Back To It

On By griffinwordsIn Blogging, Words OutLeave a comment

I’ve been busy with music/Hypnos, my dad’s visit to Portland, writing, and all the rest of life. Funny, when I blog regularly I find it easy to keep on blogging regularly, and once I stop it’s very easy to STAY stopped. So many things are like this, especially exercise and creative activities. Running every single day is easy. Taking a week off running, and then starting to run again that first time is much harder.

I still write six days a week, exercise six days a week, work my day job five days a week, listen to tons of music, watch lots of movies with my wife, and don’t get enough sleep.

Lately I’m working on a lot of stories simultaneously, even more than usual for me, and the stories are all over the map. I’m writing an SF story about a group of robotic domestic helpers left behind by their humans on an Earth-like colony, a horror-tinged SF story about some weird stuff lurking in the bottom of a deep mine (not started in response to the major news story about miners in Chile), finishing up a dark fantasy or horror bit about a family vacationing at a lake house and coming under the influence of some local entities. I have another odd, dark bit about a married couple who retreat to a cabin out in the wilderness near Mt. Hood and begin to lose all connection to the world they left behind.

I’m also continuing heavy cuts on my two “salvage project” stories I mentioned before… mega-long stories that needed to lose 2/3 of their length before I could even assess how to turn them into something interesting. They’re down from 14,000 words to 5,500 and from 11,000 words to 5,300 so they’re getting close to where I can see what they need to be. This has been a really useful and interesting test or experiment, but I don’t know that I’d do it again. I could have easily rewritten these stories from scratch in less time, and with better result, but then again that wasn’t really the point.

I’ve got the same nine final drafts still circulating among various markets. My two longest-pending submissions are both Writers of the Future, for 2010-q3 (June-ending quarter) and q4 (Sept-ending). Jeez, sending those guys a story means keeping it from other markets for about six months, it appears. I realize they get a lot of submissions but it seems they could finish one quarter’s reading before opening it up to the next quarter… and then the one after that. They just announced q2 results, and they’re reading stories for q3, q4, and 2011 q1 (quarter ending December) all at once. Sheesh, talk about slush pile.

Reading notes…

I’m still reading Laird Barron’s Occultation, an absolutely top-notch collection. Seriously, some of the best strange/dark short fiction I can remember reading, not just recently, but ever. When I get through that last story and a half (I’m reading other stuff in parallel so it’s taking a while) I’ll write a real review.

Just finished The City & The City by China Mieville, and I’m very impressed. I knew it would be good, based on all the reviews and awards, and interviews I’ve read with the author. I can tell he’s just a super-sharp guy and I’ve owned copies of several of his books for a while and intended to get to them… but finally dived into one of his newest. Before I move on to Kraken I’ll probably jump back to Perdido Street Station since that’s been on the “must read soon” list since, you know, a really long time ago.

Lessee, I think I mentioned finishing Old Man’s War, which was really good, and not as lightweight or pastiche-y as I expected. I’m on to Charles Stross’s Singularity Sky, which is fully of SF-nal goodness, and pretty well written, though at times a little too heavy on the political & military detail. I’m not far into it so I’ll reserve judgement.

I did mean to blog a bit more about the HP Lovecraft Film Festival, which was a lot of fun and quite memorable. But this is a “rust buster” blog so I’ll wrap it up, and leave stuff to blog about later this week.

Into All Things Some Update Must Fall

On By griffinwordsIn Internet DestinationsLeave a comment

Crazy, random, all-encompassing blog entries are fun once in a while!

First off, these next three days Lena and I will be attending the H P Lovecraft Film Festival here in Portland. Lots of fun is anticipated — film screenings, author readings, panel discussions, and a vendor room full of Cthulhu-y merchandise goodness.

I’ve been dividing my time between work on Hypnos stuff (readying the next CD releases) and writing, revising and submitting stories. In September I sent 16 story submissions, and my previous monthly high was 11. Obviously having more stories out there is part of the deal, but also I happened to hit several quick-turn markets. If you’re going to get a rejection, a faster rejection is preferable, I think, in that it allows you to move the story along to the next market a bit sooner.

I haven’t completed (meaning finalized and sent off) a new story in over a month, but I have several churning and likely to be completed in October. I regularly start new pieces, at roughly the same pace I complete older ones, so I have a pipeline of a half-dozen or so in various stages of completion. Sometimes this balance swings toward a half-dozen rougher pieces, and other times, like now, I end up with several that are closer to complete.

One of the stories I’m about to start is a sort of dark, second-world fantasy about a paranoid, delusional monarch who lives in a nearly inaccessible dome atop a mountain. This place can only be reached by a tremendously dangerous climb on narrow ledges beside great chasms. I’m naturally scared of heights, though I also love the mountains and hiking. This story incorporates much about altitude, danger of falling, the discomfort of being at a cliff’s edge. Here’s a link to a video that gives a sense of that “teetering on the edge of death” thing I’m talking about. Coincidentally, the name of this real-life path is Camino del Rey, which means Path of the King.

Otherwise, we’re enjoying a great spell of late-summer weather and looking forward to a long weekend of Cthulhu cult insanity.

Harlan Ellison Says He’s Dying

On By griffinwordsIn Internet DestinationsLeave a comment

Harlan Ellison, one of the all-time funny crazy weirdos in genre fiction, has a reputation for weird antics and boorish behavior.

His stories were an enormous influence on me in the seventies and early eighties, as well as the Dangerous Visions anthologies he edited. So as far as I’m concerned, Ellison gets a lifetime free pass and can act as weird and cranky as he wants. Lately, there have been rumors that Ellison’s health is failing, and today an article appeared in which he basically said “I’m dying, so you’d better come to MadCon because it’ll be the last time I do a convention.” Link here.

What do we make of this? The article sounds pretty jokey to me, like plain old classic Harlan. Favorite quote, when asked about his current appearance:

“I weigh 154 now. I look like Gollum. I was great-looking when I was younger — I was hot. All the pictures of me, they’re very hot.”

You’ve gotta love this guy, don’t you? Don’t you?

SF Academy 08 – Old Man’s War by John Scalzi

On By griffinwordsIn Words InLeave a comment

I’ve been a reader of John Scalzi’s blog, Whatever, since long before I had read any of his work. The first thing of his I encountered was his installment in the five-author collection Metatropolis, where I found Scalzi’s humorous, breezy blogging style carried over to his narrative fiction. Old Man’s War is similar, despite mostly focusing on a more serious subjects such as war and colonialist expansion.

scalzi-oldmanwar

John Scalzi – Old Man’s War

I don’t think I’ve seen a single mention of this book that didn’t refer to Robert Heinlein’s work, most often Starship Troopers, and after reading this, it’s not hard to see why. It really is fairly straightforward in its influence, but that similarity never makes Old Man’s War seem derivative in any negative sense. The setup is simple: on Earth a couple of centuries from now, 65 year olds have the option of signing a contract to join the Colonial Defense Force, so that when they turn 75 they undergo some kind of mysterious physical transformation process to become fighting machines, and leave Earth forever to bounce around the galaxy, fighting various weird aliens for control of habitable planets.

The CDF initiates discover the nature of the process that allows them to go from elderly to fighting form, and as in Starship Troopers, we follow the new recruits from training to initial skirmishes, and watch them lose friends to the inevitable effects of war. We also learn more about various interesting elements of the CDF, including the “Ghost Brigades” (title and subject of the first sequel to Old Man’s War).

Scalzi is a stronger storyteller than a stylist, but the characters and dialogue are entertaining and likable. I find myself ready to follow along in this series and learn more about the CDF and their various interesting technologies (a “Skip Drive” for example, which is more a quantum reality-shift device than a true drive), especially the “ghost brigades.” Scalzi has created a great premise, and even if I hadn’t come to this book so late that multiple sequels had already appeared, it would have been plain enough to me that subsequent development could definitely be done in this story’s world.

Overall, an enjoyable, well-executed work, and one that makes me want to read more by Scalzi, both in and out of this series.

H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival & CthulhuCon

On By griffinwordsIn Motion Pictures, Words InLeave a comment

Following up on something I’ve mentioned before, which is the upcoming H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival & CthulhuCon event coming up here in Portland, October 1, 2 and 3rd. The promotional poster was just released.

hplff2010

Lena and I will be attending all three days of the festival, and I’m looking forward to checking out various bits of Lovecraft film, attending some readings and having a chance to meet a lot of kooky Lovecraft-loving filmmakers, writers, artists and editors.

The bad news is, they’ve announced this will be the festival’s last year in Portland, so if you live near enough to attend and you’ve been thinking “I’ve been meaning to check that out one of these years,” you’d better make it this year!

How I Work, 2010 Edition

On By griffinwordsIn Words OutLeave a comment

In my last post I mentioned I’ve been working harder than ever on writing fiction.

When I first picked up writing again last year, I really only dabbled a few hours occasionally on the weekend. Then late in 2009 I got more serious, and added one or two more weeknight sessions, maybe an hour or two after work.

This summer I stepped it up. I now get up at 5:30 every morning, which gives me almost 90 minutes to write, five days a week, before I have to get ready for work. Three or four times a week, after work and exercise, I might squeeze in another hour. On the weekend I write all day Sunday (8-12 hours), and often an hour or two on Saturday.

This may not be “full time” but it’s a huge improvement over what I was doing just six months ago, and it means much of my time not spent at work, or commuting, exercising or eating, is spent writing.

I’ve often seen established writers offer the straightforward advice, “write more,” and I really believe that’s the best prescription. As far as I’m concerned, it’s not only spending more hours per week, but also making the sessions more frequent and consistent, that makes the difference. When I was writing a couple times per week, every time I sat down I had to re-acquaint myself with where I left off. Now, the moment I sit down at the computer I know exactly what I want to work on, and where I stand with regard to that piece. For this reason, if I had the choice between two hour writing sessions six times a week, or a single twelve-hour marathon, I’d choose the near-daily consistency.

Because of this effect, I’m now writing many more hours per week, and each hour is more productive now than before. Effectively I feel I’m accomplishing ten times as much per week as I did a year ago. It’s exciting to finish new stories at an increased rate, and feel I’ve been able to give them all the care and attention they needed.

Another Running-Related Quote

On By griffinwordsIn Words OutLeave a comment

At least once before I’ve posted interesting or inspirational quotes related to long distance running, partly because I’ve been a runner for about thirty years (with a few short breaks in there), and partly because I receive a “quote of the day” email from Runner’s World (annoying mass-market running magazine I used to subscribe to). One of the most recent comes from perhaps my all-time favorite runner, Steve Prefontaine, who was not only one of America’s all-time great runners, but also an inspiring personality. Not only that, but he went to University of Oregon, and you’ve got to love the Ducks!

“A man can fail many times, but he isn’t a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.”
–Steve Prefontaine, American middle and long-distance runner

I’ve been fighting through a period of self-questioning with regard to my writing lately. I’m still working as hard as ever, and producing what I consider to be increasingly strong work, but just lately I’ve been feeling the sting of rejection a bit more than usual. Really just feeling a bit fatigued, though no less determined.

Prefontaine’s quote reminds me that at times when you feel bogged down in the accumulated mire of rejection or failure, it can be tempting to blame your circumstances on others. I could convince myself I’m not finding receptive editors because they’re only looking for big names anyway, or that magazines aren’t looking for the kind of thing I’m doing because the SF community only wants to see the same Heinlein and Gibson tributes over and over. I don’t really believe those things are true, but I could blame others as a way of deflecting the pain of the struggle.

Like Prefontaine, though, I believe pointing the finger at others is the beginning of failure. A writer who blames everyone outside himself won’t look hard enough at what he needs to improve, or consider what new approach to his craft might get him where he wants to be. I think looking at your own work with honest appraisal, and consistently putting in the labor, are requirements of improvement and eventual success. It’s also perfectly healthy to admit your own disappointment, so you can deal with it and move on.

Look at your God. Now Look at me.

On By griffinwordsIn Internet Destinations, Motion PicturesLeave a comment

At the beginning of October, I’ll be attending the HP Lovecraft Film festival here in Portland. It’s a three day event, not just a film festival but a gathering of filmmakers, authors, editors and publishers involved to at least some degree in Lovecraft-influenced films or literature. My wife Lena — who shares a birthday with old Howard Philips — will be going too, and it looks like it should be a lot of fun. If you’re near enough Portland to be interested in attending, the festival web site is here. Oh, it’s October 1-3.

Saw this today, (via wil wheaton dot net), and it’s gettin’ me in the mood.

How Would You Have Wanted Firefly to End?

On By griffinwordsIn Internet Destinations, Motion PicturesLeave a comment

I still feel a pain in my chest every time I think about the early cancellation of Firefly. Yes, it was just a TV show, and true, it lasted less than a full season so there was hardly time to get a sense of where it was headed. It’s just so rare to find an intelligent TV show, with characters you can care about, it’s something to lament when it vanishes prematurely.

Jewel Staite, who played Kaylee (ship’s mechanic, and lovable tomboy), recently gave an interview in which she gave her own wish list for how the show should have ended. It’s somewhat tongue in cheek, but it’s wonderful at the same time it rips open the old wound. You can read the interview here. Scroll down to the bottom for the question about how she would’ve liked to see the show end.

Choice quote:
“Nine glorious seasons later, Kaylee and Simon have had several beautiful brunette babies, a couple of which have turned out to be crazy geniuses like their Auntie River (Firefly: the Next Generation?)”

Apparently I am some kinda lame fanboy, but at least I didn’t stick a picture of Kaylee or Inara in here.