knows.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“<i>I don’t believe in coincidence.” Eric switched languages. “Everything is the work of the Goddess. She’s most definitely at work here.”</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Yes, She was. The question was, why?</i><i><br />
</i><i></i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Sighing, I rubbed my temples. “Sometimes I don’t appreciate Her sense of humor.”</i><i><br />
</i><i></i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Again, he stood too close. I could smell his Drakken scent – mainly books and brimstone.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“Sometimes I feel the same way,” he whispered.</i></blockquote>
I had a lot of fun creating the drakken culture and writing Eric—especially scenes between him and Bitsy. I hope you enjoy Eric, the drakken, and the adventures he, Bitsy, and everyone else have in THE SECRET LIVES OF ROCKSTARS.<br />
<br />
If you were a dragon what powers would you have?<br />
<br />
~Suzanne Lazear<br />
www.facebook.com/suzannelazear<br />
www.twitter.com/suzannelazear<br />
www.instagram.com/suzannelazear<br />
www.pinterest.com/suzannelazear<br />
www.suzannelazear.com<br />
<br />
<br />L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-67475057488805247852016-09-14T15:15:00.000-07:002016-10-01T00:02:56.107-07:00"Focus on the Good, and Fight for That": a #HoldOnToTheLight post<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkItC_diX4Vx2Sb4s4W12URKGNiv0WRLHz42fSdCnKyCD-QQcVzRUE6twB7ErYrCmBc1qdhyM5lO-bAZfAlL9VczDPi2h28PWnNUbzp7dk9qUMpvD2AY_P4I0-jwzpqmbU62TbjEb1aX8/s1600/Holdontothelight+FB+Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkItC_diX4Vx2Sb4s4W12URKGNiv0WRLHz42fSdCnKyCD-QQcVzRUE6twB7ErYrCmBc1qdhyM5lO-bAZfAlL9VczDPi2h28PWnNUbzp7dk9qUMpvD2AY_P4I0-jwzpqmbU62TbjEb1aX8/s640/Holdontothelight+FB+Banner.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #d0e0e3;">.</span>As I said in my <a href="http://lstaylor.blogspot.ca/2016/09/writing-characters-with-disabilities.html" target="_blank">previous post</a>,
there's been a lot of Stuff going on for me lately. Enough for me to have a
personal investment in this initiative, even though this is nonetheless neither
the place or time for me to discuss particulars. But this topic is important. The Mental Wellness for Writers
panel at ConCarolinas this June was heartfelt, honest, raw, and hands down, my
favourite one this year. And out of respect for all who participated and
shared, it's not one I'll ever take notes at.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Timing's a funny thing, though. I
had recently written this scene during revisions to my novel, SIGN OF THE STAR,
which will be on submission soon. And it felt important to share.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Background: A princess with
healing powers who escaped murder as a child must choose between being the healer she
wants to be and the country that needs her. When she encounters a fugitive
nobleman seeking the lost princess, circumstances force them to travel together, and she learns that guarding her secret also means guarding her heart. At one point the two are kidnapped, but before they can escape, the bandits are attacked by
a warring group. As a servant of the Land, Janni must deal with.the
aftermath—and its consequences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">* * *</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Lingering tendrils
of clouds, violet-edged with the last of sunset, curled about distant peaks,
clinging to them like smoke capped a fire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My stomach turned.
I tasted bile. Grimacing, I glanced away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Are you all
right?” Concern tinged Brennant’s voice, as it had since we left Karovar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I ignored him and
focused on the road ahead, pressing onward. Shoving away thoughts of the pyre
smoke’s stench, of copper and musk, acrid and sweet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We should stop
before it gets any darker.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hmph.</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Likely Hush would have purred her agreement,
but the puma had already gone off to hunt. I kept walking. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Away from the ashes
of our work. The grim task I’d suggested, and now wished I could forget. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 36pt;">Days had passed
since we’d left Baesh, and yet the mindless slaughter still ate at me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
morning after the battle, building the pyre had consumed the rest of the
daylight. </span>None of the dead had
been less than half the chief's massive size, and all were far too heavy to drag on
my own. Brennant saw my struggle with a corpse and rushed to help me, but then Baesh cursed
and sent me into the woods to gather deadfall instead. And when we were ready,
both men looked at me to speak.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I opened my
mouth—and faltered. This was no Deathswen ritual, where the names of the newly dead
were spoken to honour their memory. There were no loved ones to mourn their
passing, no scribes to log their fates.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">There was only me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We stand before
the fallen,” I said, grasping for what words I could find. “Soldiers and
captives, worthy and wicked. As we release them from the Land into the sky, may
their souls find peace.” Spreading my hands, unable I looked at Brennant for help.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">He met my gaze
with his own, gave a grim approving nod. “May their souls find peace.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Baesh, torch in
hand, set his jaw. “Aye.” He lifted the flame high. “May their souls find
peace.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">With that, he set
the pyre alight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The bodies burned
until dawn. None of us slept until noon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Brennant and I stayed
another night at the clearing, too heartsore and worn to resume the journey at
once. At least, that’s how I’d felt. The next morning, Baesh had taken us as
far as the northern Karish border, where the wilds and some semblance of a road
resumed at last.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And I still couldn’t
shake the ghastly scene, that cloying reek of the dead, from my mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So on I walked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Janni.” He sped
up and grabbed my wrist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I jerked it away.
“<i>Scorch it,</i> Brennant. What do you
want?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“It’s been four
days since we left Karovar, and you’ve barely spoken.” There was raw hurt in
his voice. “What’s wrong?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“It doesn’t
matter. Come along.” I frowned at the road ahead. Maybe we could make it as far
as the next mountain before full dark—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Night falls
quickly around here. You should have noticed by now.” He spread out his cloak,
all he had left of the things he’d bartered from Derva. Everything else had
been lost when we were kidnapped.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“What are you
doing? We have to keep moving.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Had to get to the
vision-lady and her people before anyone else suffered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">He crossed his
arms. “No.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Then catch up
with me tomorrow.” I strode away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Brennant snorted.
“Fine,” he called. “Clearly you’re too foolish to listen to your escort. More
proof that Sordinak made me go with you to protect you from yourself.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">That</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> halted me in my tracks. <i>How dare he.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I have been
summoned, Brennant. I have to get there, and soon. There’s nothing foolish
about that—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">He threw up his
hands. “There is when you won’t listen to reason! How can you help the woman if
you’re injured—or worse, dead?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“If I don’t hurry,
who knows what else will happen?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We’re going as
fast as we can safely. That’s enough—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“It’s my fault
they died.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">There. I finally
said it. The truth I’d been holding in since the pyre, since the attack. I
collapsed to my knees, my pack hitting the ground with a thud.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Brennant was on
his feet and at my side at once. “What do you mean?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I keep seeing the
bodies. The blood. The pyre. Every time I close my eyes.” I stifled a sob. “And
I’m the reason for it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I don’t
understand.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Everyone who died
in the battle perished because of me.” I sniffed. “The soldiers. The prisoners.
Even Baesh’s men. If he’d paid more attention to them instead of protecting me,
they wouldn’t have betrayed him. And all of them paid the price. All so I could
live.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">His lips thinned.
“That’s where you’re wrong.” Crouching, he took my hand, and as he stroked the
palm with his thumb, for once I didn’t flinch. “What the men did isn’t your
fault. It’s theirs.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bitter and hot,
the tears I’d held back for five nights finally broke free. “But—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“No. They were
criminals and traitors. That raid happened so easily, it’s obvious they were
colluding with the Korish.” He reached out and gently touched the spot between
my shoulder blades, flooding me with warmth. “Besides, think of the good you’ve
done. You healed the barkeep’s son. Baesh, too. And if not for you, Elasa’s
daughter might have died.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“That doesn’t
matter. All that death—” I choked back another sob.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“You can’t blame yourself.”
Shifting, Brennant took both my hands now and squeezed. “The Land has its
reasons for all things. We have to focus on the good, and fight for that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I bit my lip. The
words were a platitude he’d probably picked up in the priesthood, but Zira had often
said the same over the years. I never quite understood; I was a healer, not a
fighter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But maybe that’s
what they meant. I could help people. That’s all that mattered, and why I’d
made my choice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Releasing a ragged
sigh, I squeezed back. Shivered at his intent gaze, and looked to the distant peaks,
where the clouds had scattered. “So what should I do, then?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“As you said,
we’ll keep moving forward.” Brennant helped me to my feet. “But first, let’s
get some rest.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">* * *<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">About the campaign:</span><br />
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>#HoldOnToTheLight</b> is a blog campaign
encompassing blog posts by fantasy and science fiction authors around the world
in an effort to raise awareness around treatment for depression, suicide
prevention, domestic violence intervention, PTSD initiatives, bullying
prevention and other mental health-related issues. We believe fandom should be
supportive, welcoming and inclusive, in the long tradition of fandom taking
care of its own. We encourage readers and fans to seek the help they or their
loved ones need without shame or embarrassment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Please consider donating to or
volunteering for organizations dedicated to treatment and prevention such as:
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Home for the Warriors (PTSD), National
Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Canadian Mental Health Association, MIND
(UK), SANE (UK), BeyondBlue (Australia), To Write Love On Her Arms and the
National Suicide Prevention Hotline.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">To find out more about #HoldOnToTheLight,
find a list of participating authors, or reach a media contact, go to the
#HoldOntoTheLight <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/276745236033627/" target="_blank">Facebook group</a>; or, check out the </span><a href="https://holdontothelight.com/" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 16px;" target="_blank">website</a> or <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WeHoldOnToTheLight/" style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank">Facebook page</a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">.</span></div>
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L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-76189198146393065562016-09-12T05:00:00.000-07:002016-09-12T13:05:54.617-07:00Writing Characters with Disabilities (ConCarolinas 2015 Writing Panel Notes)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1gfSkxCLjpOG0kvAdXRU7G8V-w_kD4JZ90lhSYssKdwU4XIDo2XdME4NolzVHJCCF2HuOBPGmf3X1GEQ3FR574UCtRt_FpIN2r1i8FRK3vPBGVxNZiJBjtdF4U8cdVHweZuoEZxlRJ80/s1600/IMG_3415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1gfSkxCLjpOG0kvAdXRU7G8V-w_kD4JZ90lhSYssKdwU4XIDo2XdME4NolzVHJCCF2HuOBPGmf3X1GEQ3FR574UCtRt_FpIN2r1i8FRK3vPBGVxNZiJBjtdF4U8cdVHweZuoEZxlRJ80/s400/IMG_3415.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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So it's been awhile. Definitely a lot longer than planned. But when Stuff begets Other Stuff and one's world implodes just ever-so-slightly, and then one finds oneself the unfair target of several negative people in multiple areas of one's life, and then one starts to question one's own sanity, until numerous others come forward and confirm that no, one is not imagining things... well. It has been an interesting summer. Complaints have been and will be filed. And at least for one of the situations, my next filked song will be, "Screenshots Are a Gir's Best Friend".</div>
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You read the title of the post right: this is my last set of notes from 2015 that slipped through the cracks in my rush to edit a manuscript and then subsequent jetsetting, attending my sister's graduation then flying to this year's ConCarolinas and my writing group's retreat. I exhausted my spoons but still came back creatively invigorated and refreshed.</div>
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Today's topic is very appropriate, since this is nothing if not Difficult Topics week here. Coming in a few days will be my contribution to #HoldOntoTheLight, the mental health awareness initiative from SFF authors and bloggers. (Hey, might as well go for the stuff that matters.) The authors here bring their experience writing about characters with disabilities, and in some case, dealing with their own issues. This is another important facet in the movement for diverse books. Enjoy!</div>
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* * *</div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>Writing
Characters with Disabilities<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<i>Rebecca
Carter, Louise Herring-Jones, Dahlia Rose</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> Moderator: </o:p><i>Allen L. Wold</i></div>
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DR: Husband with PTSD<o:p></o:p></div>
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AW: Has written about disabled people; has strong opinions about this
subject<o:p></o:p></div>
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RC: Writes short horror, focusing on people who are dealing with
specific ailments, has a few issues of her own<o:p></o:p></div>
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LH: Writes much about people with various challenges, some with
disabilities<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Why would you choose to write
about disabled people?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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RC: It’s important to get a good read on the story. It’s hard when you
can’t function the way you believe you should function. Wants to be able to
relate to something.<o:p></o:p></div>
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LH: The story she wrote, the story structure, the deaf character came
to her, and that diability became an ability.<o:p></o:p></div>
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DR: Husband came back from Iraq after two deployments, with a massive
brain injury, and ptsd, and going to the VA, talking with other soldiers, felt
like people wanted to pity them rather than seeing them as they really are.
People see the scars, the injuries, and she shows in her books that they have
to learn a new way of life and are not to be pitied. They don’t want a handout,
they just want to learn to do it differently.<o:p></o:p></div>
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AW: The people are people, and don’t want pity. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>What actually entails a
disability? (Thinks it’s rude to say “differently abled”) What does comprise a
disability and what are things not a disability?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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RC: Anyone who has a physical or mental roadblock to be able to
function the way society generally would.<o:p></o:p></div>
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LH: Skewed viewpoint, as an attorney: disability specifically defined
in law, something that impairs a major life function. Not reading glasses, but
yes special eyewear for legally blind. Looks at what people can do, not what
they can’t.<o:p></o:p></div>
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AW: Saying something is “differently abled” is condescending to him.
What about injured soldiers? Do you agree, DR?<o:p></o:p></div>
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DR: Agrees completely. Helped husband retain his right to his own power
of attorney because it means more to him and her.<o:p></o:p></div>
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AW: Yes, disabilities are part of who disabled folks are. But that
doesn’t mean it’s the only thing about them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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LH: The key is to write about it respectfully. If a not-nice character
in your story has a certain characteristic, some readers might not like it.
Everyone has logic, even if the logic is illogic.</div>
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AW: If you’re going to write someone with disability, acknowledge the
disability, but that doesn’t mean you should spend much time with that
disability if it doesn’t do much in the story. What is the point of the
character?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>How much time do you spend
working on the disability in your characterization, and how much on the rest of
the story (unless you’re making a specific point)?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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DR: Just treats it like another characteristic. Yes he has a missing
arm, but it should just be a thing, not the focal point that impacts the story.<o:p></o:p></div>
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RC: Trying to find the line, just because a little point is a fact in
the character’s life. Unless that’s exactly what you’re writing about.<o:p></o:p></div>
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LH: Latest issue of Discover – about echolocation in visually impaired
in the real world. Different btw people born with sight and live that way, but
the earlier you lose your sight, the more skilled you are at echolocation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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DR: An accident required a corneal transplant, couldn’t see well for a
few years, had to rely on other senses and found ways to work around that.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>If it serves the story … how
could you best portray a disability without being condescending or overly
detailed?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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AW: Not about the disability, but about something else.<o:p></o:p></div>
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LH: Jamie Lannister’s story arc since losing his hand, it’s the impetus
for his character development.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Can you imagine a situation
where a typical disability can prove to be the benefit necessary for the
continuation of the story?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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DR: Social awkwardness – with disabilities in general, when soldiers
are scarred or injured or hurt, there’s the emotion, the anger, the self-pity,
and they do lash out. You can’t just write a perfect hero, you have to write
their mental and physical attributes because of what happened. Can cause
destruction of a family, of a person who’s gone through it, and it’s hard to
see a person who was so vital before drawing away from life in general and
you’re trying to pull them out and you’re feeling a desperation. It affects the
people around them, too.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>How would you write folks with
specific disabilities?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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RC: Probably would, but what’s hard is that people can only relate to
people who are different to a certain extent, and if the story’s not entirely
about what they’re facing, then readers can’t entirely connect to the stories
because it’s hard to understand what others are going through. You empathize
the most with the people you can relate to most. <o:p></o:p></div>
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AW: If that’s just one facet of his personality and the rest of the
character is interesting by themselves, you can definitely deal with that.
Don’t dwell on it, but let it be a subtext that makes the character richer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Aud: What if the purpose of your
story is to open up your reader to the difficulties of a character? <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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DR: Sheldon is socially awkward. But as the show progresses, it shows
different people opening up. Showing how nerds are just like regular people. A
colour of a skin, a person’s social awkwardness, if you take a moment to learn
about it, it gives your reader something to mesh with. It opens up the story to
the readers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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AW: The first thing you have to do is give them only one problem and
not seventeen. Limit the number. One disability, even if that’s not true, is
something you can focus on and clarify, so that otherwise your character is
sympathetic, someone you feel with them (not pity). So don’t layer on several
things at once.<o:p></o:p></div>
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RC: Beyond sympathetic, don’t need to have too much. One thing at a
time because a lot of people start to instantly feel guilt if there’s too much
the person is suffering from.<o:p></o:p></div>
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LH: Not much into message literature. But there’s also a social issue
of whether or not can a person of one race or ethnicity truly write about
someone of another race or ethnicity? John Hartness “The White Guy” and
learning to open his eyes, Alice Walker’s scathing essays – LH disagrees, thinks it can be written. Whether
it’s race, gender, ethnicity, disability, write it. Do it respectfully. And if
it’s something you understand personally, then all the better.<o:p></o:p></div>
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AW: If you want people to be sympathetic to the character, having some
knowledge helps you write it better. <o:p></o:p></div>
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LH: And if you want to write something amazingly controversial, make a
sff world and put those differences, and it’s amazing what you can get by with.<o:p></o:p></div>
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DR: Speaking as an African American, you don’t write them differently.
You just write them as you would any other character.<o:p></o:p></div>
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AW: Portray people as people. Then if you can empathize with that
character, then regardless of their disability or other characteristics, then <o:p></o:p></div>
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RC: People aren’t stereotypes. When you come to mental disabilities.
The only stereotype you see of women with mental health issues is the “one
type” of “crazy lady”. You rarely see women with legitimate mental
disabilities.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Audience Question: What should we do if we want or
need to include a person with some kind of difference? How do we portray that
person: ignore it, accept it, or is it something that can affect the story?
Show how they’ve overcome it?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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DR: Yes.<b> <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Audience Question: Are characters with disabilities more prevalent these days?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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AW: Less of a shame, less embarrassing, because we’ve been working on
this for a very long time. It’s easier now to put them in fiction. If you’re
embarrassed about somebody’s differences, you shouldn’t be including it in a
story.<o:p></o:p></div>
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LH: A trend in calls, stories about people with disabilities, people
“underrepresented previously in literature”. If you want to writer about an
unrepresented population, now’s the time. Know people. Talk to people. Pay
attention. <o:p></o:p></div>
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DR: Check out <a href="https://www.google.ca/search?q=michael+stokes+amputee+photos&espv=2&biw=1242&bih=585&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjnmI-YjonPAhUIGR4KHWnlD3YQsAQIGg" target="_blank">Michael Stokes Photography</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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AW: We’re all still people, and that’s what we’re writing about.
Stories with people.<o:p></o:p></div>
L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-43825713497327773102016-06-09T13:27:00.000-07:002016-06-09T13:27:28.192-07:00Author Funk: The FilkHey everyone! I've hardly been home the past few weeks, owing to sisterly graduation followed by ConCarolinas and my writing retreat. So I'm sitting here in the late North Carolinian afternoon, thankful for the air conditioning and resting after some great conversations.<br />
<br />
We took a day off halfway through the week.This year, I was feeling creative and exhuberant, so I did something I haven't done in awhile: I filked. I present to you: "Author Funk." (And no, not the kind you'd think.)<br />
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<b>"Author Funk"<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<o:p>Filk of: "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars</o:p></div>
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<o:p>by: Laura Sheana Taylor </o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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Doh<o:p></o:p></div>
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Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh<o:p></o:p></div>
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Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh<o:p></o:p></div>
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Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh<o:p></o:p></div>
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Doh doh doh, doh duh (Aaaaaaow!)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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This plot<o:p></o:p></div>
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Will go far<o:p></o:p></div>
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Those re-views<o:p></o:p></div>
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Them five stars<o:p></o:p></div>
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This one’s for that story<o:p></o:p></div>
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That glory<o:p></o:p></div>
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Straight masterpiece<o:p></o:p></div>
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Writin’, incitin’<o:p></o:p></div>
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Every point-of-view’s pretty<o:p></o:p></div>
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Got characters and fancy words<o:p></o:p></div>
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Gotta kiss ourselves we’re so witty<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We’re too hot (hot damn)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Call the reviewers and librarians<o:p></o:p></div>
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We’re too hot (hot damn)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Make a TV wanna retire, man<o:p></o:p></div>
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We’re too hot (hot damn)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Time to binge read now if you can<o:p></o:p></div>
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We’re too hot (hot damn)<o:p></o:p></div>
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And we’re good about that plottin’<o:p></o:p></div>
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Break it down...<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Readers hit your hallelujah (ooh)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Readers hit your hallelujah (ooh)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Readers hit your hallelujah (ooh)<o:p></o:p></div>
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'Cause Author Funk gon' give it to ya<o:p></o:p></div>
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'Cause Author Funk gon' give it to ya<o:p></o:p></div>
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'Cause Author Funk gon' give it to ya<o:p></o:p></div>
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Call an agent, ‘cuz we’ll succeed<o:p></o:p></div>
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Don't believe us just read (Come on)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Doh<o:p></o:p></div>
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Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh (Hah!)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Don’t believe us just read<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Doh<o:p></o:p></div>
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Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh (Hah!)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Don’t believe us just read<o:p></o:p></div>
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Don’t believe us just read<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t believe us just read<o:p></o:p></div>
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Don’t believe us just read<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hey, hey, hey, oh!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Stop<o:p></o:p></div>
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Don’t get weary<o:p></o:p></div>
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Do some edits, then send that query<o:p></o:p></div>
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Take a breath, then don’t you lurk<o:p></o:p></div>
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World buildin’s hard work!<o:p></o:p></div>
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With that stylin’, applyin’, point of view and some conflict<o:p></o:p></div>
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Get agents, and payment<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ten-book contracts’d be perfect<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We’re too hot (hot damn)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Call the reviewers and librarians<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We’re too hot (hot damn)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Make a TV wanna retire, man<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We’re too hot (hot damn)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Time to binge read now if you can<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We’re too hot (hot damn)<o:p></o:p></div>
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And we’re good about that plottin’<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Readers hit your hallelujah (ooh)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Readers hit your hallelujah (ooh)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Readers hit your hallelujah (ooh)<o:p></o:p></div>
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'Cause Authors Funk gon' give it to ya<o:p></o:p></div>
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'Cause Authors Funk gon' give it to ya<o:p></o:p></div>
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'Cause Authors Funk gon' give it to ya<o:p></o:p></div>
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Call an agent, ‘cuz we’ll succeed<o:p></o:p></div>
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Don’t believe us just read (Come on)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Doh<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh (Hah!)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t believe us just read<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Doh<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh (Hah!)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t believe us just read<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t believe us just read<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t believe us just read<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t believe us just read<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hey, hey, hey, oh!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before we leave<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let me tell y'all a little something<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Authors Funk you up, Authors Funk you up<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Authors Funk you up, Authors Funk you up, uh<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I said Authors Funk you up, Authors Funk you up<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Authors Funk you up, Authors Funk you up<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Come on, write<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jump on it<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If it’s fantasy then flaunt it<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If it’s sci-fi then own it<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don't brag about it, come show me<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Come on, write<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jump on it<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If it’s fantasy then flaunt it<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If it’s sci-fi then own it<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Come call an agent, ‘cuz we’ll succeed<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t believe us just read (Come on)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Doh<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh (Hah!)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t believe us just read<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Doh<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh (Hah!)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t believe us just read<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t believe us just read<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t believe us just read<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t believe us just read<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hey, hey, hey, oh!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Authors Funk you up, Authors Funk you up (say whaa?!)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Authors Funk you up, Authors Funk you up<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Authors Funk you up, Authors Funk you up (say whaa?!)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Authors Funk you up, Authors Funk you up<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Authors Funk you up, Authors Funk you up (say whaa?!)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Authors Funk you up, Authors Funk you up<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Authors Funk you up, Authors Funk you up (say whaa?!)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Authors Funk you up<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Aaaaaaow!<o:p></o:p></div>
L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-30682466405785207352016-05-04T12:26:00.002-07:002016-05-04T23:37:25.299-07:00Avoiding Stereotypes (ConCarolinas 2015 Writing Panel Notes)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeZKcbCTvWVBEm1vZW7chEMkOPgtk1Mtr_OrBCA9KIH-j-Ddepq4Y3cUjsBdmLUfr7MbEUqMDYeR7wu9ZnVu9hMrNrJHynBSVNK05sdeQGBzjvBw2MGw7cvxokG63fqHvRfmmBA6k-uUM/s1600/ifhefitshesitsstereotype.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeZKcbCTvWVBEm1vZW7chEMkOPgtk1Mtr_OrBCA9KIH-j-Ddepq4Y3cUjsBdmLUfr7MbEUqMDYeR7wu9ZnVu9hMrNrJHynBSVNK05sdeQGBzjvBw2MGw7cvxokG63fqHvRfmmBA6k-uUM/s1600/ifhefitshesitsstereotype.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Avoiding
Stereotypes<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<i>Michael
G. Williams, Darin Kennedy, Faith Hunter, Melissa Gilbert, A.J. Hartley<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<i>Moderator:
Janine Spendlove</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>Common Stereotypes They Deal
With<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
JS: Heroes anthology: “Anything but white dudes in tights.” Also, as
she’s in the marines which are 90% male; she’ll be deployed this summer as a
commander. She feels that she represents all women in the marines because of
the disparity.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AJ: Has a lot of problems of the way people represent the British,
English, and British/English people. Still wrong, and operates on the
assumption that “anything that doesn’t look or sound like me is not real”, not
a fully developed person, etc. Doesn’t like the automatic equate of “You must
live in a thatched cottage, etc”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
MG: She’s an English teacher, so she sees a lot in fiction and nonfiction
of the stereotype that bothers her the most: the dumb hillbilly. A lot of times
people think that because you came from a small town, you can’t be intelligent,
can’t hold a meaningful conversation, and do nothing but make babies with your
cousins.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
FH: Doesn’t like the Polyannas. Women being stupid with their strength,
or being weak where they could be strong. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
DK: Doesn’t like the damsel in distress; or the sitcom with the
unintelligent overweight husband and the smoking hot wife. (You’d never see the
reverse show). And on the Disney channel, the children are brilliant and the
adults are stupid and the children have to save their parents. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
MW: Doesn’t like stereotype that gay men are either super macho bodybuilders
or flamboyant. (“Most of us are both, thank you!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
JS: Worked on Capitol Hill when Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was being
repealed, and the stereotypes and misconceptions, the fears that were going to
arise, among the older generation. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>Typical Stereotypes<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
JS: Let’s discuss the F Bomb: Feminism.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AJ: Someone who thinks that women should have equal rights to men.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
JS: Equal rights for everyone. Equal pay.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>JS: So what are the stereotypes?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Equating man-hating with feminist<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Has a bumper sticker: “I know I run like a girl.
Try to keep up.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Stereotypes with age and the way it’s represented<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Fanfiction: how everyone was appalled by the
Snape-Harry fanfic, but the Snape-Hermione fanfic was somehow okay<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Audience comment: Wherever you go, the
underclass, the underprivileged, the assumption that the race is the
assumption, not the situation. (e.g. poor, welfare African Americans or
Hispanics)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->The concept of the other. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->That the mentally ill are dangerous to others;
usually, they’re a danger to themselves.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->That a learning disability or ADHD is equated
with stupidity, troublemakers<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->NERDS.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>It’s okay to be a stereotype if
that’s who you are. But most of us are not. We’re an amalgamation of
everything. But we have stereotype because of laziness, lack of understanding,
and snap judgments.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->JS: Like I’m the hipster feminist who hates all
men and burns her bra.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><i>FH: I used
to burn my bra. I gave that up.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><i>JS: I’m
wearing one today. I can’t stand it.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><i>AJ: I like
them.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->JS: Stereotypes exist because of society.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->MW: Because people prefer the shortest
explanation ever.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->DK: Because early-on in our development we
needed to identify “this is my tribe, that’s another tribe” – that it’s encoded
in our DNA to look for differences in people.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->MG: Jungian archetypes. We do it to help ourselves
understand, because in order to learn, we have to connect.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Audience comment: The Identification of friend
or foe.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->FH: When we create characters, the easiest way
is to start with a stereotype and work back from that. If only needed for one
scene and one purpose, you don’t need much more than a stereotype. But
characters you build on, you pull away from that. It’s the individual traits
that make them stand out.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->MW: If you only write an antagonist that’s just
opposed to the protagonist, then that’s a stereotype. But if you ask why, even
in one sentence, you can make them more.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Sometimes stereotypes are good. Put in aviation
because her supervisor found out she had a motorcycle. “Because you’re a little
bit crazy.” But if you don’t use more than the stereotype, that’s when things
go wrong.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->MW: His vampires want to “pass” among humans.
The concept of “passing” is a form of social engineering, inhabiting a
stereotype to make people stop thinking about you. Stereotypes are good when
you want people to stop thinking about who you are.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->AJ: Whenever we deal with anything historical.
We have a bad habit of saying, “100 years ago, everyone believed, “[something
stupid]”. Not necessarily true. Not everyone agreed back then, either. So why
do we assume in the past that it was somehow easier? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->JS: We like our categories. It’s what we do to
classify and categorize books.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->DK: In Star Wars, assuming the whole planet is a
desert planet, an ice planet, a forest planet, etc.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>We like to avoid stereotypes.
Like “strong female character” just means “realistic woman”. And often with our
first character, we base it on our selves. Why?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Because we know ourselves, know how to base
things on ourselves, know how to write ourselves without stereotype. So how can
we overcome this fear of stereotypes in our writing?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->MG: Conversations. Talking about it. Openly,
non-judgmental. Getting to know people helps a lot.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->AJ: Once you’ve decided someone’s an ethnicity
or gender, creating an actual life for them, putting aside those concerns and
writing them as a character first. Wants to put himself into that character
first, and then ask others in beta-reads for feedback later. The moment you
ask, <i>What do women want, women like?</i> you’re
already screwed. With writing, what we do is an act of empathy. Putting ourselves
in someone else’s skin. Your capacity to put yourself in that position is
always going to be mediated by a sense of strangeness.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->DK: If your character is playing with or against
type, there’s likely a very good reason why they do it. Maybe it’s not shown (the
deep part of <a href="http://www.poynter.org/2005/what-lies-beneath-the-iceberg-theory-of-writing/70412/" target="_blank">the iceberg</a>), but as long as you know it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->FH: But you can use the stereotypes to show how
a character is non-stereotypical.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><i>JS: That’s
a lot of big words for a southern lady.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><i>FH: I
bought me a thesaurus last year!</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>Audience Question: What’s the Difference
Between Archetype vs. Stereotype?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AJ: Archetype is about character function. E.g. the threshold guardian.
But a stereotype is something based on a set of social expectations of a
particular type.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
MG: Sometimes the stereotype can come out of an archetype.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
MW: And stereotypes are at the expense of someone, penalize someone.
Archetypes explain someone.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
JS: When they wrote <i>Tomorrowland</i>,
the script called for a white male as the protagonist. Disney has wisened up.
Cast a teenaged girl instead, and changed nothing about the story. It became Terminator
as done by Disney with a happy hopeful ending.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>No matter what you do or what
you write, you’re going to offend someone. It’s going to happen. So how do you
deal when someone comes up and tells you you’re wrong because the stereotype is
wrong, or because it’s offensive? (e.g. when Weird Al wrote the song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gv0H-vPoDc" target="_blank">WordCrimes</a>, he didn’t know "spastic" is considered a version of the R word in Britain)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
FH: Just says, “I’m not white.” And that usually shocks people. Her
grandparents had to pass, and hid this from their children. She’s a stereotype,
and she’s not. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AJ: Next year has a book from Tor with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Steeplejack-Alternative-Detective-J-Hartley/dp/076538342X" target="_blank">a 17-year-old female person of colour protagonist in a South-African like country</a>. Says, “This is a fantasy
world that looks a lot like Africa, but it’s not, and he’s the only one
qualified to write this character, but he’s not.” Writing is an exercise in
empathy. He’s doing his best to do his research, ask the right questions, and
all he can do is give it his best shot, and see what happens. It’s scary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
MW: Plans to have half the cast male, half female when writing a book,
then varies it racially and religiously, and don’t worry, next time it’ll be
someone else’s turn. But when he receives criticism, he says, “So turn this
into a teachable moment. Tell me what I got wrong so I can do it better next
time.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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JS: Say “I’m sorry. What can I do to make it right?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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AJ: I’d like to have it before the book comes out...<o:p></o:p></div>
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AJ: Most of us have been in situations where we were out of place, not
what people expected. Knows some of the strangenesses that arise from that. For
example, he comes from a lower class, and was judged because of that at
university. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>JS: This panel could go on a
long time, because this is such a big topic.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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Yes. Yes it is. But they still managed to cover some great points (and.crack a few jokes, too!)<o:p></o:p></div>
L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-82659037397540256152016-04-30T05:00:00.000-07:002016-04-30T05:00:21.978-07:00Nature as Character (ConCarolinas 2015 Writing Panel Notes)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUykuZvGpI19DqSmx487IjxSIP4r1dMNfSMLXzkqTSW-ghn3jVECAwHxcQR4FezwtUhcwS5Von2Xzz0i4XkS1fhaEWCLtgFPYGAHNG-GCjVW18psO5oiplY0quo6fS66M90Lkbr5MR2VU/s1600/IMG_7202.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Horned Man with Guns Pointed at Him" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUykuZvGpI19DqSmx487IjxSIP4r1dMNfSMLXzkqTSW-ghn3jVECAwHxcQR4FezwtUhcwS5Von2Xzz0i4XkS1fhaEWCLtgFPYGAHNG-GCjVW18psO5oiplY0quo6fS66M90Lkbr5MR2VU/s400/IMG_7202.JPG" title="Horned Man with Guns Pointed at Him" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
I wasn't expecting to be gone this long.<br />
<br />
Real Life, for me, has been as wild and uncontrollable as the ocean Chris Jackson talks about below. But throughout the current chaos, one thing has been constant: I've been writing. (Well, revising.) Meanwhile, I'm trying to get things back on track, ConCarolinas is in a month, and I have four sets of notes from last year to post. Here's the first.<br />
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<b>Nature
as Character<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<i>Chris
A. Jackson, Faith Hunter, David B. Coe / D.B. Jackson, Nancy Northcott <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Moderator:
Debra Killeen</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Three classic forms of conflict: Man vs. Man, Man vs. Himself, Man vs.
Nature. We’re focusing on that last one.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Movie examples: Castaway, Call of the Wild, The Day After Tomorrow, or
Post-Apocalyptic like Mad Max, etc.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>There are so many different
types of Man vs. Nature. What’s yours?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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DK: Using nature as obstacle in her new series, taking characters from
temperate climate to a desert climate, and the reality is more than what they
expect; as a practicing pagan, has a different feel towards the nature<o:p></o:p></div>
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FH: With her <a href="http://www.faithhunter.net/wp/books/rogue-mage-series/" target="_blank">Thorn St. Croix</a> novels, the environment becomes as much of
a character because there’s a mini ice-age, and dealing with that provides its
own set of conflict and obstacles, and not just one problem but a variety of
survival problems. In the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24452922-blood-of-the-earth" target="_blank">Soulwood</a> series, the forest on the character’s farm,
what has become old growth forest because of the magic the character can bring
to the world. Her 150 acres are developing their own form of sentience and a
will of their own. And because she thinks she’s symbiotically tied to it,
leaving for long periods of time it is a problem.<o:p></o:p></div>
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DBC: In the <a href="http://www.davidbcoe.com/backlist/the-lontobyn-chronicle/" target="_blank">Lon Tobyn</a> chronicle: there’s a magic system in which mages
bind psychically with birds of prey. At the same time, there’s a very
aggressive technological world interested in harvesting that natural world. Nature
is both a source of power and a victim.<o:p></o:p></div>
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CJ: 35-40 years on the ocean has taught him one thing: it’s possible to
love something that’s trying to kill you. He writes nautical fantasies – nature
as obstacle, and nature as seductress. A reservoir of magic. And when Mother
Nature wants to kill you, sending mountains of water crashing on you, trying to
put you at the bottom of the sea, she can knock you flat. So strong, so scary. You
feel like you have some control, but if Mother Nature decides you don’t, you
don’t.<o:p></o:p></div>
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FH: Very like kayaking – some rivers are friendly and playful, some are
scary as crap.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>We have a long history of nature
writing. Why do you think that’s so interesting, a thread that runs through our
writing and our genre?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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CJ: It’s something beyond our power. We can’t control it. We have to
work with it or it’s going to kill us. You have to run with the storm, work
with nature to survive. <o:p></o:p></div>
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DBC: The identity of this land has always been tied to the power of its
natural environment. It’s no coincidence that the first big artistic statement
was the Hudson River school of artists, portraying a landscape that caught the
attention of the people. Tied to the power of its natural resources, and a natural
frontier. It was seen as something to be tamed, harnessed, and used. Ask people
in the late 18<sup>th</sup> and 19<sup>th</sup> centuries, and it was always
nature. It has stuck with our identity as a country, and defined us. <o:p></o:p></div>
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FH: And yet the idea of a frontier was outright theft. Europeans came
over and took away from the Native Americans. It wasn’t a great frontier; it
was warfare and genocide and theft of a world that did not belong to them. It
was one version of using nature replacing the native peoples’ version of
working <i>with</i> nature. A head-to-head
confrontation that changed the way it was viewed. Mankind took the forests,
used them, and didn’t let them grow back. We need to regain a reverence for our
land again. The Soulwood series is about the awareness and how the original
peoples had a reverence for the earth, and how their way of life would have
kept it alive, while our way is killing it. Deep abiding grief for our world
and the whole human race. And we’re breeding ourselves out of existence.<o:p></o:p></div>
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DK: We’re raping our life-giving planet, and we can do a good job of
paying lip-service (national parks, small conservation efforts), Yes, we do
need to spread the word that it seems kind of obvious that we seem hellbent on
our extinction. We need to respect nature because nature will win. <a href="http://humon.deviantart.com/art/Mother-Gaia-207388674" target="_blank">It won’t miss us when we’re gone.</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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NN: The American ethos seems to be about conquering things: “There’s a
challenge, let’s go get it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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CJ: It’s not just Americans. It’s active in a lot of cultures. We’re a
struggling species, and what’s happened is that we’ve always seen nature as a
foe, not as a partner. <o:p></o:p></div>
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FH: And we believe it’s our right to use it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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CJ: Some believe that it is their right to take everything.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>What’s your favorite book or
movie that uses nature as a character, and why do you like it so much?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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DK: <i>A Perfect Storm</i>.
Extremely powerful film. This was based on a true story. Also, enjoyed Oz,
where Baum used acts of nature to start adventures.<o:p></o:p></div>
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NN: <i>The Time of the Great Freeze</i>
by Robert Silverberg. The characters have to cross this icy landscape. It’s
about youth facing the challenges of their environment.<o:p></o:p></div>
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FH: <i>Deliverance</i>. The river
had such a personality, such moments of serenity followed by such moments of
incredible violence that was mirrored in the character struggles. Also, <i>White Fang</i> (Jack London). The setting affected
her greatly.<o:p></o:p></div>
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DB: <i>Rascal</i> by Sterling North.
About a young boy who adopts a raccoon. Also, <i>A River Runs Through It</i>. The river as metaphor and plot device as a
family is chronicled.<o:p></o:p></div>
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CJ: <i>My Side of the Mountain</i> by
Walt Murray. About a boy who learned to live in the mountains. And <i>Dune</i>, obviously, with nature as
adversary and ally.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>What about nature drew you to
using that, and how do you use it in your books?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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CJ: Nothing is more spiritual to him than being 150 miles from shore on
a clear moonless night. The universe opens up around you and you realize how
insignificant you are.<o:p></o:p></div>
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(DBC: You mean publishing didn’t do that for you?)<o:p></o:p></div>
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CJ: It makes you feel like a grain of sand on the beach, and you start
living differently, thinking differently, once you connect. So in his books, his
character longs to go to sea, but when she gets there, she’s sick as a dog. You
can be terminally seasick, where you dehydrate and go into a coma. But the “what
I love is killing me” that he experienced personally when younger drove him to
include that in his work.<o:p></o:p></div>
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DBC: Environmental history: the duality between humankind and the
natural world. As much as human activity impacts the planet, the planted shapes
humanity. Conscious when worldbuilding of the way the landscape affects the
history, culture, society of the people he creates. It’s important to
understand that even cultures we think of living as one with nature impacted
the natural world with which they were interacting, and in turn were shaped by
that natural world. It’s not one-sided, it goes back and forth, and that’s the healthier
kind of thinking we need.<o:p></o:p></div>
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FH: Nature has always been important to her writing because as a child
she was bullied, a geek before geeks were remotely cool, a tree-hugger because
she found solace in nature. Nature gave her something to hang onto because she
had nothing else.<o:p></o:p></div>
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NN: Not a nature girl, but when she started to write about mages
fighting ghouls in a Florida swamp, she knew she had to learn more about it.
The book has a nature-based magic system because nature is always there. You
can’t draw from it exhaustively, and yet you can. And energy is different in a
swamp, so demons and ghouls use it. It feels like an alien landscape, because
it’s a blackwater bog. (Okeepenokee swamp) The writing sucked her into nature
rather than the other way around.<o:p></o:p></div>
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DK: Nature is spiritually uplifting for her (so discovering paganism
was no surprise), so now she uses it in her writing, and has characters in the
desert harnessing the elements with their magic. Is having fun with it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>What are the benefits and
problems when you decide to make nature a lynchpin of whatever you’re working
on?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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DK: Be careful with limitations. Controlling magic, not getting out of
control when the character is using it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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NN: The advantage is that nature is all around you, and the Okeepenokee
swamp’s distinctiveness is useful. The downside is that you have to get it
right. There’s also a danger of making it repetitive when you use the same
setting too much.<o:p></o:p></div>
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FH: 150 acres is not that big of a piece of land, and it’s hilly, so
not being repetitive is going to be difficult. Finding her subconcious awareness
that she wants to make the piece larger, bring more pieces in, and there’s no
way to do that that she’s found yet unless she makes it antithesis to what
Soulwood is. And knowing as a writer that that won’t work. The other part of
her brain is trying to twist that around, find the conflict. And to get the
metaphor into the series, it’s all located in one spot, she’s got to try to
make it work. It’s not easy, and she likes that. But it’s hard to rein that in.
Winnowing out all the things her subconscious wants to use is a challenge.<o:p></o:p></div>
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DB: In the <a href="http://www.davidbcoe.com/fearsson/" target="_blank">Justis Fearsson</a> chronicles, the third book has a lot of
scenes set in the natural environment. The experience of visiting a landscape
for the first time. In the Lon Tobyn chronicles, he turned it into a polemic:
it’s fine to write about a society part nature and part technology, but when
you allow the fact that you’re an environmentalist creep into your narrative so
that it’s ideologically driven rather than plot driven, it’s not good. He must
remember that first and foremost he is a writer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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CJ: First, he gets to show people things they don’t get to see.
Tropical reefs, the majesty of an ocean, with his books, essential and
wonderful. The downside: he gets too close to it, and if you dive too deeply
into setting you can overshadow your characters. It’s easy to get too much into
the sea and to nautical terminology. Patrick O’Brien used nautical terminology
heavily, which can alienate. Pull it in
and realize that you’re writing stories about people. Realistically, yes, you
have nature, but it’s about character. Don’t overshadow the focus on your
characters.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Audience Question: DBC and CJ:
what if your audience is environmentalists and people who’d agree with you?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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DBC: If you’re being true to your characters, that’s fine, the problem
is when the authorial voice leaches into the characters. Was writing 21<sup>st</sup>
century American sensibility into the cultures. Needed to be true to the story
and the characters. As soon as you lose that trueness, then you’ve stepped over
a line.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Audience Question: Have you ever
written a character who has a distinct experience for the first time, and how
it affects how the story is told?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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FH: It’s difficult, because the sense of wonder is so intense, so
strong, that there aren’t good English words to explain it, and you lose
something when you do. Has never been able to replicate in text that sense of
wonder the first time she had an experience with nature. That sense of absolute
alienness.<o:p></o:p></div>
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NN: A concept, the idea of the holy, and the numinous: that moment of
awe and things come together and you feel like you’re seeing something you didn’t
realize was there.<o:p></o:p></div>
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DB: Didn’t try to recreate it; went back to old journals. Went back and
read what his young self thought, because as inarticulate as it is, the emotion
was there. He had the words.<o:p></o:p></div>
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CJ: It’s like looking at a beautiful painting, and looking at every
brush stroke it took to make that painting, and feeling what the artist felt
when he made that painting. Like seeing Crater Lake, Oregon. Gestalt moments.
Putting it on paper is hard. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Audience Comment: </b>She has a
specific memory of before she got glasses, sometimes it’s just the little
things. Like seeing leaves on a tree after first getting glasses. Experiences
so small can still give you these experiences too.<o:p></o:p></div>
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FH: She was walking a creek, and it made a wide elbow turn, and there
was a spring coming up in the middle. You could put your hand over it and feel
the spring. Very small moments of wonders.<o:p></o:p></div>
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CJ: Coral reefs are like that. The closer you get, the more you see.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Other audience member: In the Eragon series – seeing the mountains for the
first time, and seeing a forest, then seeing a city in the forest.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-26591940164967904942016-02-20T09:30:00.001-08:002016-02-20T09:30:26.895-08:00Royalty, Nobles, Beggars, and Thieves (ConCarolinas 2015 Writing Panel Notes)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh96kKXpR_Gw6wT4Nj4fUhrp6BJRB0sbNFVWXc8HqJfZ99tx2EbTNfsxc5riY4JwoTHu6gw5PfnXGSzZAjs3Nty_aEtZoImsR77SjZcGmQetah7KY-jOejHEljLaJGQOV3gIryMCcwmCw4/s1600/whom.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A chalkboard doodle at the college where I work that shows a headshot of a faceless person wearing a fancy, Italian Renaissance style hat sporting a giant feather. Artist unknown. Much like this character." border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh96kKXpR_Gw6wT4Nj4fUhrp6BJRB0sbNFVWXc8HqJfZ99tx2EbTNfsxc5riY4JwoTHu6gw5PfnXGSzZAjs3Nty_aEtZoImsR77SjZcGmQetah7KY-jOejHEljLaJGQOV3gIryMCcwmCw4/s400/whom.png" title="Chalkboard doodle at the college where I work. Artist unknown. Much like this character." width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Well, that wasn't very pleasant. Nothing like a nasty flu to throw me off my intended schedule. At least the dizziness and vertigo have finally abated.<br />
<br />
And very soon, I have a very special feature that I've been wanting to share for months. But for now? The notes I'd intended for Monday, before this latest bout of yuck hit.<br />
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<b>Royalty,
Nobles, Beggars, and Thieves<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<i>Niko
Brooks, Kyle M. Perkins, David B. Coe, Alexandra Christian</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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A discussion of race, class, and economic assumptions in epic fantasy<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>Lowport</i>: A book about people
in a spaceport, the underclass, folks not represented<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>When you’re writing the work
that you write, do you consciously look for ways to work in those characters
who are less well-represented in fantasy, or generally focused on kings,
queens, shapers, and movers, because that’s where the epic action is?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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NB: Wrote about what it would be like to have someone who isn’t
nobility, and how it could shape how the king and people ruling act and rule.
Could the leaders have someone who’s not part of the yes men, telling it
straight to them and not trying to please them?<o:p></o:p></div>
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KP: The noble action is there, but you do need the people on the bottom
to establish the foundation, and work up. Without them, you have nothing, and
the people at the top have nothing to lean on. Having the underdog stories is
beneficial. If you don’t include them, they don’t exist and your characters who
are noble have nothing to fall back on. They help round out the story,
establish the universe.<o:p></o:p></div>
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AC: Anytime that you’re writing about a new world, you have to know who
those people are, understand the background of how those people work. Those
stories interest her more than the ones about the kings and the queens. And if
she is interested in the king or queen, they’re always reluctant characters.
More interested in the underdog characters.<o:p></o:p></div>
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DBC: Has a history background. The new wave when he was studying was
social history. No longer about great people doing great deeds. Needed as
historians to get back to the lives of the people who were living the world
every day, even if they weren’t shaping them. But they’re boring as hell. So
writing stories about things happening that leads to the destruction of life as
your characters know it, don’t we risk diminishing the stakes in our books by
focusing on the lives of the “little people” rather than those who control the
major events?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AC: Likes that in Tolkien, small people can change the world. That’s
what people enjoy in an epic fantasy, little people making a difference. The
idea that they can change and shape.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
DB: The four hobbits in <i>Lord of
the Rings</i> are the little people, but really it’s a story about great people
doing great things, and the four hobbits thrown in as characters we can relate
to.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
NB: Yes, but with the little characters, how do these big meta events
and major changes affect them, too? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>There’s a difference between cinematic
text and literary text. With <i>Lord of the
Rings</i>, in the book, the corruption trickled down even to Hobbiton. That
didn’t happen in the movies. The hobbits realize how narrowly the world escaped
complete destruction, and everything would have been fine and no one would have
known. Which is more realistic?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
KP: Modern perspective: the concept of the little person making changes
that can make the large aspect change in the world, but then we have our lives.
How much would we be affected? Would the hobbits have continued to remain
blissfully unaware if they didn’t go? How small people react to big events, and
what happens up top, affects and impacts the world as well.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>Audience Question: The Higher-ups
make decisions based on power. Little people make decisions that affect their
community. Why are the little people stories so effective?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
DBC: Even the smallest person’s decisions can have deeply powerful
effect on events. The decisions that Gandalf et al make are big decisions that
affect the whole world, but all of these are made after Bilbo found a ring and
lied about it. One person can do something that has ramifications beyond that.
Rosa Parks was highly educated and an activist, so her decision to sit at the
front of the bus was an informed and conscious step. But it’s something that’s
been highly romanticised.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AC: We can relate to these characters. It is a romantic idea, very
loosely based in reality, but that’s what people read for. To escape, to have a
world they can completely lose themselves.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>Audience question: In the book <i>The Age of Reason</i>: The earth slows its
pace, an apocalypse is happening, and the main character experiencing this is
who the story is told through. Why are we focused on this one young girl? So is
the story better told from her perspective or someone who has a level of power?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Audience member: Likewise, literary classics are about normal people
thrown into weird, strange situations and how they handle them. How can we
translate this to fantasy?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
DB: It can and has been done.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
NB: Multiple times. Christopher Paolini, <i>Eragon</i>. The idea that we don’t have these decision making powers,
either, so we relate to this. We make up the majority of the population, so we
relate to them very much. The underdogs are us.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
DBC: And we relate to the underdog not just because they’re they little
guy, it’s the little guy with the hidden power, nobility, or talent. If they
could be that, then we could, too. (Harry Potter, King Arthur, etc). Something
about taking the ordinary person and having them face these big problems that
speaks to us.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
DBC: It doesn’t have to be the kid who think she’s ordinary and then
becomes this special person. They can be just an ordinary guy doing ordinary
things.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Aud: It’s about the feat, too, not just the cataclysmic event. We’re
just focusing on one point of view. Choosing that hero makes the difference.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AC: Everything in <i>The Shining</i>
is told through the child’s eyes (Danny’s), and it makes everything more
intense.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
NB: Especially in apocalypses, one of the concepts is, how do we save
future generations?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AC: Could be why we have such a fascination with YA right now.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
DBC: In the movie <i>Hero</i> with
Dustin Hoffman and Andy Garcia, DH was a bum and a grouch but he saves a bunch
of people, but then goes back to being a bum. The point of this panel: does a
hero have to look like a king, or can they be a young street urchin living on
their own and trying to make it? How can we reconcile heroism with having
higher stakes involved?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AC: As a second-grade teacher, taught fairy tales: and the idea that
you can always tell the princess because she’s pretty, and the villain because
he’s ugly. We’ve reversed that and we’re fascinated with doing that.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
NB: Yet we still have fascination with the perfect hero.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AC: Superman is boring.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
DBC: More people would go to Iron Man because of Tony Stark’s snark.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
BB: There will still be a population who wants the perfect heroes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AC: Writes romance, so she sees those stereotypes. But asked her fans,
and many want to see people with disabilities.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
KP: The hero’s evolving from the perfect sculpture to someone we want
to relate more to.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AC: It comes and goes in phases. Right now we’re getting back to that
flawed thing. Maybe because we as a society feel flawed?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Audience comment: Even Superman doesn’t entirely understand humanity,
and is damaged.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
DBC: Now he is. He didn’t used to be.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Audience member: Even bad characters have to have good elements to
them, and vice verse. The perfect doesn’t exist anywhere.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
NB: There is a physical aspect to it as well. There’s a mold and a look
that we still want to fit into.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Audience member: People want more diversity. That we’re having this
conversation matters. We want to see the Spikes, too. Diversity not just in the
writers, but the main characters, is good.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
DBC: It’s hard to look at Legolas and see any flaws. The good
characters are white bread, and the bad ones are evil incarnate. You can find
examples of it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Audience member: Fantasy is growing up, now we’re seeing more complex
characters.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
DBC: Stephen R. Donaldson wrote Thomas Covenant. The books are difficult
reads and he’s a disgusting character, but he’s the prototype for the
interesting antihero. It can be these guys who are dark as hell and do heroic
things, and it changed his view of fantasy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AC: Michael Moorcock’s Elric books. A scarred-up albino. He’s not
necessarily a hero, he’s just trying to get through.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>Audience Question: In the same
vein: making thieves and assassins the hero or protagonist? Is there a way to
make the murderer the protagonist and still have them do awful things?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AC: <i>Dexter</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
NB: Someone born to be a killer uses his skills to keep others safe: <i>Weapon of Flesh</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AC: Remember, nobody is the villain of their own story. You have to
write from the pov of the character you’re writing from. Maybe the person in
your story isn’t necessarily a good person, but they accidentally do good
things.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
DBC: In his <i>Winds of the
Forelands</i> – he has an assassin character, working at odds from the protagonist,
but still a sympathetic character because he disguises himself by wandering
around as a traveling musician, because he loves music. He [DBC] spent time
working on the character for this reason. It’s about showing human beings doing
what they do even if it’s against what your protagonist believes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>Audience Question: But to make people
want to root for him, want them to succeed, you have to find some connectivity
with that character. How can you manage it?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
DB: That’s Thomas Covenant. He’s an awful person, but in the end you
want to root for him because he’s trying to save the world.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AC: The Joker. A deplorable human being. He sticks with us, and people
love him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Audience member: You have to have a fantastic villain to make the hero
strong enough to fight them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>Audience question: But are they just
victims of their circumstances doing what they can to survive?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AC: Everybody has the capacity to be good.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Audience member: <i>Breaking Bad</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AC: There’s a certain amount of escapism in wanting to do all the
terrible things. Maybe that’s why the Joker and <i>Breaking Bad</i> can do that.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
KP: <i>Office Space</i>, too.<o:p></o:p></div>
L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-58883454104962601112016-01-27T03:00:00.000-08:002016-02-14T14:06:32.543-08:00Short Stories Explained (SiWC 2015 Master Class Notes)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Now that I've got <a href="http://lstaylor.blogspot.ca/2016/01/sorry-not-sorry-but-kinda-but-not.html" target="_blank">my explanation of where I've been</a> out of the way ... as promised, let's get back to notes! By special request, here's my first set, straight from the most recent Surrey International Writers Conference. We'll start with a bang: the wonderful Mary Robinette Kowal's very useful Master Class on writing short stories.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
* * *</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Master Class: Short Stories Explained</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Mary Robinette Kowal</b></div>
<br />
<b>How Puppetry Affects her Creative Process</b><br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When learning, there are four principle ideas to make the character look alive.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>With writing, there are certain consistent principles for creating believable characters, too, regardless of novel or short story.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Puppetry: break things apart into small steps. The goal is that the technique is internalized so you just think about the art.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Applies to other arts, too. Drawing, violin, etc.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As writers, there’s a tendency to say “I’m going to write a novel” and try all the things at once. Pacing, description, character development, should be learned separately.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Principles of Puppetry That Work</b><br />
<br />
<u>1. Focus</u>.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Indicates thought. What the character is looking at/thinking about. True also for what you’re writing. The thing you’re writing about, whatever you’re putting down is what they’re focusing on, paying attention to, regardless of POV.<br />
- Don’t think about the little things that don’t matter. If the aliens are attacking you are not thinking about how the car you’re riding in reminds you of your parents, not<br />
Controlling your character means controlling the focus of your audience.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Order in which you present the info to them. The theatre spotlight shows you what to focus on. In writing, the order of information you present to your readers is imp because you are presenting your work to your readers one word at a time and they have to build an image in their heads.<br />
“The man walked into the room. There was a blonde sitting in the chair.”<br />
versus<br />
“The man walked into the room. In the chair was a blonde.”<br />
The first thing is the first they think of, the last is what they last focus on. Anything else in between doesn’t matter as much, just the first and last thing. They’re subtle differences, but very much changes your perception of the things. Order of info is incredibly important, and part of focus.<br />
<br />
<u>2. Breath and Rhythm</u>.<br />
Breath: You don’t notice it unless it carries information. The only time you notice someone breathing unless it carries information. Sneeze, sharp intakes, sighs, exhalation, laugh. Speed of motion reps how much we should engage with it. But don’t over use it.<br />
Rhythm: the speed with which the motions happen<br />
Relates to how long, how much time you spend on something. “Action scenes should have short, choppy sentences” – because that mimics what happens when you’re breathing faster. Also, sentence structure and punctuation show this.<br />
Focus tells you what character is thinking about, breath tells you how your character feels about it. This is how you can get a lot of info without a lot of chatter/explainy stuff.<br />
<br />
<u>3. Muscle/Internal motivation</u>.<br />
With writing, you need it to look like your characters are making the decisions rather than it looking like the author is moving the character along the page. It’s not just about the plot itself, but to put the words on the page to explain it.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Free indirect speech: Take a thought and write it in third person.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The man walked into the room. There was a blonde sitting in the chair. “He lifted her out of the chair because it was broken.” vs. “he hadn’t seen her since California. My god she looked beautiful.”<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Word choice: Lifted vs. Jerked. Free indirect speech shows internal motivation.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Can use it when things are ambiguous.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When used for emphasis: to make an action stronger. “Hell no she wasn’t going down like this.”<br />
<br />
<u>4. Meaningful movement</u>.<br />
Head bobbing. NOT when a puppet bobs its head with every word.<br />
Body language reads very clearly. Meaningful movement to remove ambiguity or emphasize something. Pick one movement per phrase.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“What did you say?” Aggressive movement, passive movement, and regressive movement.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Aggressive: things you want to engage with further. Curiosity, happiness, delight, possessiveness, etc.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Regressive: things you don’t want to engage with. Revulsion, anger, disgust. Different sense depending on how the character moves.<br />
With writing: the body language you give your character can not only make your character come to life. “What did you say?” followed by: putting hands on hips, removing paddle from drawer, or leaning away from speakers blaring too-loud punk rock, etc. There’s lots of double-duty doing this. Don’t do it all the time, but include when you want to disambiguate who’s speaking, emphasize a tone, etc.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>What are the Story Parameters?</b><br />
<br />
<u>Parameter: Size of the theatre</u>.<br />
So you know how much scenery you can have on stage, and how big your audience will be and how much they can see. For writers: How long will your story be? How many scenes you can have, how many characters, etc.<br />
Every character or scene implication you add to a story adds 500 to 1000 words even before you get to story.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>5K limit: 3 characters, 2 scene implications (scenic locations).<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Scenic locations: when you have to move the “camera” into another room.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Time of day can also count as a scene implication. Can change the characters’ reaction to the same setting.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Plot structure can double or triple those numbers.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If your character has a name, they’re typically a main character. Otherwise, they’re spear-holders. Very proportional.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When writing short fiction: the moment the character speaks, they’re a character.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Named pets count, even with nonverbal communication.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Don’t allow characters to speak unless they’re a key element. So proportional and so dependent on what story you’re trying to tell.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>THESE ARE NOT HARD AND FAST RULES. JUST GOOD RULES OF THUMB.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Typically, the initial story choice when writing shorts is that it’s too big.<br />
<br />
<u>Parameter: Length of the show</u>.<br />
How many scenes you have. With a very long show, people welcome the intermissions. But to stop in a 45 minute show halfway through for a 20 minute intermission – you could lose the audience.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When writing something that’s only 4000 words long, and it’s split 3.5k/0.5 K, there will be a sense of let down because there won’t be time to build up the scene again.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Why did I have that dip there? Check your scene breaks.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Difference between novels and short stories: you have to keep things in proportion. With a novel, you can spend 3k setting up the story before you get into it. In a short story (1k-7.5k), your setup length is much shorter. Bear in mind the percentages. Don’t think in terms of absolutes, but in terms of percentages.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Every scene break is a reset. Every scene break is the brief moment where the audience gets to reset. In a novel, there’s not much impact. In a short story, too many don’t work as well. Be mindful of proportion because scene breaks throw the reader out of the story.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Short scenes don’t get into the character as much.<br />
<br />
<u>Parameter: Style of Puppetry (Voice)</u>.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2 choices to make: technical style and aesthetic style. With writing, that means technical (POV), and aesthetic (voice: like Austen or Southern character, or educated middle class white person, etc).<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Erase “invisible prose” or “transparent prose”, the idea that you can be neutral, and don’t think about the words and do think about the story. There is no neutral/invisible prose. There is prose that fits into the Western mainstream narrative. But that’s not the only way to write.<br />
<br />
<u>Senses and Character</u><br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You have ingrained aspects of yourself that you bring to your character’s POV. So try to make sure that whatever your character’s POV is matches who they are, to inform your reader without taking up a lot of space in the short story.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We are all experiencing the room at the same time of day in distinct reactions based on our life experiences.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When we talk about POV, it’s not just about where our character is standing now, it’s where they were standing in the past.<br />
<br />
<u>Exercise</u>: In 3 sentences, describe the room from a specific POV. Pick a person with a certain job, and we should be able to tell their job based on what they notice. Depending on what they notice, the point of view and focus, you can convey what their job is.<br />
<br />
Now, with same character, use three emotion. Resetting to zero with each emotion. Can include their physical reaction, but just use their reaction. How long they linger on something, the words they choose to describe it. Anger, delight, fear.<br />
<br />
Within 3 sentences, the reader should know where they are, who the character is, how they feel. Shortly after that comes the plot.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Plot and Structure</b><br />
<br />
The MICE quotient: how you decide where your story stops and where it ends.<br />
<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Millieu: the place where things happen<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Idea: the questions you have during the story<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Character: who’s in the story<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Event: the things that happen<br />
<br />
The thing that drives the story is going to be one of those elements. One of these is the most important.<br />
<br />
<u>Where stories start and where they end</u>:<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><u>Milleu</u> – driven by the pace – these stories start when you enter a location and end when you leave it. About the place. Gulliver’s Travels, Wizard of oz, etc.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><u>Idea</u> – the question your main character has. Starts when question is raised, ends when it’s answered. Mysteries, e.g. Sherlock Holmes.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><u>Character</u>: Begins when your main character is dissatisfied with their role, ends when they are satisfied/reconciled. Reconciliation in different forms. Transformation into something better, better understanding of their current role, e.g. Coming of age stories. Romance stories: character story – dissatisfied with being single, ends with “now I’m not!” (though that’s a gross oversimplification). Character stories are very much about an internal conflict. The character wants for themselves to be something they’re not.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><u>Event</u>: about an external conflict. Begins when the status quo is disrupted, and ends with restoration of status quo (or new status quo). Begins with disruption, ends with restoration.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Usually these things are mixed. It’s rare to see a story that is just one thing.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This concept can shape the story you’re telling. Know your POV character and how they’re affected.<br />
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<u>How to use these elements when dealing with more than one</u>:<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You deal with these like they’re nested code.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You start with one type, then add a different type, then must close the different type. Must close each type in the reverse order you open them.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Wizard of Oz: Starts Character, then event, then Milleu, then Idea. Idea is solved, then milieu is solved, then event is solved, then character is solved.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When you end these out of sequence, the big question that is pulling the reader thorough the story, if it is answered too soon there’s not enough time to build tension for the next release point. Usually, the ending tags are out of order.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Narrative tension can be lost if it’s not done out of order. Can cause a sense of letdown.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Epliogues, depending on the novel: a classically-structured epilogue is a very tiny short story tacked onto the end that has is a brief repeat of the initial theme (e.g. code).<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In short fiction, you’ll have two, maybe three types of story. Because of length. When you add another type/element, it has the potential to double or triple the length of your story.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Could have a tiny arc closed out before you start the next element.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You can also have a story that is predominantly a character story with a light event frame.<br />
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<u>Because Math Makes Everything More Fun: The Equation To Remember</u><br />
Length of story = the sum (characters + scenic locations) × 750 (the average) × number of MICE elements<br />
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<u>Middles</u><br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The bulk of your story happens in the middle.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The reason it’s important to know what the elements are is because each of them comes with a different sort of conflict.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sometimes you think you’ve identified the story type, then all the conflicts are character-based conflicts, so you’ve chosen the wrong frame.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The beginning is the question gets asked. The middle is the character trying to answer that question and being constantly stymied. The end is when it gets solved.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The middle is all of the setbacks along the way, and touches on all of the MICE elements you’ve included.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If a conflict will serve multiple functions, it will shorten the length of the story.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Often two try/fail cycles, then success on the third, but that’s a common trope. Three try/fails shows the character has earned stuff.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Conflicts: A series of questions. What does your character want, and how do they go about getting that, and do they get it.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Answer: Yes, but; No, and; Yes/No.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Where people are running into problems in their stories is they’ll introduce information related to a different part of their story, or changes the type.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Middle conflicts may have been related to something else.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Look at it and decide what’s the smartest way to achieve their goal, and systematically deny them. Look for conflicts related to the story questions you introduced in the beginning.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Milleu: systematically keep them from leaving the place.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Idea: about answering the question – keep them from answering the question.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Character: dissatisfied with their role. Stop them from achieving a new role.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Event: character is trying to restore the status quo. Keep them from restoring the status quo.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You must deal with your chosen elements all the way through.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If your character is not dissatisfied, they don’t need any growth, and the story can be something else.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Short stories typically need more than one element. Otherwise it’s a very short story.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>All of these elements are going to be present, but it’s about how many are major drivers.<br />
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In an ideal world, every scene should advance the plot, establish the setting, develop the character, and most importantly, entertain the reader. And if you fail at entertaining the reader, the other three don’t matter. If you were bored while writing it, chances are it’ll be bored for your readers.<br />
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<b>Exercises and Further Discussion</b><br />
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<u>Exercise</u>: Write a synopsis. Think of the middle first. Then figure out what frame you need to support the MICE quotient element you’re interested in. Just one element. <br />
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<u>Exercise</u>: Little Red Riding hood has been told many different times and ways. A scifi/horror is very different from a kindergarten puppet show. Are you interested in the defeat of the wolf, or who the wolf is? The rescue of grandma, or the seduction of Red?<br />
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<i>Me: Microbiologist Rebecca “Red” Jones’ has devoted the last five years to The Grandma Project, in an attempt to discover the chief DNA sequence for predisposition to knitting sweaters and baking cookies. When she encounters a particular sequence, she thinks it’s a breakthrough, except not everything is what it seems. Turns out they cause other problems – they affect the eyes, the teeth, and elements that don’t fit her needs. But after a late night in the darkened Huntsman’s café, she makes her breakthrough: the code involves the same genes that affect touch and scent. </i><br />
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Exercise: Now come up with an original idea. Again, the thing that trips people up is that they have too many characters, too many locations, too many MICE quotient elements. For the purposes: two characters, only characters, and one scenic location.<br />
Think about: Who they are, where they are, and things that can go horribly wrong.<br />
Conflicts involving internal angst: for example, two ex-lovers, trapped in a room, have to decide whether or not to cooperate. Think about the things that interest you, and what you’re excited about, to write your idea.<br />
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<i>Me: Some people count the exits when they get to a new place. Seismologist Nancy counts the safe spots. She knows the Big One’s coming; it’s just a matter of time. When stuck at her crotchety, aging father’s used bookstore as the earthquake finally hits, she must convince him to find a safe place to duck, cover, and hold, then abandon the building that is so not up to code before it falls on them, or else risk losing the only family she has. Only by telling him about the earthquake insurance she secretly paid for a decade ago is she able to save him—and herself.</i><br />
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MICE can be used as a diagnostic tool once a story is written.<br />
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<u>Flashbacks</u>: this framework is about how you tell it, not about the sequence in which the events happen. Sometimes a novel will start with 24hour previously/later, then jump back. Structurally, they’re moving the MICE question to a different spot. Incorporating them at different points to affect the order of info in which the reader is getting things, and the context to understand the reaction.<br />
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Character: not just about where they’ve been, but the role they define themselves as.<br />
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<b>Endings</b><br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When you get to the end, with a short story,<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Short stories and novels: audience is expecting different things.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>\think about it like the Olympics. A clip of a gymnastic trick should start right when the gymnast’s routine begins, do their stuff, stick the landing, and they’re done. When watching the coverage, you want to see them warming up, the emotional backstory, do the trick, finish the trick, go talk to their coach, get their maeks, watch the interview with them after. Short stories are the clip; the novel is watching the entire thing.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Denoument: not such a big deal with short fiction. In a short, it’s usually only a couple of sentences. Stick your landing, and get out. Close your last tag. One things you can do to heighten the emotional oomph: two basic tricks – try to resolve all of the conflicts right at the same time.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Hollywood ending: when you get to the end, your main character needs to defeat the villain, overcome the problem, and reconcile with their sidekick/romantic interest. Sometimes the villain and the sidekick are the same person.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Father is both villain (stopping her from escaping the bookstore), and person she loves and needs to save. She gets things happening in all the same moment. Usually in novels, it’s defeat the villain, solve the problem, and reconcile spaced a tiny bit apart.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The closer you can get the closing tags (the big driver tags) at the same time, the bigger emotional punch you have.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The other trick: resonance. Simply: ppl like patterns. We are pattern-seeking creatures. It’s the way our brain is wired. Children watching/reading stuff over and over: thrill of recognition.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You can repeat something that happens at the beginning. It can be an inversion or a repetition depending on where your character is going. If you have a beautiful resonant ending at the end of your story, don’t change it; go back and change your beginning.<br />
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Remember character motivation: pick a thing that matters to your character that doesn’t need to be directly related to the plot. Something they desperately want (to do) that the event status quo disrupts their ability to do/have.<br />
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<b>Markets</b><br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>SFF: when you are trying to decide on a market, always read the guidelines.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Three factors to consider: 1) Money, 2) Size of Audience, 3) Shiny/Cool. Depending on where you are in your career, the importance of each will change based on what matters to you most. How much does the market pay, how many do you reach, and how much do you want to be in that market. All three of these elements *need* to be there.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You should be paid.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Start at the top and work your way down. Don’t NOT send something because you don’t think you’re good enough for it. Do not self-reject.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When it hits a point that it’s a market that won’t pay you, doesn’t have an audience, and you’re not interested in, put it away instead.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>No matter how much the market pays or how big the audience is, if it’s not a market you don’t want to appear in, don’t submit to the market.<br />
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L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-31812957056986906332016-01-22T09:17:00.001-08:002016-01-22T22:42:40.028-08:00sorry-not-sorry but kinda but notMy American friends laugh every time I say "sorry", but it's an ingrained habit. Besides, while I'm travelling abroad, I might as well keep up my image of the polite Canadian who stresses her vowels and can't help adding in the occasional "eh". I even had a shirt made up.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And the back says "Sorry". Even my clothing is apologetic!</td></tr>
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So ... yeah. It's been awhile. I'm not sure if I want to apologize for my absence or not. Certainly I wasn't expecting to be away this long. However, multiple personal crises and family member health emergencies (on top of a few things that were good but added even more stress) hit me all at the same time, because when it rains, for me it freaking <i>pours</i>, and even this incurable optimist has been tested.<br />
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Yes, <i>tested</i>. Euphemisms and understatements are kinda my thing.<br />
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At any rate, one area of my life that also suffered in this clustercrush* of bad was my notes. Of which I have an embarrassment. So I'd like to try to get back to that, if for nothing else than the fact that I'm trying to build some good habits and patterns in my life.<br />
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I just thought y'all deserved an update, first.<br />
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<i>* My word, but feel free to use. You get the satisfaction of "cluster", and the amusement of watching eyes widen in horror because of how people expect you to finish.</i>L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-17886035238899830142015-10-21T08:51:00.000-07:002015-10-21T08:51:13.842-07:00Master Class: The Emotional Craft of Fiction (SIWC 2014 Notes)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So, just under the wire, here's one of the biggest sets of notes I've taken (though taking a class from Donald Maass is always rich and educational and so, so worth it). SIWC 2015 begins tomorrow (with new Master Classes before the conference proper on Friday). The excitement has been building for weeks. So without further adieu, here is a set of notes that takes what we learned last week from Robert Wiersma about eliciting emotion from the reader, and seriously putting that to work. Enjoy!</div>
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<b>Master Class: The Emotional Craft of Fiction</b></div>
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<i>Donald Maass</i></div>
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Have you ever read a novel that hooked you really hard on the first page, or first chapter, and kept you reading, but still didn’t leave you feeling engaged?</div>
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It was beautifully written, but left you feeling kinda cold.</div>
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What about a mile-a-minute potboiler that you found completely forgettable?</div>
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All kinds of fiction can leave us feeling cold and empty inside.</div>
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- Can excite our imaginations but fail to engage our hearts</div>
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- Authors often trying to motivate protagonists via external plot rather than via circumstances of something that’s locked inside of them</div>
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- Emotional landscape that’s obvious and hackneyed. Emotions that are easy to write cause us to feel very little</div>
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- Great hooks, premises, well-constructed characters yet still feel unengaged, uninvolved, unemotionally connected. It’s not the story, it’s the way the writers are writing.</div>
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- Very readable, but not feeling enough.</div>
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- Superbowl: Best commercials by best ad agencies. Terrific masterpieces of advertising. Can have you weeping in 30 secs. Wrings your heart. How can that make us feel more than we feel in 300 pages of manuscript?</div>
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- Stories that really moved him – the emotional impact, the way stories affect readers, is a craft. Something we can study, do consciously as we write.</div>
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- When you talk to readers about what they really love, the answer that comes back the most is “I love the characters”. This is misleading. What they really mean is not the characters per se, but what they felt as they read those characters. It’s the feelings we have as we encounter those characters that keep us coming back in series. It’s what we feel that makes them memorable. (And there’s research to back this up, too.)</div>
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There are four different ways to have stronger emotional effect</div>
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1. What it is we report how our characters feel.</div>
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2. What a character feels that we do not report to the reader. Feelings that we intuit the car has because of what they do, so we provoke the reader to feel what the character feels</div>
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3. The things the reader feels that the characters don’t. Simply story circumstances that cause us to feel</div>
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4. Our own emotional journey as authors. You cannot write a story without feeling something about it. As you write, you feel. We’re very wrapped up in our characters experience. But how do we translate what’s going on inside us so we can translate it from our minds to the page to the reader?</div>
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There are techniques to create stronger emotional effects so the readers feel engaged (a fancy word for feeling emotional): We want them to feel. That’s the effect that we want to have.</div>
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<b>The Beginning</b></div>
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Let’s start at the beginning of your story. Identify where the story really starts. Not necessarily page 1 of your manuscript. What is the inciting incident? What is the agent of change? What first happens in the story to send your protagonist on a new path to discover/avoid/etc something? When is the moment that signifies “Things are going to change. Right now.” This is where change really begins. Inevitable, unstoppable, and things will change until they’re very different and won’t stop ’til then. What is it that begins change? Someone? Something that happens? Something that happens inside? This is the beginning of change.</div>
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This apprehension that things are moving in another direction, and protagonist is feeling that things are moving in another direction, summed up. What is the event? What is it that arrives to occasion change?</div>
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This thing that arrives/occurs, why does your protagonist care about it? Your protagonist cares. Why?</div>
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If you write that “I have to engage because it matters to other people, someone else will be affected” – that’s fine. We care about other things because they matter not only to us but other people. But that’s only the first level of why people care. That’s the external reason that causes your protagonist to care. But why do they care just for their own reasons? That matters to your character so they don’t let themselves down? Why does it matter to them? Or, if nobody else cared, why would your protagonist care despite that?</div>
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Poker – people who go all in before the flop turn it to roulette, not strategy – who cares? It’s a small game only for points, a mindless waste of time like solitaire – but he really gets worked up about it. Why does it matter to him? Because it takes the fun out of the game for him. Robs it of the drama, the emotion, the fun of guessing, of paying attention to the betting of the other players, of using your mind. It takes the emotion out of it, makes him not care.</div>
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So why does the inciting incident matter to your character? Why does it matter to your protagonist that this agent of change has arrived? What’s the best thing about it? What will it bring your protagonist that they’re lacking? What does your protagonist need that this change brings? What is the thing most fearful about it? What is your protagonist afraid that he or she may have to face? Change is good, but we all resist it. We don’t like new things. But we love new things. But we don’t like new things. Presents, good.</div>
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Why is this change good? Why is it bad?</div>
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Keep working on this moment in the story. Your protagonist cares and we’re starting to define why. But caring itself is a feeling. What is the best thing about it? Does it feel good to care, to be engaged? Is it exhilarating? Is it fresh, different? Create an analogy for this caring. What would it be analogous to? Like unwrapping a present? Talking to the doctor? Or something else?</div>
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Your protagonist cares, but what does the fact of caring about this say to the character about him or her self because they care at all?</div>
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How does it make the reader care that the protagonist cares?</div>
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Or, how is your character alone because he or she cares? Why is this going to isolate, make them a pariah because they care?</div>
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Your protagonist cares today about what has arrived, is bringing about change. Why does your protagonist care today more than yesterday? Or more than 10 years from now? What is it about now that makes it so important to your protagonist?</div>
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Finally, there’s a reason your protagonist shouldn’t care at all. Other things to worry about, things that matter more.</div>
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Now, in a paragraph, take your notes and answers from the above questions and craft it into a passage.</div>
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There are inhibitors as we write, about telling too much and having nothing left for the rest of the manuscript? Those are valid fears. Remember, one of the biggest challenges we face is that the readers are not feeling enough. We need them hooked, not engaged, immediately. If you’ve taken the reader inside your character and shown more than you want, then that’s okay. You’re not done wringing out your character.</div>
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<b>Scenes (the change)</b></div>
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Scene by scene, step by step. Mostly we write scenes, sequences of collapsed times.</div>
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Exercise: Pick a scene that’s not especially dramatic, with emotional explosions, a scene that needs to be there even if not much happens. A “blah” scene.</div>
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Focus on that scene. In this scene, at the end, no matter how little happens, something is different. What is different that is true? Something affirmed? Something more puzzling? A shift in pereception? A new worry? Something more to do? What is different at the end of the scene than was true at the beginning?</div>
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Whatever it is, is the change. Think about this change and what it means for your pov character. Take a look at this character and the change that is underway in this scene. May be apparent right away, or the character is aware that the change has taken place.</div>
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What’s the best thing about it? Why is this good? Why does your protagonist like it? Why is it invigorating, challenging, exciting? Affirming?</div>
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You can work on “what is bad” about this change, but that’s what most people think. Nothing wrong with that, it’s what we expect.</div>
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What is different? Who will be different? How will the protagonist’s course of action be different than expected? What’s an implication of this change that your character can see? Who else will be affected that nobody will think about? What does your protagonist see before anyone else? How has the big picture shifted just a little because of this change? How has it been reframed, understood in a new way? This change has implications. How does your protagonist feel about those implications? How is it needed? Why?</div>
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If it’s a bad change, why is it good? If it’s a good change, why should we be worried?</div>
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How will this change affect one other person who is also in this scene? What do they feel? How do they feel it differently? How do they see what just happened? Now, take that perception and give that understanding to your protagonist, so they can see how this has affected that other person. Give your protagonist that perception. Then answer, how does it change your protagonist’s impression of that other character, too? What it is that your protagonist feels about this other person because they have a different reaction?</div>
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Something small has shifted here. How has your protagonist feel about himself or herself because of that? What does she or he know about herself or himself that they didn’t know before? How is it good? How is it disturbing? What does it feel like to be newly self-aware in this way, because something has changed and it cascades through your mind and you see yourself differently because of it? How? Is that good or bad?</div>
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This scene that we’ve been focusing on here. Is your protagonist or POV character feeling a little more alive in this scene? Are we digging inside this character a bit more? Are we changing this character in a way that feels like more? That’s good. Change affects people. When we see people change, we are moved. Change provokes us, no matter what that change is. Change stirs us up. So when you change your characters, your readers will be stirred. Provoked. They can’t help it.</div>
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This is something we can do in every scene. What if you did another draft and did nothing but focus on the change in scenes and how it makes the character different, and also looked at how other characters changed and gave insight to your character about this? What if a small change in circumstance in this plot affects the character deeply? Maybe the 300 pages are getting even deeper.</div>
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Something else: Let’s take a different scene. Pick a different scene from somewhere else in the middle of your novel. Write down what it is your pov character feels the most strongly about in this scene? What is the predominant emotion? Are they angry, horrified, overwhelmed, determined?</div>
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In so many manuscripts, the predominant emotion is some degree of fear. Worry, concern, apprehension, uncertainty, anxiousness, etc. That’s okay, it’s true, and we want our readers to worry, too. However.</div>
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Now write down something else that this POV character also feels while the events are unfolding. Something which they’re not immediately conscious or aware of. If we talked to them later, what else comes up besides the predominant emotion? A feeling of irony, hysteria, amusement (even while bad things are happening)? It’s another level of feeling.</div>
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Now, what is yet something else that this character feels as something happens that we could elicit from them later if we had a chance to talk to them about it? What else could they feel? Glad? Relieved? Did they think on their feet and rise to the occasion and that makes them feel better, stronger, more capable? Maybe they don’t feel it right away, but it’s in there. Do they see setbacks as a challenge, a test of resolve they’re determined to pass? What do they prove to others, themselves?</div>
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What does your character feel in this scene that’s unique to this character? What do they feel that’s different from what anybody else might feel?</div>
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Take this third feeling, and magnify it. Make this small feeling really big. The first thing your character feels. If it’s the first they feel, how do they express it to others? Or how do they show it? What do they do or say that makes it inescapable, unavoidable for us to know that they feel this way? What’s the biggest way to express this?</div>
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Create a gigantic metaphor for this feeling. How big is it? How would this be an elephant of a feeling?</div>
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Characters’ feelings are underreported. But what would happen if you substituted this feeling and showed no other feelings than this last one? (Aud: Because if it’s a self-centered, selfish, unflattering feeling, then the character would seem unlikeable.)</div>
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The characters of Gone Girl are unflattering. Crappy characters. The wife is a self-absorbed New Yorker, and the husband is the worst kind of guy, completely selfish, and their self-absorptions take over and their marriage dissolves. And we can’t take our eyes off them. We get to know them. The characters are not flattering and it didn’t seem to matter. Because everything the author reported was true. These unflattering feelings are ones we recognize and identify with. We’ve all done and felt those things. Their self-awareness is a strength and gives us compassion.</div>
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Don’t be afraid to show the reader something negative about the character. Because they care about something else. Once the reader is emotionally hooked, they’ll keep reading.</div>
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The more honest, true, and accurate you are, the more you catch the reader by surprised by the true but unexpected emotions you portray, the more you catch the reader by surprise and make them feel what the character feels, because then you’ve made space for the reader to feel the top/primary emotion.</div>
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Secondary emotions surprise us, which is why they work. Obvious emotions don’t surprise us, which is why they don’t work.</div>
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Of course his guts twisted in fear. It’s a cliché, an emotional cliché, and the reader doesn’t resonate.</div>
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e.g. Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 – the part with the woman with the match, backing out of the house. Yes he feels apprehension, disturbed, but he’s excited about burning books. Even when he’s disturbed by it, he’s still excited by the fire at night. Nobody feels tense here, but we do. Not just the fact that a fire is about to start. What makes it work is that Montag is excited. And we’re caught by surprise in this moment, which allows us to feel the terror, revulsion, tension that Bradbury really wanted us to feel. And he notices how someone else is feeling too, with Captain Beatty keeping his dignity by backing out slowly. He doesn’t mind the woman’s about to immolate herself, he can keep his dignity. That’s a lot better than writing that Montag’s guts twisted in fear. It made *our* guts twist in fear instead.</div>
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The Principle of Emotional Surprise – it’s an important one. When we write in this way, explore emotions like this, we can start to experience emotions on the page. And we can make mundane things poetic.</div>
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Genre writers may feel that evoking feelings cheapens the work. Likewise with very literary writers. Thrillers in particular don’t put a premium on feelings. Action, hook the reader, keep moving, never stop. (Same with romance.) The great series characters are characters we feel a lot more about. Maybe you’re feeling like Hemingway. “Recreate faithfully and accurately the experience you had so that when you do the reader will feel what you felt”. All for showing, not for telling. He didn’t hate emotion, he hated writing emotion. And it worked.</div>
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But dry, undernourished manuscripts that don’t talk about feelings can cause us not to feel anything. And editors/agents can say, “Take out that emotional experience, it’s antithetical to plot”. So why did it work for Hemingway but not for others? Because Hemingway was able to make us feel things that other writers can’t because he was playing a trick on us. The difference is that the scene has strong feeling inherent in it anyway. “Hills Like White Elephants” is about two people sitting in a café talking and nothing happens at all. Except that these two characters talk around what they’re talking about. They avoid talking about what they’re talking about. “It’s a very simple procedure, really” and she dodges it. He doesn’t have to report the feelings much because everyone is going to have an opinion about abortion. They weren’t talking about something banal. And in “Now I Lay Me” he starts a story with a character sleeping, dreaming, thinking about the silkworms eating, thinking and remembering how a war explosion has affected him and that makes us feel something. Because he’s writing about near-death experiences and being afraid to die. Death evokes emotions. When you write about big stuff the emotions are present already. And with “I listened to the silkworms eating” we’re already creeped out.</div>
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Try this: Choose a moment in your story when your protagonist faces a difficult choice or needs something very badly or has a shock, an unwelcome realization of sometime, suffers a grievous setback or affects someone else grievously. A dramatic turning event in the story. Let’s go there. Now put this moment in the story into mind. Think about the ways when this moment your protagonist is conflicted. E.g. Hemingway: he needs to sleep, can’t go to sleep. As we find ourselves in this moment, where are we? One or two details unique to this setting. Something different about it. (e.g. silkworms). What’s different in your story? What’s happening that we can see? What do other characters say? Make what is done a little bigger, make what is said a little stronger. How can what is spoken at this moment be shouted? How can a gesture turn into an action? What can your character physically do that we can see that would be symbolic? What might your character do that would deny what he or she feels? Does the character force him or her self to do this? Instead of what they should do, what does this character do differently? How do they substitute one emotion for another (i.e. run away) in this moment? Even if it’s just counting the exits, showing that they want to run away, but they don’t.</div>
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Now what is it that your character actually feels? (e.g. “I was afraid of going to sleep.”) Write it down. And then cross it out. You are forbidden from writing that in this scene. You must make me feel that with everything else in this scene. Can you do that?</div>
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Work on the circumstances of the scene, the gestures, the denial, etc, until it’s perfectly obvious what they feel until it’s perfectly obvious what they’re feeling even if we don’t state it outright.</div>
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e.g. Counting the exits shows the desire to escape, without saying it.</div>
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How do we make it stronger still?</div>
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Suppose you had to show in one gesture what it is the character feels but you can’t tell the reader directly, exactly what it is. How will we know that they feel this way? The obvious would be blatant statements.</div>
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This works because this is a pivotal moment. Dramatic situations with emotions inherently attached to them. Ordinary stuff does not necessarily provoke emotion in the reader. Dramatic does. By using emotions that are ripe in the situation, without stating it, and focusing on that, you can have more emotional effect. Not just, “they’re running running running” and we should feel “fear, fear, fear”.</div>
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Keep digging. Find something that works. By exploring what else they feel, and how it’s different. The reason emotions feel cheap is because they’re cheap emotions. When we surprise readers, even the most common, run away thriller scenario can be enhanced by attaching unexpected feelings.</div>
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<b>Communicating Dry Information</b></div>
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Dry information (e.g. in science, historical, important details in science fiction and fantasy) that you have to explain to the reader in the context of the story for the story to make sense – dull stuff. Dry stuff. How do you get it across without slowing things down?</div>
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Well, what info do you need to get across? Pick one thing. Whose POV are we going to be in when this info ahs to be delivered? Who is the vehicle when the info is given to the reader? Now, your character has knowledge the reader doesn’t. But let’s take a look at your character. Who knows something the reader needs to know. What matters is this:</div>
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- This information that they have, that we need to understand. How does your character feel about it?</div>
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- What is good and satisfying about it? What does your character say to himself or herself thinking about it? How does your character feel when they are doing this action? How can the reader relate to those feelings? (e.g a doctor that wants to help a patient with various symptoms who won’t tell her what’s going on because it’s clear that the patient was trying to decide whether or not to trust her – we see the doctor’s concern that something else is going on. So we can relate to the doctor.) SO. What is it in this information that concerns or worries your character? What is ambiguous, potentially dangerous? What suggests we should be afraid of it? What new possibilities have arisen now that we have this new information? What will it mean in the future? What does this information mean? What implications of this information are exciting, concerning? What will the character have to do differently because of this information? In what way is this information a metaphor for something else? What does it cause your character to think differently about something else?</div>
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- What makes information (data), historical, worldbuilding, technical, scientific, anything that is dry or factual, just pure data, and will lie flat and dull on the page until it means something to the character. Until the character has something to feel about it. How the character questions or worries or becomes excited about it.</div>
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- Dan Brown’s The DaVinci code – fully a third of the book was dry information, so how did Dan Brown get all of this info across to the reader without boring the reader? Because he gives each of the three main characters an area of expertise, and the others think they know more than the other two. And they debate it. There’s a power struggle going on between the three characters, all trying to top each other, doubting what the others say, calling it into question and raising additional issues and they all have different opinions. And they’re constantly debating it. \</div>
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- Attach feelings to information, and that information becomes engaging to read. Because they we feel things about the characters, especially how they react to information. If info or learning info stirs the character up, that gets us interested.</div>
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- Remember: outer journey (events of story, plot, things we can see) vs. inner journey (how the characters undergo change or transformation, grow or fall apart) – the long inner change unfolding. Get them working together. Fasten them together so they form a strong hold like structure in a building. Feelings, emotion, meaning are the way to do that.</div>
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- Take any event, and focus on how that event affects the character’s inner personal journey.</div>
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- Also, you can externalize feelings to an event. You can attach that emotion (internal) to something else. Attach that feeling to an event. (In a saga, carrying a struggle or need forward.) Find big meaning in small events and dig out overlooked things that are highly meaningful from large events. Even doing the dishes can be profound, if you work with emotions.</div>
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<b>The Reader’s Emotional Arc</b></div>
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We can also provoke emotions not part of the character’s experience, that only the reader feels. What is the reader’s emotional arc? What are they experiencing as they read the story?</div>
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Mostly, authors want the reader to feel what the protagonist feels. But that’s not the only journey the reader can go on. You can actually manipulate the reader to feeling things they might not want to feel otherwise.</div>
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Pick another important character in your story. Or your novel’s general setting. Take a look at this character or setting. At four points in the story (beginning, major middle turning point, climax, end) and at each four points don’t look at what’s happening in the story but what our reader feels about this character or setting. What is it that you want the reader to feel?</div>
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What is our first impression? What would you like the reader’s impression to be? When they first see this, what would you like the reader to feel?</div>
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Now, your target is what the reader is going to feel. You can either create one detail to feel what you want them to feel, or you can give this feeling to your protagonist.</div>
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Middle turning point: How does this change? How do you want your reader to feel? How is this more complicated, dangerous, intriguing, beautiful than we thought at first? What hidden side will we have seen by this time?</div>
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1. Give this new, nuanced, different perception by showing what the reader says or does, or by noticing something different, or give this to your protagonist to convey</div>
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2. This new perception – in what way is this new perception completely wrong? What have we missed? What don’t we know yet? What is even more deeply hidden? What is an even bigger surpise about this person or place? What will we reveal, for good or ill? What is a secret about this person or place that we don’t know yet? What are you hiding from the reader? What would this person or place like to hide? What would be too embarrassing to reveal?</div>
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3. You can change your reader’s opinion one more time – by the time the climax comes around, tell the reader what to really think about this character or place. Until.</div>
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4. What do you want your reader to feel about this person or place at the end of the story? What new way can we understand this story? Can your protagonist see that this place is neither good or bad is just the same? What’s one unchanging feature that your character can come to appreciate by the end of the story? Can a good place become ordinary? A bad place become just a place? Same with character. How can we appreciate them in a nuanced, balanced manner by the end of the story?</div>
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Have you been able to change your reader’s opinion four times? If so, you’re manipulating the reader. But you’re causing them to feel differently. Most importantly, you’re causing them to feel. And that’s what matters.</div>
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<b>Oh, and</b></div>
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One more thing – and this radical proposition – It doesn’t matter what your story is about. It doesn’t matter what happens. It doesn’t matter what kind of characters you’ve chosen. It doesn’t matter what style you write in, a quiet writer, a dramatic writer, objectively or with a lot of voice. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a lot to say or hardly anything at all. What matters is how much your reader feels, regardless of what you’re writing or the style. What matters is they go through a strong experience, have a lot of feelings. Readers will be stirred and will remember. A television commercial can do this. So can your story.</div>
L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-80598077746438084322015-10-13T05:00:00.000-07:002015-10-13T05:00:06.842-07:00Making Readers Cry (SIWC 2014 Notes)<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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Three types of editing rule my life. The first involves my day job. The second, my freelance work. More on that later (at this rate, probably after this year's SIWC, which happens next week; watch me play catch up again!) In the meantime, have some notes from last October that slipped through the cracks, most likely due to the third type of editing (and one of the main reasons I've been busy lately): my own revisions.</div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">* * *</span></div>
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<b>Making Readers Cry<o:p></o:p></b><br />
<b>(or, How to Elicit Emotions in Fiction)</b></div>
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<i>Robert J. Wiersma</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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Making readers cry is a specific example of what we’re all
looking for: a chance to connect. If you’re writing a funny book, you want the
reader to laugh. Polemical, to think/come around to your pov. Sad, you want them
to cry. You want the reader to react.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Buzzword: Elicit<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->As writers, we have to depict events, emotions,
situations. Paint the characters. But it’s possible to go too far, to forget
that we want to connect. And in order to connect, we have to <i>elicit</i> emotions.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Showing a character laugh isn’t that funny. You
need the reader to laugh.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->It's not enough to depict the character having a sad
moment. You need the reader to feel that gut punch.<o:p></o:p></div>
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-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span>In life it’s awful to be called a manipulative
person. Everybody does it slightly, it’s a part of life. But if you get a
reputation as a manipulative person, then no one wants you around.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->But as writers it’s our job to manipulate.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span>Fiction is a byproduct of the imagination. But
through fiction it’s our job to reveal
deeper truths by manipulating the reader. If you are bad at it, then you’re as
shamelessly manipulative as a long distance commercial. But if you’re good at
it, then it will elicit exactly what you need without seeming manipulative.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->When someone picks up your story, they expect to
be manipulated, so they want this.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Writing is a curatorial process. It’s important
not to put everything on the page. Important to hold back. But if you don’t hold
back, how does the reader know what’s important?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Decide what’s important, what you include, to
guide the reader though the experience of the story or book in order to reach
the effect you want.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Only include detail if it contributes to your
manipulation of the reader. If you don’t, you institute a degree of cognitive
dissonance in the reader’s mind. If the appearance is important, include it. If
it’s not important enough to include, don’t. It may even be damaging.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Curate and manipulate.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>When have you as a reader or television viewer been
manipulated to tears?</b> (Examples from audience)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->The Notebook<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Paul Potts<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Funeral, when small children are saluted<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Little Women <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->The opening sequence to Up<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Now think about real life.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span>Example: A gunned down RCMP officer – where officers from
across the country converged to honour that – all of these strong men and women were not in tears, being silently respectful<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Our collective subconscious gets affected very
deeply by events such as this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->We’re prewired to feel these feelings.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->News stories are as curated as fiction if not
more so. Details are left out, events are shaped into a narrative to create the
effect they want it to have. Part of that which works (in real life and
fiction) is <i>mirroring</i>. We see emotions, and as naturally empathic people, we
react to them. When someone cries, we get sniffly. The trouble with that is that we
end up with the possibility of sentimentality. And when you’re trying to elicit
genuine emotion, it’s easy to do it wrong. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Sentimentality is cheap, crass, lowbrow, and
effective. It taps into our pre-existing collective emotional touchpoints.
Marketers know these very well, and it works.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->In a book, it’s cheap. We can do better.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Sentimentality is unplanned. Like Robin
Williams’ Dead Poets Society’ speech in the iPad commercial. Very effective. And
then he died, and Apple didn’t pull the commercial. Because the message was
<i>Carpe Diem</i>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->But the crassness of them not removing the
commercial is a hazard of sentimentality.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->You don’t want sentimentality. But you should
not be afraid of sentiment. It’s genuine, it grows out of character.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Everything in writing comes out of two things:
story and character.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Story is in opposition to plot.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Plot is an arbitrary construct imposed from the
outside by an author in the position of god.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Plot-driven fiction and narrative. Harlequin is plot
structure. Same structure every time. And people gravitate towards them because
there’s a safety to them, like cozy mysteries. Or Law & Order (the original
series). Written like clockwork. The crimes were horrendous, but the narrative was structured to the point of safety. Plot is not story.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Story is organic and based on the actions and
reactions of characters.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->You can’t have a story without characters. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Story moves organically through actions and
reactions of characters.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Characters are revealed and developed through
the movement of the story.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Story is character. Character is story. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Relatability of character <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->The concept that characters don’t need to be
relatable – but having an unrelatable, prickly, unlikable female character is
somehow seen as bizarre and undesirable<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Some writers have gone public with the concept that likability is not essential<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Likability is not essential for a main character, but
relatability is different.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->We don’t need to relate to characters, but it
helps when you’re forging a connection.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->We can relate to Humbert Humbert in <i>Lolita</i> not
by the actions he takes, but as a human being. As a narrator, he’s emotionally
accessible. It's an uncomfortable reading experience (for men and women in utterly
different ways) – and yet somehow Nabokov affects us emotionally by the end.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span>It's essential for characters to be relatable. But
how do you make your characters relatable?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->This occurs through action. Discovers them as the
reader does, by showing them in action. By showing what they do, documenting
what they say, and playing with the space between those things. And then, what
they do alone. How they are in the dark. What haunts them. The best way to do this
is to allow characters to move. To react.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->The point where the story starts is the inciting
incident.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->It is as close to the beginning as possible.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span>In Quantum physics, the ultiple universe theory: every
action creates a multiverse. We create a universe with every choice<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->How the story moves will reveal those characters
to us.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->These are moments of emotional truth that you reveal that
make the reader uncomfortable but are emotionally true enough to carry the
narrative forward.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Let the narrative reveal the character step by
step.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->It's not our duty to redeem the characters by the end
of the story; it's only our duty to remain true to the characters. If you can redeem
them in an emotionally true way, then great. But you have to keep true to them
as you slowly reveal them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->The death scene in Little Women works because
you’ve spent so much time with the characters and come to know them so well.
Domestic familiarity with them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->One of the things you want to maintain is
questions. You don’t want to reveal everything at once. And one question that
threads through the narrative is, “Who are these people, really? What will they
do when confronted by these situations?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->You want to dance along the line between
sentimentality and sentiment. Like a little girl saying, “My sky blue dress, mommy, because of the
sky”. Be aware of using sentimentality but not surrendering to it. Use it in
the service of sentiment.<br />
<br />
<b>Embrace the Pain</b><br />
-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span>Underwrite. Always underwrite. You’ll be tempted when
you reach a big emotional moment to use all of the tools at your disposal. But
rein it in. Give the reader something to mirror from. You want the reader to know the character is in emotional distress, but you don’t want to wallow it.
<u>The key to making the reader cry is to hold off on making the character cry</u>.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]--><i>Alien</i> is terrifying because it uses the
fundamental truth. What you can’t see is scarier. What you imagine is more
terrifying than what you see. Yes, the alien is terrible, but once you see it,
the tension stops. It's no longer horror, but a thriller. And that change comes at
the moment you see the creature. Yes it’s exciting and thrilling, but the
tension dissipates. The same is true with emotion. You need the reader to
mirror it. The longer you can hold off the climax of that visible emotion, the
better. You want the reader to cry, so don’t let the character cry. The longer you
put it off, the better. <i>Plunge the reader into the emotion to such a deep
degree that you make them cry.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Skirt sentimentality as much as you can. Walk
the line.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Codicil: “It’s going to hurt.” It’s going to
hurt you. There is no way around that. <u>If it doesn’t have an emotional
effect on you, it won’t have an effect on the reader.</u><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->It is perfectly human and likely human to flinch,
but you can’t flinch in telling the story. It’s a betrayal of the contract you have with the reader.
If you flinch, the reader will notice. Flinching makes you pull back from the
path you’re on, that you and the reader are committed to. You’re no longer
following the emotional truth. You can’t flinch. <u>So, are you strong enough
to break your own heart? Over and over again?</u><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->That’s how you measure the effectiveness of what
you’re doing. If it’s not hurting you to write scenes that are hurtful, you’re
not effective enough.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->We build stories out of emotional character
actions. We want readers to say “I didn’t see that coming, but I should have.”
You don’t want them to say, “That was a cheat.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span>Mirror: The reaction that when you see someone in distress,
you react in distress. It’s part of our humanity. You see someone with a deeply
invested emotional reaction, and you react to that.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span><i>Gone Girl</i> – the fact that they ended up together. It’s a
surprising ending but it couldn’t have ended any other way because they are
perfect for each other.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Audience Question: How to you get off the page without revealing too much
of yourself?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Work from within, but write from outside, too.
Blur and blend those elements. That gets you the freedom. Don’t blanch at
drawing too deeply from yourself, so long as you’re avoiding writing about you.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Audience Question: How do we know that the emotion will well up in someone
else?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Don’t describe the emotion. Describe what
elicits it. So long as the reader has some kind of connection with the
character, they’ll feel it, too.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Don’t think that showing the reaction is going
to elicit the emotion.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->It's better to have details than an emotional outburst.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Even if you're writing someone emotionally losing it, you can
underwrite it by not emotionally blurting, though that lets the reader off the
hook if they can see it on the page. Like whispering a poem in a dying child’s
ear (in Before I Wake)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Audience Question: How do you know you haven’t stepped over?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->As a writer you’re never 100% sure, but editors
and critique partners will let you know. And then you can improve it<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Sentimentality may provoke resentment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Audience Question: How do you handle emotion depending on what part of the book
it is?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-style: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">If you begin with an event,
the character’s reactions to the event will reveal them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-style: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Be open to surprise. You know
more about the characters than you think you do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-style: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Delayed reaction, pacing and
tension, sentence length can also work with this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-style: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Dig into the emotional scene.
Let time elapse. Let things happen. Don’t just rush ahead to where you want to
go; make space to allow things to occur naturally.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-style: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">It can be okay to label the
emotion.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-27750141732871268442015-09-28T09:51:00.001-07:002015-10-14T13:10:10.968-07:00What Makes Fantasy Epic? (Emerald City Comic-Con 2015 Writing Panel Notes)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4dPAINaLI47yIer_u7ze-hMFVCmeG5wPBUPr-ZGBSjOL_4aSJa7xwYwr-34Wo7zOIPrPPfbOXed0mZGkFfbSNbkGISSe2KokVz9HGBQt-bWVq3Jrul49IBceKs22wNpV1REx1Q6aThwA/s1600/big+cat+fantasy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4dPAINaLI47yIer_u7ze-hMFVCmeG5wPBUPr-ZGBSjOL_4aSJa7xwYwr-34Wo7zOIPrPPfbOXed0mZGkFfbSNbkGISSe2KokVz9HGBQt-bWVq3Jrul49IBceKs22wNpV1REx1Q6aThwA/s400/big+cat+fantasy.png" width="298" /></a></div>
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<b>What
Makes Fantasy Epic?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<i>Peter
Orullian, Robin Hobb, Patrick Rothfuss, Peter V. Brett, Steven Erikson<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<i>Moderator:
Ellen Guon Beeman</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
The definition of epic fantasy, how it’s evolved, and how they create
their worlds.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Would you say there are specific
styles, plots, or characters that make it epic?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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RH: It’s a story that is world-changing. But the author decides the
size of that world.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PR: Everybody does it for a different reason. Ultimately, it’s about
bigness. Bigness of book, bigness of story, bigness of world. He doesn’t think
he belongs in epic fantasy – more heroic fantasy. His works are big in scope of
character.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PB: These genres we cram works into to place in a bookstore are useful
tools, but he knows no authors bound by the rules of specific subgenres. These
labels are tacked onto the work after it’s done to sell it. Broad in scope,
characters go on journeys.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PR: Likes the term <b>BFF</b> – <b>Big Fat Fantasy</b> is a clear, defining
label.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PO: Different labels are attached by different readers, which
frustrates the marketers too. It’s interesting to think about reader response
defining category as well.<o:p></o:p></div>
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SE: Epic fantasy is the origins of literature. The trunk of the tree.
Everything else has branched out from that. Yet it doesn’t get the critical
acknowledgement that other epics do.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PR: It’s a weird inverted hierarchy – stories are classed by their
props rather than their substance. If you think about it, <i>Stranger in a Strange Land</i> is sci-fi because there’s a Martian,
when really if you think about it now, it’s more urban fantasy. Cowboys equal westerns.
It’s not about substance but about scenery. Props of epic fantasy: Horses,
nobleman, prophecy, etc.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PB: Magic is the defining part of fantasy, which is why there’s such a
big argument over whether Star Wars is fantasy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PR: Can’t agree that magic is a defining characteristic. It’s a sense
of the wondrous, and magic’s an easy way to achieve that.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PO: Believes that magic is a vital part. <o:p></o:p></div>
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PB: Even if there’s no palpable evidence about it. Magic can be subtle.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PR: This may be a semantic discussion. Fantasy engages with the
wondrous.<o:p></o:p></div>
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SE: It’s an extension of imagination.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PR: And science fiction is a subset of fantasy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Specific characteristics that
the hero has to display?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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PR: You need a protagonist. Defining characteristics – we have tropes,
but those are getting hammered into gravel to the better of the genre.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PB: The hero is *stubborn*.<o:p></o:p></div>
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EGB: Persistent.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PB: Sure, if you want to be nice about it. Bossy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PR: We have done a better job of remembering what a hero is all about.
A big person. Ancient Greek definition: A great man who falls from a height
with a tragic flaw who screws up everything. A lot of genres have moved away
from that, but fantasy has not. Superman is an adolescent power fantasy. He
doesn’t have flaws.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
SE: We have infantilized our heroes. Fantasy as a genre is not immune
to it; but it’s more that action films reduce the notion of the hero to
sociopathic vengeance. Issues with notion of hero. He tries to dismantle it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
PR: In Smallville, who was the interesting character as the show
progressed? Lex Luthor. Superman’s so perfect, it’s the villain who’s more
interesting. Like Herod. The one people show up to watch.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Are writers moving away from the
flawed hero?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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PR: We’re all about the flawed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
PB: We’ve even taken it to having the villain as the protagonist in
different books. The idea of the cartoonish villain doesn’t exist so much –
people have legitimate arguments about what they want and demonize the other
side to justify their path of violence.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
SE: Villains don’t think of themselves as villains.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PB: One trait that connects them is they solve their problems with
violence. That’s what infantilizes them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
PR: There’s an <a href="http://smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2012">SMBC cartoon</a>
– about Superman getting confronted by various “I’m not the villain,” and
Superman doesn’t know who to punch. Terry Pratchett’s stories had characters on
the edge of the stories that you get to know. Characters who initially are
viewed culturally as the bad guys, you realize are just guys. And not a boring
story because he showed a dozen times that the people you thought were bad are
actually just people. It’s a lesson the world needs to hear a dozen times
before it starts to soak in.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
PO: It’s a powerful thing when you see the villains do something
compassionate, when you get a chance to see that side. And when you see them do
this, it throws the reader for a loop, deepens the story when you show the
other sides. And when good characters make bad decisions in the interest of
good – character building techniques. Done more often these days and it’s good.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>In terms of techniques of where
to start, do you have any advice? Where do you begin?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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All: Draw a map!<o:p></o:p></div>
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RH: Never started out to write all the books she did in the same
setting. Never sat down and said, “I’m going to do that.” It unfolds and
unfolds and unfolds. You start to see connections. A lot of our writing happens
in the subconscious. It’s a game you’re playing with your own mind.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
PR: In terms of where you start, we’ve dug a deep groove in the genre
because Tolkien had such a deep shadow. LOTR hit and suddenly there was a huge
market demand for more like that. And that led to less-than-artistic books
being wrote. And that begat a third gen of Tolkien-esque, and people decided to
ask, “What is epic fantasy” and they defined it upon that. Tolkien didn’t
define that. He was just a geek about languages and mythology. His passions
informed his world and that’s what made it so cool and appealing. PR cares
about history, sociology, dead religions and writes about that. You should
write about what you dig. Do *that*. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
PO: It’s interesting that there’s fantasy being written these days
where something doesn’t need to be punched. It’s not necessarily all large
scale wars.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PB: Violence can solve some of the problems.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PO: So much in PR's books that is written is cerebral. The hero doesn’t
need to be scaling toward an epic grand scheme.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PR: Different characters approach things differently.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PB: Characters can find other ways to solve the problems.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
PR: Classic quote: Fairy tales exist not to tell us there are dragons,
but that dragons can be beat. That’s an oversimplification – we live in a scary
world and it’s easy to feel powerless. In the folk tales someone disadvantaged
used their cleverness to overcome a big problem. That metaphor is so appealing
and gets repeated so often that it becomes the problem.<o:p></o:p></div>
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SE: It’s almost an oversimplification to simply just look at Tolkien as
the progenitor. Stuff came out of pulp fiction and noir, too. Bear in mind that
he’s not the only launching point. His legacy might be that he’s holding back
Fantasy in terms of criticism. And when writing a series, you can screw up your
editors by saying, “No, you can’t cut that because that comes back in Book #X.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>Audience Question: When you
learn the rules of thumb and agreement that they can be broken, how much can
you break them once you know them?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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PB: That’s a big part of being a writer. We learn the rules and then we
break them. Knowing where those rules are makes the work much stronger. Easier
when you understand them before breaking.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PR: Successful criminals know what the law is. (Called lawyers usually)<o:p></o:p></div>
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SE: We all know the tropes. We’re taking on the subversion of those
tropes now.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PR: Do whatever you want so long as it works. Best rule, but the most
useless guidance.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
RH: IF you’re breaking a rule solely for breaking, that’s not okay.
“This is my story. My story breaks the rule, and that’s okay”.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PO: Rule avoidance is a problem, too.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Audience Question: How much can
you make an epic fantasy mundane?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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RH: Depends on how much you stretch it. If you’re writing anything
mundane in your world you must be as accurate as possible in those mundane
things in order for the reader to believe those fantastical things.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PO: Except for traveling.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PR: Shadowfax the horse is a big part of what made Gandalf cool.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Audience Question: When do you
put themes of making fantasy more grounded in reality with themes you can
relate to in the real world? <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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RH: When he has more questions than answers, he looks at something from
several different angles, not to give the reader answers but to explain the world
to herself.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PB: There are two parts of the story – what happens, and how the
characters feel about something that happens. And the latter is more important.
And what happens takes a back seat to the adventure. Emotions should resonate
with the reader.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Audience Question: How do you
name things?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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PB: Big book of baby names. Changes the spelling.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PO: Finds consonants and vowels that sound good together.<o:p></o:p></div>
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RH: The obit page will take back to names that have become uncommon.
Also play around with language. Take a Latin-based noun and turn it into
somebody’s name. Eg. Verity sounds pretty but also means truth.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PR: Not enough time to talk about it right now – this needs its own
panel.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Audience Question: When using
legends and myths – are things to avoid? What do you do to avoid tropes?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Legends have been told and retold.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PR: Avoids prophecy. Such BS.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
SE: You can have the prophecy so confused that no one can figure it
out.<o:p></o:p></div>
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PR: Cheap tension, not developing story enough.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
PB: One thing is consistent: There was a time gone by previous to
another time for our heroes in almost every major story he can think of. A
moral guide that seems inherent in most fantasies.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
PR: Legend – something happened in the past; prophecy – something
happened in the future. Legend is better because it’s a mystery you’re trying
to uncover. He’s morally offended by prophecy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
PO: In world development, past events can influence your world as it is
today. He’s not a fan of prophecy, either, but legends can be peppered into
work.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
SE: You can also use prophecy to mess with readers’ heads.<o:p></o:p></div>
L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-54407643798046607332015-09-23T22:01:00.001-07:002015-09-23T22:03:54.681-07:00Hi!This is just a quick note to reassure folks that I'm still around, but that I've been far busier than I ever imagined. Good things, in the long run, but definitely things that take away from this.<br />
<br />
More to follow soon, and I hope to get some notes up shortly. I, um, kinda have a backlog.L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-3709969432002229802015-07-20T05:00:00.000-07:002015-07-20T05:00:01.474-07:00Beyond the Children’s Section: Writing YA (Emerald City Comic-Con 2015 Writing Panel Notes)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Another YA panel? Yes, but just as we've learned with the sex panels, each time a writer or group of writers tackles this subject, the information rendered is unique. Enjoy!</div>
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<b>* * *</b><br />
<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>Beyond
the Children’s Section: Writing YA<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<i>Aaron
Michael Ritchey, Holly Black, Lisa Mantchev, Rachel Hartman, Arwen Elys Dayton<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<i>Moderator:
John Lovett</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>What are the characteristics
that you’ve found that make for a YA market?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AD: Wrote a book and paid no attention to genre; it happens the four main
characters at the centre of the story are teens. It’s a minefield that we go
through in life and a very interesting part of life to examine.<o:p></o:p></div>
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RH: YA for her has to do with the themes. The time in your life when
you’re stepping out, emerging, coming out and trying to figure out who you are,
all the possibilities ahead of you. As opposed to adult lit where you’ve made
your mess and must lie in it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
LM: Similar experience: wrote the story she wanted to write. It just
happened to be YA. Now she knowingly writes YA as a theme, the coming of age
story, foundation issues for a YA novel.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
HB: What defines a YA novel is a teen protagonist. Certain themes and
characteristics throughout, but there are outliers that don’t have those
things. It really does come down to a teenage protagonist.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AR: Wanted to write YA. Yes, it’s a teen protagonist going through
teenager things, but also dealing with other things.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
HB: YA didn’t used to exist the way it did now. Most people just
transitioned to writing adult novels. Remember that you’re competing with adult
books. You’re writing the experiences of a teenager. Otherwise, they’ll go read
adult books.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AR: It’s the emotional vibrancy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>We’ve talked about the
characteristics of this market. Are the characters supposed to be two years
older? Are the sentences longer (as per Stackpole)?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
RH: It’s not our job to plan that. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
LM: It may be a 10-year-old advanced reader or their grandmother who
bought it for them. Lots of people read YA. Not just kids or the target
audience. Syntax, etc, are editorial decisions.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AD: People are more willing these days to talk about what happened when
they were teens. But don’t write down or talk down to a teenager. You don’t
dumb it down.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
RH: When you were young, you were used to learning new words through
context.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
HB: Idea of aging up the character: most of the time, readers like
reading characters a little bit older than them, to tell whether they like it
or not to figure out whether a character is right for them. If you get asked to
age up or down a character by the publisher, you don’t have to. And making
sentences shorter. YA allows for more complex sentences. MG wants more simple
sentences. And when people are talking about YA, they are often thinking about
MG. HP and Percy Jackson behave like seventeen year olds in a middle grade.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AD: Problem with Harry Potter – Rowling made no distinction between MG
and YA. She had the luxury of working between both. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
LM: She deliberately did not choose to focus on teen issues. Partly because
the aspects of being teens were not important when dealing with the
world-at-stake issues.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AR: What it really comes down to is the sex stuff. You can kill, but
the moment you add the sex stuff. There are no rules; what works, works.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>Speaking of the Harry Potter
series – YA used to be Burroughs and Tarzan. How has the YA market
fundamentally changed, and how do you think the Harry Potter series has
influenced the YA market, and where is it going?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
HB: HP is not YA. Has changed the MG market, adding younger middle
grade and older middle grade. Big series that affected things: Gossip Girl,
Twilight, the Hunger Games. What we see as YA has shifted. And it’s still in
flux. It’s way different than it was a few decades ago. And some YA back then
would be considered MG.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
LM: Write what you really want to write; don’t chase a trend. The
digital revolution has now found new homes for books. As YA authors it’s now
limitless possibilities as for what you want to write and how you want to get
it out there.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
RH: Agrees that HP is MG. But it is directly responsible for YA authors
being able to publish600 page books. Twilight, too. Opened doors for longer
manuscripts being accepted.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AD: YA used to be less about how old you were than what you were
interested in reading. Now kids have very big books. Write what you want to
write; it finds the audience.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
LM: Also, YA saved the industry. Parents would still buy their kids
books even when the economy tanked. YA was the one category that outperformed
every age group every year.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AR: One of the reasons why is that you have this emotional vibrancy in
teen fiction. You get that in YA books because it is such a vibrant part of our
life. And an emotional vibrancy in the fan base. Also, the coming of age story
is so great because it’s such a hopeful arc. Madeline L’Engle: If you really want
to write complex stories, don’t write for adults, write for younger stories.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
HB: Not just page length or series length. Release dates, midnight
releases, now have become a thing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
LM: This is how big it’s become.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AD: Entirely new territory.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>In the context of writing a YA
novel, are there stereotypes of characters and tropes you’d suggest that
authors avoid? What would be the least and most successful?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
RH: Use any trope you want, but you have to earn it, own it, make it
yours. They’re not bad in and of themselves. You use them and think about them
and be aware of when you’re doing them. Stereotypes arise from a lack of
understanding. Notice how you use these building blocks, try not to fall into
the traps before.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AD: You can’t come up with something wholly original; it’s about the
story, lets it grow in its own space as its own story.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
LM: Just because something has been done already doesn’t mean you can’t
do it better. You get your craft to the point that you know what you can do
with a story. Make it worth reading. Uses TV tropes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
HB: Write a book that you the reader would truly love. Then hope other
people will love that too. Try not to write nostalgically about
childhood/youth. Remember what it was truly like to be there. Write for
yourself then and yourself now.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AR: It takes courage and bravery to do that. Being a writer is an act
of absolute courage and daring. And what you write can have an impact on a
writer. Write the books that will save someone else’s life. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>Audience question: What is your
research process when writing a marginalized character?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
HB: It’s the iceberg. You’ll have to do a lot of research that won’t
show up in your work. Make sure that you do this respectfully and well. Have
folks of that marginalized group read it for authenticity. You’re creating a
character with the weight of representing that. One of the ways to do that well
is to hopefully not have that character be the token, only person of that
marginalized group.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
LM: Have your ducks in a row, use beta readers to get feedback. Some
will not be offended, some will be very offended. And you will still screw up.
No way to write a perfect character. And you’ll still get feedback about how
folks feel you represented that character. And it’s important that you do it
well because kids will see themselves in that character.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
RH: Whatever their backgrounds are, it’s about extreme empathy, finding
the part of that character somewhere inside yourself to be able to write them.
And then, when you do receive criticism, find a way to deal with it and
empathize again.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AR: And be courageous. It will happen. If you start doing stuff out of
the norm, you will get attacked. We have to have diversity. It’s our job as
authors to show it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AD: If there’s someone in your life that you get to know and research
it that way, great. Research with love. Once you capture that you have a fairly
good chance of the words coming out right, the story heading in the right
direction.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>When you start outlining a
story, do you focus on certain parts specifically?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AR: Goes through the 14 points in Save the Cat. Has to have the
beginning hook and the climax, then follows the 14 beats.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
HB: All over the place. We talk a lot about plotters and pantsers and
it’s very clear but experience is that most people exist on a spectrum. Even
plotters don’t stick to their outlines. Everyone has the process that they’ve
come to. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
LM: Everyone does it differently. No one can turn in a perfect draft.
Everything good in a draft happens in revisions. All of us have files of
versions of the books that will never see the light of day. Also, keep your
ducks in a row for book 1 so that the details for book 3 are consistent and don't contradict book 1.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
RH: Process for each book is different in each book.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
NG: You never learn how to write a book. You learn how to write *this*
book.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AD: A method you learn is likely only applicable to the book you are
working on. Updates outline to match what she’s written. If an outline helps,
go with it, otherwise throw it out. Whatever gets the book written is the
process that works.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>When do you share excerpts with
others, who do you share with?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
AD: Shares it with only a few close first readers, and watches their
body language.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
RH: Has two beta-reader friends.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
LM: Shouts ideas through the shower to husband and daughter. If their
reactons are good, that works for her. Also has done collaborations with others
and working together, having someone immediately looking over your shoulder
that’s as invested has been very interesting, both invigorating and
challenging.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
HB: Mostly shares with author friends, and formal critique group when
done.</div>
L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-74710323714817517872015-07-10T05:00:00.000-07:002015-07-10T22:32:20.966-07:00Fuelling Creativity: Sci-Fi and Fantasy Authors on Ideas (Emerald City Comic-Con 2015 Writing Panel Notes)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmaSeJc1ylnNBulc8kc4cEIHMzC3MTTDjdWoOJyZzyuFG91cmQfAG-aZF4G0GORYfg_biCXmCRixdtX1hG3gT05absCYeiR-qNcbxVUXQg13USV1qDUF-tpJsb43877Z63wO4wYwqmnNM/s1600/on+a+boat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A 3D magnet of an open book with a quill next to it. On the book's pages is written, "Once upon a time ... on a boat." Sculpture magnet created by Laura Parcel, 2015," border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmaSeJc1ylnNBulc8kc4cEIHMzC3MTTDjdWoOJyZzyuFG91cmQfAG-aZF4G0GORYfg_biCXmCRixdtX1hG3gT05absCYeiR-qNcbxVUXQg13USV1qDUF-tpJsb43877Z63wO4wYwqmnNM/s400/on+a+boat.jpg" title="Once Upon a Time ... On a Boat. Sculpture magnet created by Laura Parcel, 2015," width="300" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b>Fuelling
Creativity: Sci-Fi and Fantasy Authors on Ideas<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<i>Cat
Rambo, Django Wexler, Greg Bear, Jason M. Hough, Myke Cole, Ramez Naam<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<i>Moderator:
David Hulton</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>Is there a process to coming up
with ideas, or do they hit you like a bolt of lightning with total clarity?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
RN: Never a fully-completed idea. It evolves with time. It’s never
fully formed until the story is written.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
DW: Has more ideas to write than he can actually write, adding up
faster than he can get rid of! Sometimes it’s super-clear, and sometimes it
comes together easily, but sometimes it’s much weirder. (Like his Hidden
Library series, came from the idea of a very creepy Dumbledore)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
MC: “Writer’s need to live life like they’re hunting it.” You cannot
control how inspiration strikes. You cannot control how inspiration strikes.
All you can control is the work. Sit down and come up with ideas. Be okay with
coming up with bad ideas. Keep doing it until you come up with a good idea. If
still can’t, then construct one. Have faith. (Books: Gemini Cell: if Harry
Potter went to the Navy Seals instead of Hogwarts). The point: However you come
to it, control the one and only thing you can control, which is the work. Do
your work. “Do it well. That’s all that you can do.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
GB: Have ten million crackpot ideas and sufficient courage to turn them
into a story. When you have a whole raft of crackpot ideas, you can pull them
out when you need them. Fantasy ideas often come from the mythic consciousness.
SF ideas come from the same, but have to work in a different way. Ideas come
from the same thing: You need pure arrogance, to believe in yourself. Surround
yourself with people who give yourselves ideas. Get rid of the ones who don’t
believe in you. And you must believe in your characters, too.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
CR: Agrees, most writers are very arrogant. Problem is not getting
ideas, it’s not paying attention to them. If you stop paying attention to them,
you’ll stop getting ideas. If you get an idea, write it down. Tells students,
“My unconscious mind is much smarter than I am and produces all sorts of
things. My job is to pay attention to it.” Pay attention to the weird shit that
your mind throws at you. There is gold there.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
JH: Agrees, write it down. You don’t want to lose those things, you
never know when you’ll use it. Keeps an idea spreadsheet. As for ideas that
come randomly that need to be written down and captured – those are the
lightning bolts. Others come from brainstorming.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>Do you have any advice for
writers for how to get started?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
RN: Do the work. Don’t wait, don’t overthink, don’t plan, just start.
Have 1) Structure and 2) Accountability. Structure: Have a place to do the
work. Accountability: Have people that will follow up with you to make sure
that you get the work done.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
DW: You have to write. Have to give yourself permission to write bad
things. Sit down in a chair and do it. A certain amount of planning can be
helpful, but overplanning can kill it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
MC: Don’t just talk about writing; write the novel. Don’t build castles
in the air. Knows he’s getting into the meat of his story when he’s thinking
about his characters, not the world he’s set them in.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
GB: Still, must understand the culture of the character you’ve put in
the book. That culture will shape that character if the world is your own
creation. The chars have to be changed by the world they live in. All our chars
are human, but they are not precisely like us.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
CR: Don’t worry about that. Just sit down and write the goddamn story.
It is so much more fun to talk about writing than it is to write. “Writers just
fucking write.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
JH: Exactly.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>Nothing is original anymore. How
do you make the writing fresh when we live in a world where so much is already
out there?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
DW: Nothing is original, period. Just don’t worry about that. That’s
the best thing they can do. If your characters are different enough, they’ll
make for an interesting story.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
RN: If you read a lot in the genre you write in, you’ll notice how
there’s something you want to see that isn’t there.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
DW: Never do something just because there’s a market hole; by the time
you finish writing it, that hole may have already been filled.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
JH: If there’s something out there already like what you want to write,
you may want to tweak yours. However, if you gave the same high concept to five
different writers, you’d have five different books.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>What’s the difference btw a good
idea and a bad idea?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
GB: If it sings in your head and won’t let you alone, that’s a good
idea. RayB says, “You can’t chase cats; they’ll run away. But if you turn your
back on them, they’ll come back to you sometimes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
DW: Sometimes a character doesn’t work in one setting, but works
somewhere else.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>How do you get the inspiration
to go back and edit after your crappy first draft?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
MC: You don’t. Difference btw professionalism and aspiration: what
makes a pro writer is that the pro writer sits down and does the work even when
it sucks. It’s not being unkind to yourself; give yourself a second to wallow,
gather your strength, then get to work.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
CR: One thing that is very helpful is to build some time away from the
book into it. Try to put it away for at least a month or so. Don’t
procrastinate; build time into your schedule to let it cool off.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
JH: But remember, there’s no rules, only tools. He steps away from the
story until it’s been two days since he hasn’t thought about the story.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
GB: Go away, and when you think of how to make it better, then you can
go back and fix it. Books do not look pretty right away. Learn how to rewrite.
Take all the feedback that works for you, and leave the rest.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
RN: For every person who’s finished a draft, there’s a thousand people
who have never finished a novel. So congratulate yourself on that, too. Likes
to get feedback. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
DW: Process is very personal. Once you finish your novel, start a new
book the next day. Sometimes you odn’t want to spend three years revising a
novel, but you can’t make that judgement the next day. Most of all, what
matters most is that you need to keep going. But there must be something
writing related the next day. Once you stop, it gets harder to restart.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>After you’ve finished that first
draft and you come back to revision, do you find yourself doing massive story
edits, or just grammar/spelling edits?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
GB: Yes. All of those things. A lot of adding and cutting and including
the sensual elements comes through rewrites.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
CR: The other thing about revision: thinks of it as coase grade
sandpaper; the bigger revisions first, the smaller revisions come along<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
DW: Depending, it may help to outline first.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>How do you balance an intensive
work job with writing?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
DW: The secret to writing is that it goes on in your head every day.
Find a time to write it down. For him, that’s first thing in the morning. But
it doesn’t need to be a lot of time.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
MC: Decide what you want to do with your time. But as he began to get
serious about writing, he got rid of more things in his life. You must accept
that there are no guarantees of success right away. Ask yourself the hard
question: What do you want to do? There may be hard choices and things you want
to do that you’ll have to wait for.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
MC: Let the Elephants Run – the theory that the creativity is in our
DNA.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>How do you focus on one idea at
a time?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
DW: Writes things down. Dwells on them for a little while, writes it
down to get out of his head, saves for later. It helps that he’s <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
GB: Sometimes they’re not quite related and they work together when
multiple ideas come together. See what happens.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
CR: You can work on more than one project at one time. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>What do you do when you have
multiple ideas and don’t know how to put them together?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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GB: Start stories, finish stories, just plain keep writing.</div>
L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-62578858325965307042015-06-26T05:00:00.000-07:002015-06-26T11:57:05.011-07:00Finding the Story: Recipes for Writing Fiction (Emerald City Comic-Con 2015 Writing Panel Notes)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi29VICU7lUjtgMepS9FfvGOAZC_jKUhoUAFhHBhJh3Lwu9_cms_q4idjl4j7xdKIx1ClCcqtqfG6Z4HlhuO7cp-en6uem_CZqgEY8TwjpBDia1T7ximtUldYZ_dsoDRqa0-raVY1iRgFs/s1600/IMG_4456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A square slice of vanilla cake with lemon frosting and a yellow flower sits on a plate with one bite resting on an adjacent fork. The caption reads: "Oh, this? Piece of cake."" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi29VICU7lUjtgMepS9FfvGOAZC_jKUhoUAFhHBhJh3Lwu9_cms_q4idjl4j7xdKIx1ClCcqtqfG6Z4HlhuO7cp-en6uem_CZqgEY8TwjpBDia1T7ximtUldYZ_dsoDRqa0-raVY1iRgFs/s400/IMG_4456.JPG" title="Oh, this? Piece of cake." width="400" /></a></div>
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Hey! Want to know what's almost as stressful as moving? One's downstairs neighbours moving. Especially when they decide to stay up to all hours partying because they seem to realize, "Hey, we can't be evicted, so let's make as much noise as we want!"<br />
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*sigh* I miss sleep.<br />
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But rather than me coping by stress-eating (one thing I am *way* too good at) or writing delicious fictional scenarios in my head about how wonderful the new neighbours will be (that too), let's talk about a different sort of cooking. In his talk given at this year's ECCC, author Michael A. Stackpole breaks down several types of plots with simple recipes he's devised over the years.<br />
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<b>Finding the Story</b></div>
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<i>Michael A. Stackpole</i></div>
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It’s important for him to not suffer writer’s block, so he’s developed techniques to find stories. That allows him to stretch himself as a writer. He needs to be able to judge things and then drop a story in. This is a process panel.<br />
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Listen, write it down, retain it more.<br />
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He reasons to find a story anywhere (since being blocked is frustrating). Because the worst thing you can do for yourself is agonize over being blocked.<br />
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If you find yourself blocked, if the story isn’t working and the words aren’t humming, STOP. Do not continue to push. What it means is that you do not know the characters well enough. You made a decision within 3-5 pages before the story dies that the character does something out of character, which is why the story has died.<br />
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Technique: Interview your character.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ask your character the same questions asked in a celeb interview in a magazine.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The more you know about your character will inform the character’s unconscious choices.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>(e.g. Seahawks fans wear their team-themed stuff around the city. You know them by their typical default colors, etc.)<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Having these little details, even if they never make it into the story, inform the story. You learn more about your character.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Can also apply psychoanalytical books to this (like, 4000 things you should ask your crush).<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Write down the answer the character will give, and the answer they truly think.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>How many secrets do they have in their lives, and how far will they go to keep their secrets secret?<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When you need to write a story, there is some drama or trauma in their lives.<br />
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Writers are better than anybody else!<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A lot of stories share a lot of plotlines.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>He doesn’t like the word “formula”. He prefers the word “recipe”. Different people will produce different variants on a recipe.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This is what drives themes for anthologies, too.<br />
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<b>Simple Story Recipes</b><br />
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<u>The Bug Hunt</u><br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The most basic story that gets told<br />
1)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Learn that the bug exists. (problem) (eg. A wolf has been stealing sheep)<br />
2)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Learn how to kill the bug. (solve the problem) (eg. How to destroy the wolf – the protagonist learns)<br />
3)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Develop the skills and resources to learn to kill the bug. (solve the problem) (how to kill the wolf)<br />
4)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Kill the bug. (solve the problem) (or, kill the wolf, etc)<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This same four-step engine is the engine that drives every single problem in every story.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There isn no problem that won’t work though these four steps.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When we reach step 4, may fail. So go back to steps 2 and 3, lather rinse repeat until 4) is achievable.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A novel is a series of these breakdowns.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Usually linked in parallel, dealing with more problems at the same time.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sometimes solving this problem gives you resources and skills to solve more problems later.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Can break any problem down into these steps.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You always want to challenge yourself, do the more challenging thing.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sometimes it’s possible to have a resolution where the bug doesn’t die, but the protagonist finds other solutions. Or it may set up a problem for later in the series.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>False success; failure to kill the bug but you wouldn’t know it. The bug re-manifests. Or the heroes are tasked with killing the dragon and then the land is overrun by the orcs that the dragon was feeding on. Whether you fail to kill the bug and you know it, or you believe you did and you didn’t, that lack of success leads to more story later.<br />
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<u>The Romance Recipe</u><br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You want romance in your story.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If you have characters capable of being loved, they’re capable of being redeemed.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Having characters go through that is something we love. We love seeing characters getting together.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If you can fit romance into your story, do it.<br />
1)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Boy meets girl (or boy meets boy, etc). Everything seems fantastic.<br />
2)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Circumstances force them apart.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>a) either a misunderstanding or<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>b) a hostile third party<br />
separates them. (Circumstances force them apart.)<br />
3)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The two lovers overcome difficulties and solve the problem to force them back together again. (Characters go through hell to get back together again. Going through hell: finding bugs, killing bugs, etc.)<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You can play with characters’ availability, obligations, partners, misunderstandings and assumptions<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Just don’t repeat the same situation as readers will see that and get annoyed.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This will fit into any book anywhere.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You want your characters to have emotional lives. That makes them more real.<br />
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<u>The Murder Mystery</u><br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Suspense, solving crime, always some aspect that can be used.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Modern Murder Mystery<br />
1)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Someone dies.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In old stories you run into all the characters first, all the suspects. Nowadays you just start with a body.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Your protagonist needs to be on screen or in the story as much as possible.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The reader needs to make sense of what’s going on, so start with the body being splattered all over the place, crime techs giving the details, hero<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As a reader’s job it’s to predict they know the ending<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The writer’s job is to throw things off and create a surprise ending<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Whatever problem shows up on the first page of the book has to be solved on the last page.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Can dress up characters so they look like inconsequential chars and become more important and relevant later.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Don’t toss out insignificant clues.<br />
2)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Suspects are questioned, evidence is examined, someone lies, and we learn a new fact.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A piece of evidence shows that someone is lying. You break down why they lied. But now they’ve told the truth, someone else has lied.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Go through the “someone is lying, break them down” process until you<br />
3)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Detectives learn facts that expose the lie<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Go through steps 2 and 3 quite a number of times.<br />
4)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>(optional) Someone else dies.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>New witnesses, new clues, new cycles of steps 2 and 3.<br />
5)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After you’ve gone through enough, the protagonist knows who did it.<br />
6)<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The villain is exposed and captured. (Knowing the bad guy’s identity is not the same as exposing the bad guy.)<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Technically this recipe is a more specific type of bug hunt.<br />
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<u>With these three storylines, you can do anything</u>.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Basic bug hunt: about 4K.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Beginning novelist: Be over 80K and under 120K.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>More experienced novelists: Can write the longer books.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Electronically self-pubbed: 50K (avg. length of mysteries and sci-fis of old)<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>YA: Character should be 2 years older than target audience.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Adjust sentence length and word length. The average reader reading for pleasure reads at an 8th grade level. Average sentence length should be about 12 words.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The human memory handles 12 words very well. Add more, and we lose some.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The moment you hit a comma, it acts as a new sentence.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When doing action scenes, the average should drop to 8 words per sentence.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Use commas and conjunctions to stretch a sentence out.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Longer sentences make the readers work.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Use characterization to enhance the story.<br />
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<u>Serial Fiction</u> (ongoing story arcs)<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Individual episodes, but an overall story arc.<br />
1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Intro (first thousand words): who the story’s about, what the problem is that will be true for the main line of the story. The problem that will be resolved in the main line of the story.<br />
2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Main. (second thousand words continue dealing with the main line of the story).<br />
3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A<br />
4.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Main.<br />
5.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>B<br />
6.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Main<br />
7.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Main<br />
8.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A<br />
9.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Main<br />
10.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Wrap it up.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>70% of this story is dealing with the problem only in this individual story.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The only parts not dealing with this are A and B.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A: Soap opera material. Stuff about the life of the protagonist. Can use romance as an idea for example. (In the first A meets someone they might be interested in). In subsequent A, develop it a little more. Key to making the soap opera work.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If A is a positive subplot, B has to be a negative subplot. Car stolen. Romance problem. Character is in trouble.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The A and B lines carry on to the next story. The next story, you might have the same things, but in the next story the B fills the A slots. Or we can be dealing with a new problem in the next book.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Doing a push-pull with the character’s life.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>B is good to be distinct from A but it doesn’t matter.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Key: Never let the soap opera stuff to be more than 30% of the story. If there’s more main, drop in more A & B.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Otherwise, once it gets to be more, it forces readers to have to have read all the stories. (And yes, you want that, but you don’t want the story to have to make no sense if you haven’t read the previous stories.)<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A can be negative, and B positive, but you have to have one negative and one positive.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A and B don’t have to be isolated. They can affect each other, work off another.<br />
-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You can have bits of A and B surface in Main, but must keep<br />
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<u>Final Thoughts</u><br />
If you are in a position where you are stuck, throw more characters in, do more things, rather than killing. More characters increase the options. Make it more complicated, not less.<br />
Everything must serve the story.<br />
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<u>When do you do the check to make sure the story works</u>?<br />
When working on the next draft, set it down for a bit. Then come back. If you’re yawning, fix it.L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-31178716395847935502015-06-16T05:00:00.000-07:002015-06-19T10:10:29.004-07:00What’s an Award Worth? (ConCarolinas 2015 Writing Panel Notes)<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
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<span style="text-align: start;">Hi everyone! Just like last year, I spent the end of May and beginning of June at ConCarolinas, followed by a writing retreat. I had a great time at the con as usual, and then at the retreat I feel like I had a chance to deepen my craft. (That's what happens when you get a group of like-minded folks together for honest, earnest critiquing. And okay, the lake house we rented had a hot tub, so that didn't hurt.) After a spot of beta-reading for my awesome CP, I'm ready to get back to my work.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: start;">I'm actually going to keep my promise (to myself) to get on the older notes (relatively) first, because I have a lot of stuff I'd like to share from Emerald City and even (eep) a few from the last SIWC. But this topic felt important.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: start;">Please note: I know this is a sensitive subject. Yes, I have my opinions. Let's leave it at that. As with every other occasion, I'm just sharing my notes on the panel. That said, I do think that there were a few positive messages to take away from this, especially moving forward.</span><br />
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<b>What’s an Award Worth?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<i>Wendy S. Delmater, Gray Rinehart, Edmund R. Schubert, John Hartness, John Scalzi<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Moderator: Misty Massey</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>There are a lot of different awards attached to genre fiction (Hugo, Nebulas, Stoker, etc). What’s an award worth to working writers?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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WD: Abyss & Apex (which she edits) got honourable mentions, recommended reading lists, best ofs, etc.<o:p></o:p></div>
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GR: Hugo nomination for novelette.<o:p></o:p></div>
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ES: Also was nominated, and IGMS they tried but they were able to sidestep that, and they’ve won a few awards. Was once nominated for an Edgar. Years’ best anthologies, honourable mentions, etc.<o:p></o:p></div>
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JS: Hugo, Locus, Romantic Times, Geffin (Israel), Kurzlazfitz (Germany), Scion (Japan), nominated for Nebula, Norton, award in Spain, Audie, and others.<o:p></o:p></div>
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MM: Mad Kestrel was nominated for SC young adult book award.<o:p></o:p></div>
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JH: Recenlty won best horror for 2014, was nominated for 2013, and one story from Big Bad 2 got honorable mention, and was once nominated for Pushcart prize for poetry. And Charlotte writers for poetry.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>So what are they worth to you as writing professionals?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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JS: Depends on the award, the context, and the time. Winning the Campbell award was significant because it was the one that put him on the map as a writer. It was useful to him because it differentiated him from other new writers out that year. Hugo was useful because with it comes outward prestige (known outside of the genre). Example: helped expediate his contract with Hollywood for a contract. The rest of the awards have been nice to have on the shelf, but in terms of moving the needle have been the Campbell and the Hugo.<o:p></o:p></div>
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GR: The awards being differentiators: awards that an author can point to for even eing a finalist or a semifinalist can becomes a differentiator because he can expect more and get more because the ahtuor has already proben themselves in that field.<o:p></o:p></div>
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WD: Does the same for short fiction. Especially new writers. They help develop new writers, and grow careers. They have people whose careers they helped start. To help, they’ve put them in for awards, and they can use that as a cover letter credit to take it to the next level. Having cover letter credits is a big deal. An award means that people notice you, but it also boosts a writer’s confidence.<o:p></o:p></div>
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ES: Challenges is that the writers grow up to move on to writing novels and are so busy writing novels that you need to bring in a new wave. Like a graduating class.<o:p></o:p></div>
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WS: Award winners get preferential reading.<o:p></o:p></div>
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JS: With the accolade comes a certain expectation. Which can be great for them because their next book gets reviewed. And that expectation doesn’t go away. It continues to be brought up. An expectation reconfiguration. The awards for later books are really awards for previous work done. But to win an award is to have criticism both positive nad negative. Which can have an effect on your <o:p></o:p></div>
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ES: MRK: The leading indicator on whether you’re likely to win a hugo is whether or not you’ve won a hugo.<o:p></o:p></div>
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JS: Neil Gaiman turned down an award for 2006 because he sincerely believed it had stopped being about the work and started being about Neil. Passed it on.<o:p></o:p></div>
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ES: It’s not always about the best players, it’s about the most popular players, being rewarded for work that came before. Not a problem, but a reality.<o:p></o:p></div>
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JS: Yes. Example: Redshirts. Is it his best? The year he was nominated, he had been nominated three times before and had never won. Aside from the quality of the book, there was everything that goes on with the aspect of the award; everyone knew he’d been nominated for before, and it was also a good year to be nominated. It’s not only about where you are in your career, but also about the year and the playing field, and you have to be okay with that. Otherwise you get bitter and defensive.<o:p></o:p></div>
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JH: And no one gave Redshirts an award for best SF novel of all time. It’s a snapshot. A moment of “this is the opinion of this voting block for this year”.<o:p></o:p></div>
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JS: When he won the Locus award, one thing he said was “I wish it had been given to Ian Banks”. Because the award represented the body of his works that year. But again, it’s a matter of what the playing field is in a given year and who people are voting for. When you get nominated, you have to be aware of all the dynamics, and it helps you to have someone whispering in your ear, “Thou art mortal”.<o:p></o:p></div>
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WD: It’s worth different things on different levels. Recognition. It pushes people to the next level.<o:p></o:p></div>
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JH: Example: Hopes that an award will push him from attending pro to guest status at DragonCon.<o:p></o:p></div>
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WD: It gets you out of the slush pile, onto the radar, and hopefully into a better situation, career-wise.<o:p></o:p></div>
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GR: It means that he (in charge of the slush pile at BAEN) won’t be the first to look at the book. (and in 7 yrs, so far only 2 of 6200 submissions have actually made it from the slush pile to the shelves). Some manuscripts have been in consideration for a long time because there may be a chance that they say yes. But then, the first book he did get out of the slush pile has gone on to be Nebula-nominated. Writers of the Future award winners have gone to the top, too.<o:p></o:p></div>
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WD: The numbers are important because having some small award will get you notice. Publishes 25 out of 2000 submissions a year. <o:p></o:p></div>
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GR: Same thing all over the place, even with venture capitalists.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Did you find the award gave you a confidene boost in terms of the work and how you presented yourself?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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JH: A confidence boost in his work, and in the way he presents. Doesn’t often mention to other writers that he’s won an award because he doesn’t want to be tacky, but looks at it as a tool when talking to someone outside of the industry, or someone who doesn’t know him, or . When it’s effective. (BK 4 won an Epic award). But it gives him a personal confidence boost that people he didn’t know liked it enough to give him an award.<o:p></o:p></div>
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JS: Confidence not so much, but looks at the awards dispassionately: as tools, as shorthand used strategically to introduce yourself to other folks. With his unusual career, he didn’t have to struggle to get published. Name recognition and awareness in the genre hasn’t really been a problem. He used to be a newspaper columnist, so he came in with a built-in audience. That said, he uses those things strategically. When trying to get attention of people outside of the genre. When Tor was looking at his first book, aware that he came with that audience. When he won the hugo, the main feeling he had was “Yes!” but it was a relief to have won that and to be done with that. He’s already won, so he doesn’t have to think about this anymore. The sense of palpable relief. The awards come with their own dynamics nad pressures and they can loom artificially large in the minds of writers. Hard to explain to some writers on the other side of the fence. It’s great, but then you go home and now there’s the expectation that the next book better be great. He <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/25/business/media/science-fiction-writer-signs-a-3-4-million-deal.html" target="_blank">got the deal last week</a> because he has a track record for sales, not because of the award. Terry Pratchett even turned a nomination down in 2005 because it did nothing for him.<o:p></o:p></div>
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WD: Connie Willis was like an early lifetime achievement award. Not so much about the book. And that’s okay. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>ES: Yes, but if you say, “Who gives a shit?”, then why are there wars?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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JS: He felt relief when he won the Hugo, because he’d been nominated 3 times before, and went through the pressure, and there’s not necessarily a finite number of times you’ll be nominated, but fashions change, tastes change, and this time that he won it was ripe. Eventually that window closes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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JH: Award winners from the 70s are very different from award winners in the 80s and 90s, and Redshirts might not have even been published in an earlier decade because it was a style that wouldn’t have been published back then.<o:p></o:p></div>
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JS: If he hadn’t won, there’s a chance he might have been upset. It’s a mark of distinction and acceptance in the community. Desire makes us do lots of things, positively and negatively. A lot of the wars come down to desire. <i>“Why aren’t I and the things I love properly appreciated?”</i> And the one thing he agrees with is that there is nothing in any type of science fiction or fantasy that should not be considered for awards, or good writing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>Awards are not what the field is about</u>. They are a signatory, a snapshot of what the field is, but that snapshot is incomplete. There’s so much going on outside of that snapshot that it’s hard for someone not in the window or the snapshot that this isn’t necessarily a criticism of what they love. Some people can handle that, and some feel differently. <i>You cannot tell people that the way they feel is invalid.</i> They are who they are. But remind people that there’s more to life. There’s sales. And fans. People who say “That speaks to me, and you have changed my life by writing that thing.” <u>Focus on those moments, not just on the award, as validation</u>. He can’t say that what any of the Puppies feel is invalid.<o:p></o:p></div>
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WD: And you’ve been reasonable.<o:p></o:p></div>
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JS: No, I’ve been snarky as shit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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JH: But that’s what we refer to as a given circumstance.<o:p></o:p></div>
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JS: That’s why you’ll never hear me say anything bad about the people who are nominated. The question is not whether they can or should be nominated; it’s a question of whether in this particular instance was the reason they got onto the ballot without controversy. This year, no.<o:p></o:p></div>
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JH: People want to write what they have written. Wants a Stoker so he can get a better deal, and if he gets those things without the statue, okay, fine, but if he gets the statue that’s even better.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>About the Sad and Rabid Puppies and the Hugo awards …<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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WD: She was there on the inside of that. 15 of the 18 nominees were Rabid Puppies. <o:p></o:p></div>
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GR: Was also a Puppies nomination. After much thought, he has arrived at the metaphor that he was offered a ticket on an airplane, said he’d take that ride, and then the plane got hijacked. And the plane landed and took off again, and there’s people on the plane who want it to crash, and people on the ground who want to shoot it down, and he just wants to get off.<o:p></o:p></div>
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JS: Is reading everything. Will rank his reading appropriately. Regardless of the dynamics, there are people on the ballot this year who could and should be on the ballot. People who got on the plane and were surpreised what happened from there. Ultimately, for the same reason he doesn’t go out of his way to criticize other writers’ writing, he’s going to give the writers the same consideration he hopes others would give to his writing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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GR: Other people voting, they’re very wound up over this, and not sure about voting. Lately, he’s told people that if the situation has poisoned it for them, then don’t read his story. Reading should be a pleasure. If there’s some outside force making it displeasurable, then go find something that will give you pleasure.<o:p></o:p></div>
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ES: Decided to get out because they didn’t nominate him for an award because of his work; they were making a political statement. Felt like there was too much going on. <o:p></o:p></div>
JS: The one thing he thinks about regarding this whole matter is that we do get wrapped up in awards. Yes, it’s the tail that wags the dog, but regardless, it has made us as a community think, what are these awards about, and why do they matter? The one silver lining is that it’s led to a new discussion, appreciation and understanding of what awards are, can be, and should be, and he cannot argue that this was not a discussion that was not necessary for science fiction and fantasy. It wasn’t the way he’d have had it, but at least now it’s happening.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-84182678263943338772015-05-22T07:00:00.000-07:002015-05-22T14:01:55.113-07:00Myths about the Writing Life (ConCarolinas 2014 Writing Panel Notes)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQdIbgn8yEFvkUo9wk0Y7EuHcEj_wsHIvR423EnmRaG1q6ndTKm4X5Hl4HC425fapvuyq03OE1uU33vnL6JbOMZJZPo0hYE2q4OCutd-IYcog6Bt0Mbfp9jkB3B90eko63x7ItMSmXlYY/s1600/delusioned+bird.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQdIbgn8yEFvkUo9wk0Y7EuHcEj_wsHIvR423EnmRaG1q6ndTKm4X5Hl4HC425fapvuyq03OE1uU33vnL6JbOMZJZPo0hYE2q4OCutd-IYcog6Bt0Mbfp9jkB3B90eko63x7ItMSmXlYY/s400/delusioned+bird.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Myths About the Writing Life<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Tamsin L. Silver, Misty Massey, Claudette Marco, Jim Bernheimer, A.J.
Hartley, Roy Mauritsen, James R. Tuck<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Moderator: Faith Hunter</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Myths of
the writer’s life (read aloud)</span></b><br />
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1. My solid gold hummer doesn’t spit money<o:p></o:p></div>
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2. Royalty checks are big<o:p></o:p></div>
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3. People always want to write your books<o:p></o:p></div>
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4. No revisions<o:p></o:p></div>
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5. No day job<o:p></o:p></div>
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6. You need a big publisher<o:p></o:p></div>
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7. Once you write in one genre you can only write in that genre<o:p></o:p></div>
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8. All you need is an agent<o:p></o:p></div>
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9. A book deal equals fame<o:p></o:p></div>
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10. You need to write chapters in linear sequence<o:p></o:p></div>
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11. A great-selling novel equals an automatic movie deal<o:p></o:p></div>
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12. Just about getting your first book out, and it’s all gravy
after book 1<o:p></o:p></div>
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13. Publicity and marketing people at your publishers ensure your
book gets read<o:p></o:p></div>
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14. Book sales are counted in hundreds of thousands</div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Myth: Publicity
and marketing people at your publisher ensure your book gets read.</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">AJ: People assume that if you’re with a major publisher that marketing
budgets are divided equally between authors. The person with the higher advance
gets the higher budget. Unless you’re one of a very small percentage within
that house, there is virtually no publicity or support.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">TS: Her publisher told her promotion was her job, and didn’t help after
a year, so she pulled her book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">RM: Went for a smaller press because he wanted more control.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">MM: Not only did the PR people not do anything, they weren’t clear on
what she should do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">FH: PR is the lowest position in publishing. New authors are often taken
care of by inexperienced PR staff. Best to get a PR firm to help you learn.
Online ads and referrals are best. If you don’t know how to do your own PR then
you lose out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">JB: </span>(mostly self published) Marketing time will eat into your writing
time if you’re not careful. Be prepared to part with money to get noticed.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">CM: (self published) Successful at conventions. Blog tours didn’t help much. Being
at conventions, especially speaking on panels, helped her make connections.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">AJ: Twitter blew up when Richard Armitage read his Hamlet book. Made it
hard to keep up, have a dayjob, and write.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Myth: You
need a big publisher to sell your work.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">TS: Self-published, at book 5, and someone who works at Vampire
Freaks.com loved her books and asked her to write a new online vampire show, so
began work on Skye of the Damned, learned how to produce a show, and as a result the cross promotion led to more book
sales. Don’t be afraid of what you don’t know. If you don’t know it, you can
learn it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">FH: The learning curve never stops.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">MM: Releasing a book of short stories on her own featuring Mad Kestrel
because there has been a long gap in releasing books 1 and 2. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">CM: All the marketing is on you if you are self-published. Used
CreateSpace as publishing venue so that she could put more money into editing,
cover art, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">JB: You don’t even need the brick and mortar stores, either. Self-publishing
– Create Space, Lightning Source. Create Space is more print on demand. Lightning
Source will send you the bill for returned books put in brick and mortar
stores.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">RM: Brick and mortar stores are fighting, competing with other books.
Prefers to take books to convention regardless of small press or large. Works
in graphic design and now designs covers for other writers. Likes having more
control with a smaller press.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">FH: Brick and mortar stores are going away is what we’re hearing. But?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">AJ: There’s a myth going around that b and m stores are going away. It’s
hard to make a real living without a big pub and books in physical stores.
Doesn’t have the skills or time for publicity and marketing his books, so he
wants the big press to promote him. It comes down to what you want to achieve.
Grocery money? Being out there, sharing stories? Self pub. Consistently 50K a
year or more, very difficult to do that as a self-published author. Traditional
publishing is not dying. Some of those who self pub should not be putting their
work out. The initial myth that you need a traditional pub to get your book out
is not true. The new myth that we can also load up to Amazon and make a fortune
is also untrue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">FH: The myth that you can quit your dayjob is also untrue. She just quit
her dayjob, decades in. Hit bestseller list, hired a PR firm, and the firm let
her down, didn’t get much attention from publisher until they noticed her books
stayed on the extended list. Hired her own PR firm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">AJ: The NYT list is calculated based on numbers of copies shipped from
warehouses to stores, while the USA Today list is based on number of sales.
Also, Booklist and many others have their own lists.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">FH: Making the bestseller list did not translate to more PR when she hit
the bestseller list the first time, but then eventually did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Audience
Question: What’s more important, print and e-book sales or hardcover?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">FH: Mass markets don’t make much per book. Print and e-book sales <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">JB: Has been self-publishing, and the most he’s ever made in one year is
22K. Nice supplemental money is great, but don’t quit your dayjob.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">FH: But until you hit a bestseller list, you’ll be lucky to make even
20K in traditional publishing. The first book selling for a million to a pub is
very rare.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">JT: There’s no money in publishing. This isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme.
Don’t do this for the money, do it for yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">AJ: Those who make the most money are hybrids, selling out of print
backlist via self-publishing, and also selling traditional work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">FH: Publishers aren’t letting go of the print rights like they used to.
An agent helps to keep it. If you go for a traditional press, have an agent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">JT: If you don’t have an agent, demand things out of your contract. Have
a lawyer look after it. A contract lawyer can help too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Myth: Once
you get that first book published, you’re set.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">FH: This is more for the traditionally-published folk, but how hard is
it if you haven’t been traditionally published to keep publishing?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">CM: It is difficult, and conventions take money, but does get the
satisfaction of putting book out there and interest in writing to work. Tried
to find an agent, and some were interested, but eventually it didn’t work out.
Liked finding her own editor, connecting that with story, finding own cover
artist, etc. Not much money, but she has the satisfaction of living out her dream.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">FH: Even for traditionally published it can take a lot. Hotel rooms at a
con, meals, flights, etc, are not typically comped.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">MM: Eight years after Mad Kestrel, finally got invited to a con that
comped a hotel room.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">RM: Being able to share a story, create something, that’s the satisfying
aspect for him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">FH: We all do this because we love to do this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">TS: I can’t not write. As an artist, this is extremely fulfilling.
Remembers that she is not writing for anyone but herself. It’s always better to write for you, not for
the people around her<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">FH: It sucks having to write something just to pay the bills.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">AJ: there is a downside to quitting your dayjob. You become a slave to
the market. There’s a freedom to knowing that the sales of your next novel
don’t determine whether you get to keep your house.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">MM: Most people do not have the discipline to treat it as a job in your
own home. Most people are writing in their home and when you’re in your home
the brain is telling you to do all the things, the chores, the laundry, and Facebook,
etc. You have to be super disciplined to not have a day job and write in your
home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Me: Three times I’ve taken a week off just to focus on writing, and
three times the week has been filled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">FH: There are no benefits for those who quit their dayjobs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Myth: You’ll
be able to write at conventions.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">JT: I’m too busy drinking with friends.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">TS: I go out to eat and drink with friends.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">JB: Maybe a bit but cons are an opportunity pit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">AJ: Used to bring his laptop. *snort*<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">RM: Cons are an opportunity to not write, to make connections.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">TS: It’s important to talk about writing, so you have so much more
energy when you get back to that<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">FH: The networking that happens at cons happens at the bar. You can do
this even as a recovering alcoholic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Audience
Question: How do you write at home without social media?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">FH: Rewards herself: she can only check FB after she finishes every
page, if she wants.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">JT: No internet in his office. Researches things later. “Research” turns
into time spent on FB.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">CM: Sets goals, takes breaks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">TS: Easy to sit and write.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Audience
Question: Advice on finding cover artist if you’ve self-publised a book?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">RM: You can find a lot of great artists through Deviant Art.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">JT: If you buy a sketch from a cover artist, you can’t use it for a book
cover. There’s a big contract involved first. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">CM: Freelance.com.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-82816830987978335992015-05-18T08:31:00.001-07:002015-05-18T08:31:33.643-07:00Stealing the Spotlight: When Sidekicks Take Over (ConCarolinas 2014 Writing Panel Notes)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLQLkF5YNUVriALauV0LuB2DUwVEkgdLWG0ewC5p37GunXU4Kau0rpaNvx5P5SiqRFp4j2B-5tWh2DiPrL1tez3vU0iPOkTZV7MgoAaFHRbezygPBy2BsUnfwUp7GKBtSFDJOSCx24q1c/s1600/Deus+and+Squeak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLQLkF5YNUVriALauV0LuB2DUwVEkgdLWG0ewC5p37GunXU4Kau0rpaNvx5P5SiqRFp4j2B-5tWh2DiPrL1tez3vU0iPOkTZV7MgoAaFHRbezygPBy2BsUnfwUp7GKBtSFDJOSCx24q1c/s400/Deus+and+Squeak.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Stealing the Spotlight: When Sidekicks Take Over</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Chris A. Jackson, James R. Tuck, Michael G. Williams, Thomas Monaghan<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Moderator: Edward McKeown</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Thoughts
about sidekicks:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- TM: Side characters that become pivotal, going from a name drop to a
character that orchestrates the story’s end; it’s surprising how the small
characters can change the story<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- EM: The person who changes the most is often the secondary character </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">(e.g. Spock from Star Trek, Watson)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- CJ: You can have more than one protagonist! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- MW: The moment the secondary character starts to take over: When they
start behaving like the main characters of their own stories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- TM: We’re more risky with our secondary and tertiary characters and we
get to explore more of their dark side, and that makes them lively and brings
them to the forefront.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- CJ: Also, if they’re secondary characters, they can more easily be
killed, which adds tension.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- TM: The characters can take you for a ride. Backstory can be added for
colour, then revisited as a critical issue later in the story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- JT: It’s easy to overdo secondary characters. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- CJ: But you can add depth to the character without overwhelming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- JT: Then it’s not backstory, it’s what’s happened in the past that has
made that character become the person they are.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- CJ: It can be hard when the side story enrichens the story, but at the
cost of way too much wordcount.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- EM: Secondary characters can go on to other adventures that are fairly
incredible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- MW: Secondary characters can be waiting to be used, in their own
stories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- TM: One incredible example is Vir from Babylon 5, going from a buffoon
to the emperor of the Centauri republic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- EM: Delenn also moved the entire series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- JT: By the end of Buffy, everyone else is more important than her. She
doesn’t change much.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- EM: Spike’s change on Buffy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- CJ: Sec characters enrich the story. Take that. Ride that pony all the
way to the barn. Just be aware of word count.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- MW: If a character entertains him, then he’ll go with it because he’s
enjoying it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- Audience comment: Monroe on Grimm, Regina from Once Upon a Time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Audience
Question: Spike’s arc was supposed to be static in the second season. What do
you do when a character gets such overwhelming support that you keep him on?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- EM: That’s called Conan Doyle syndrome.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- TM: The characters tell him when he’s done.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- CJ: If his fanbase will pay him for more of that sec character, then
he’ll write it, if that story is worthy of telling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- TM: That’s the secret: the story has to be worth telling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- CJ: Has a respect for his fans: he wouldn’t tell it if they didn’t
think it was worth telling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- MW: When a few say they want more, he doesn’t put much stock in it,
but when lots say they do, then he puts way more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Other
examples and discussion:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- CJ: Characters who keep getting their asses kicked and still win.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- TM: That’s what tertiary and secondary characters are for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- JT: Works for Dresden because the effects carry over into the next
book. Bad writing is when the hero/protagonist is completely unaffected in the
next book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- Audience comment: Hannibal Lecter – was originally a side character in
Manhunter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- MW: People willing to completely say their motivations out loud. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- JT:<i> I normally have filters, but
they go way down. (And boy do they come off at the con.)<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">TM: A
villain doing what is necessary, what he sees as necessary for his people, but
is he genuinely evil, or just going to extreme measures to have a positive outcome?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- EM: Are the rebels always the good guys?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- JT: Lex Luthor sees Superman if anything goes wrong, if Superman
decided to take over the world he could. Black Panther and Dr. Doom are the
same but one is good and one is evil.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- MW: Sometimes the hero and villain are each other’s heroes and
villains. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- JT: All of the Firefly crew is their own protagonist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- CJ: Fallible protagonist: Any time Mal screws up is when the side
characters can step in<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- MW: Each character in Firefly stands out and it works.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- MW: When a side character goes off and comes back changed or even
damaged, and it affects a later story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- EM: There’s a synergy – some characters who don’t seem to exist
without the hero, the whole is greater than the parts (Kirk/Spock/McCoy,
Sherlock/Watson, etc)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- TM: Characters pair up, work together as a team, and it helps develop
them further. This helps to advance the story better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- EM: When the main POV character teamed with extraordinary character,
and the extraordinary character is more than main character, and the POV
character is more normal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- TM: Like the Dr. Who companion. Gives him a chance to explain, not
just for the companion but for the audience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- TM: Often the side character comes up with solutions to problems.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Audience
Question: Are secondary/tertiary characters the ones making the world, or does
the protagonist make the world?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- TM, CJ: Both<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- JT: Secondary characters can show parts of the world to broaden the
world and bring more perspective without going into too much detail.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- MW: In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, DS9 is a station, so there are a
lot of walk-ons, which help make the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Audience
Question: How do you prevent characters from other races/species from being
token?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- EM: To some extent these characters are tokens. They are what they do.
You could put in some characteristics that <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- TM: Try to provide other characters from that same race, to give
alternative views. Helps you paint a broader picture from both sides.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- CJ: Tertiary characters *are* setting. Keep them as real as you can
without letting them take the story places you don’t want them to go. No one
cares what colour the carpet is unless someone’s bleeding on it. No one cares
about backstory unless it affects the story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- TM: If they’re just that once<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- EM: Cultures are easier to stereotype.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- JT: Write well. But also, these characters are not in their culture so
they will react differently to what’s going on because it’s not where they’re
form.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- MW: Cheesy trick: Have someone treat them like a token and see how
they react.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Are sidekicks
and main characters sometimes impossible without each other?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- EM: Xena and Gabrielle – better characters together than on their own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- MW: Quark and Odo from Deep Space Nine. DS9 is the messy show.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- TM: Londo and Jakar in Babylon 5. Jakar’s journey through the show.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- JT: Captain America: The Winter Soldier is Black Widow’s movie just as
much as Cap’s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Audience
Question: Ever had a beta reader or editor ask you to add or take away from a secondary
character?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- CJ: Just kills the character who needs to go, has them die gloriously.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- EM: If they’re not worth the words, then demote the tertiary character
who was secondary back to tertiary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">TM: What’s
been your most disturbing experience with a character? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- (For him, flinching with a villain that revolted him. Had to kill that
villain, go through the experience of killing him off, to be able to deal with
him, the brothel breeding system the villain was involved in, and the dark things that happen that the
society condones)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- EM: No one should extrapolate from writing to writer. But you have to
identify with the bad guy to write the bad guy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- CJ: Having to put yourself in the bad guy’s head. It’s clear what he’s
doing and why he’s doing, but the means to the end that he has envisioned,
getting into his head is hard but it needed to happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- MW: One villain had power to delete people from existence, and made
for an unreliable narrator<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">- JT: When a side character goes off after the bad guy and gets hurt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-54585423223567386922015-05-15T07:00:00.000-07:002015-05-15T10:28:26.712-07:00Stuff, revisited<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZTDuMzp_1k8WLaegO_xnr8qW3LPYh0Ulkhv9BDre5z8Yo8gPIuMk3EL0EWExTLPr7Dyy56lPEji6Y1BDJLyCFoGtpLpCQWCEznOz_J-o0Km1wgf7KAhhErS1EjHhrbEgevtG-AFvlvYc/s1600/charliesmile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZTDuMzp_1k8WLaegO_xnr8qW3LPYh0Ulkhv9BDre5z8Yo8gPIuMk3EL0EWExTLPr7Dyy56lPEji6Y1BDJLyCFoGtpLpCQWCEznOz_J-o0Km1wgf7KAhhErS1EjHhrbEgevtG-AFvlvYc/s400/charliesmile.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
So I haven't been as forthcoming with notes as I'd hoped this month. I have good reason. About two weeks ago, I received some news that the <a href="http://lstaylor.blogspot.ca/2014/09/stuff.html" target="_blank">Stuff</a> I've been dealing with is pretty much done with.<br />
<br />
Which is a good thing, right?<br />
<br />
Of course it is, but there's also a factor I've come to understand over the years: sometimes, when something so stressful, so life-affecting, finally goes away, its absence can take some adjustment. There is a grieving process, even when the news is good.<br />
<br />
The other night a dear friend and writing comerade-in-arms told me something that I hadn't expected, even if I was aware on some levels of its deep truth: "It was badly affecting you." Hearing that from a person I deeply trusted, who I knew could understand Stuff's impact on my life and my writing, was powerful. I mean, sure, Don Rocko has been a wonderful, supportive husband (and I maintain that marriage is the ability to put up with each other's bullshit, and that we all have it, and in this past year and a half, I've certainly had a lot). But hearing it from a fellow writer and query-warrior, someone else who witnessed firsthand the impact Stuff was having on my life, was meaningful in a vital way.<br />
<br />
And now it's over. And I am happy to move forward.<br />
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Next stop: <a href="http://www.concarolinas.net/" target="_blank">ConCarolinas</a>, which happens in two weeks! I hope to have more notes from last year to share on Monday.<br />
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And then maybe I can start to catch up?<br />
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Well ... baby steps. As much as I love sharing my notes, actually putting words on the page is *slightly* more important. #SorryNotSorry<br />
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Happy Friday, everyone!L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5681406041084018359.post-83635360447296705682015-04-24T07:00:00.000-07:002015-04-24T10:43:34.465-07:00The Art of the Sex Scene (ConCarolinas 2014 Writing Panel Notes)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello again! As <a href="http://lstaylor.blogspot.ca/2015/04/romance-in-fantasy-how-much-is-too-much.html" target="_blank">promised in Wednesday's notes</a>, here's what I took away from what was lovingly called "the sex panel". Once again, a different take from what you can find under this tag in the archives. What else can I say? Enjoy! ;)</div>
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<b>The Art of the Sex Scene</b></div>
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<i>Tyffani Clark Kemp, Susan H. Roddey, Alexandra Christian, Crymsyn Hart, Marcia Colette, Tamsin L. Silver, James R. Tuck</i></div>
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<i>Moderator: Emily Lavin Leverett</i></div>
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<b>When you chose to write under a pseudonym, if you did, why?</b></div>
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EL: Edited under a pseudonym because of professional commitments.</div>
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TS: Chose a penname because of father’s religious affiliations,</div>
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CH: Hart is real, Crymsyn is not, used to work at a place where she might have been fired</div>
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AC: Teaching second grade when she started</div>
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SR: Writes under 2 names because writes wildly different things. Never intended to write romance. Not hiding anything.</div>
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TC: Wanted to publish each genre as a different name because of friends who would have wanted her to write good girl</div>
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AC: Why would we have sex if we weren’t supposed to enjoy it? Jesus needs love too.</div>
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JT: Working on a Christian erotica in his spare time, called Come to Jesus.</div>
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EL: The point is, a lot of it was about our jobs. It’s okay to write something where people get their heads chopped off but it’s not okay to show sex. In this insecure job market people don’t want to risk unemployment.<br />
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<b>Audience question: What about copyright issues and theft?</b></div>
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JT: The second you create it, you own the copyright. Frauds and ripoffs will only happen when you’re successful, so don’t worry about it right now.</div>
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CH: There was a situation where one person was lifting whole passages from old Harlequin romances, but only after several novels, and it was a reader who picked it up. She’ll probably never write again.<br />
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<b>Audience question: Are erotica writers more geared towards finding an agent, or less?</b></div>
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EL: The things erotic writers sell the best are shorts, which usually aren’t represented.</div>
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AC: Publishing is so not trad right now; agents don’t want to pick up anyone unless they’re guaranteed to make sales, and lots of smaller presses don’t require an agent.</div>
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EL: Even bigger ones don’t want an agent.</div>
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JT: Write short, write quick, submit to as many as possible, and once you have a platform and some fans, self publish (from then on). Erotica is where the money is.</div>
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AC: And your genre is also important if you’re going to go that route. What’s selling right now are BDSM, male/male.</div>
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<b>Why?</b></div>
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EL: Men are sexy. Several men are several sexy.</div>
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TS: Apparently women not regularly reading regular romance not being comfortable with their sexuality.</div>
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JT: Like men watching girl on girl porn.</div>
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EL: Edited a lot of m/m, and a lot of them were gay love stories.</div>
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SR: The type of women reading this are not outwardly comfortable with their sexuality or admit they’re sexual creatures.</div>
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AC: Participate in your own sex fantasies.</div>
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Audience comment: m/m Yaoi manga has been popular for years in Japan.</div>
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<b>Audience question: What has changed with women’s roles in erotica, and them taking the stereotypical passive roles?</b></div>
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EL: It can be anything these days.</div>
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SR: Depends on the subject, and on who’s writing. Sometimes you can pick up that they’re extremely misogynistic and extremely angry. Occasionally it’s a man you’ve stuck boobs on.</div>
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AC: Traditionally in erotica the female roles have been a lot more empowered than they are in traditional romance. A lot of the new wave involves the women being fascinated by the idea of being dominated. A curiosity. We may be trending back that way.</div>
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EL: One of the fascinations with 50 Shades is that women are working and taking care of the house, and like the idea of a guy coming in and and saying they’lll take care of everything. It’s a pleasant fantasy.</div>
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<b>Audience question: Recently read an article which said that sex lives are disrupted by men trying to make love to their wives to make porn. Are you conscious of realistic sex vs. porn sex when you write?</b></div>
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CH: Make the body parts match up.</div>
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EL: And unless you’re writing weird sci-fi the dick can only be in one place at once. But experiencing sex via the written word is different from experiencing it visually.</div>
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AC: Issue with the concept that erotic writers and erotic romance writers are writing instruction manuals. A lot of people are taking fantasy in books and porn on television too seriously. Sex is supposed to be about fun, and fun is not always possible in the real world.</div>
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JT: When you write a sex scene and you try for reality you realize that reality is messy.</div>
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TC: Wants to read something different, steamy, not something she can do in the bedroom.</div>
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EL: Awkward sex scenes can be sweet and can even be effective if done right.</div>
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<b>Audience question: Do you need experience to write it?</b></div>
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JT: You need research partners.</div>
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EL: Or you need the BDSM handbook.</div>
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TS: Read books on it, get to know it, look up things on the internet like you probably do already, read books by writers writing great erotica. Emulate what you see. Write stuff, get feedback. Just as you would with any other writng.</div>
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MC: Critique groups will give you great feedback.</div>
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CH: You can buy the mannequin dolls you can pose. It helps if you’re writing a 4-5 person ménage.</div>
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AC: As with anything, readaing in your genre, reading good things, is important. You don’t need a ton of experience. But it does help to have a little bit. Also, watch some porn.</div>
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SR: Yes, watch porn. If you don’t have a lot of experience, it helps to have experience of hwo things work and what goes where and what it looks like so that you can make it look okay on paper.</div>
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JT: Watching porn is great, but as a male writer if you’re going to watch porn, you have to take porn with a grain of salt, because those ladies in the more extreme porn are not human.</div>
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EL: Don’t write “She was so excited when he came and she didn’t.”</div>
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AC: Thomas Roche writes incredible erotica. Also, Ellora’s cave is pushing their for men line.</div>
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TC: Was a virgin 4-5 months before she started writing her erotica, so you don’t need to be super experienced but you do need to know the basics.</div>
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Audience comment: Has toured a BDSM club and sex toy stores.</div>
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<b>Audience question: What is the most difficult thing about writing sex?</b></div>
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CH: Making the sex not boring after 80 books. Will cut and paste, then change it because you can only have so many insert tab-A into slot-B.</div>
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SR: Sometimes when writing an erotic romance, you can dim the lights and close the door.</div>
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JT: You don’t have to constantly one-up yourself. Hopefully sex doesn’t become routine but you do learn what becomes comfortable and enjoyable. There’s a temptation to starting off Vanilla and making it more creative or escalating it. That’s not necessary.</div>
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TS: Keeps in mind: How does the sex move the story along? When does someone realize there’s more than just sex. Emotions are important as well. It’s a way to keep it fresh.</div>
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AC: Humor is how she keeps it fresh. Sex is supposed to be fun. If it’s not, you shouldn’t be doing it or reading it.</div>
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MC: Likes to change up the scene. Change where the sex takes place, to make the sex interesting.</div>
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SR: You do it because you can.</div>
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<b>Note from the authors: This is very binary. M/M, F/F, M/F – but one thing to keep in mind is that you can’t forget there are things people consider non-normative. There are spaces in erotica where these non-normative voices can be explored. Which is really important in the SF/F community.</b></div>
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AC: Trans is the up-and-coming term.</div>
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SR: “Gender fluid”, too.</div>
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L.S. Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027508427079449613noreply@blogger.com0