So my most stressful final of the term is over, and actually it wasn't a case of pulling teeth so much as scratching my head a little. It turned out OK. Or at least better than I anticipated.
After which, I turned on my computer and promptly got some happy news that distracted me from any/all thinking about the final. At this point, I'm so happy I couldn't tell you what I wrote about anymore!
Sometime during class I got an email from the Writers of the Future contest saying my story got an honorable mention in the first quarter of their yearly contest. Which is super exciting (!!!) seeing as I haven't got any such notice from them before. It doesn't mean money or wealth or fame but, heck, I get a certificate! That's pretty groovy.
As I've collected a healthy armload of rejections along the lines of, "it was good, but not what we wanted--oh, but send us something next time", I'd started to wonder how sincere these words were, or if this is the form letter everyone gets from certain publishers. Is it? Maybe. This honorable mention, though, feels like a step up from that. I don't get money or a second chance for the story to win, but it's nice that someone's acknowledged and appreciated my work.
Even better is the timing--it comes right at the end of winter term, like some sort of plan. It's cool to think that, even though I haven't had much time for writing or even submitting, my stories have still been out there doing their best for me.
The only trick is, the second quarter's coming up soon and I don't know what to send in next! More cowboys, perchance?
Come on, who can get tired of cowboys?
Monday, March 18, 2013
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Almost Full-term ...
So we've reached the final countdown for winter term--which is a relief, because I'm ready for spring to start. Yes, I'll have classes then, too; but at least it'll be sunnier.
I'm really excited for the end of this week because then I'll be done with my big projects--my papers and class presentations are all coming in the next couple of days. And then they'll be turned in, out of my hands, and maybe (just maybe!) I'll get a chance to do some writing before I have to focus on my finals. And my jobs. And next term.
And yet, according to my chart of reading periods, there are a bunch that close in March--miraculously, just after spring break. So I'll have some time to get things prepared and ready to send.
And then on to the next term! Yay!
Well, hopefully I'll be ready for it....
I'm really excited for the end of this week because then I'll be done with my big projects--my papers and class presentations are all coming in the next couple of days. And then they'll be turned in, out of my hands, and maybe (just maybe!) I'll get a chance to do some writing before I have to focus on my finals. And my jobs. And next term.
And yet, according to my chart of reading periods, there are a bunch that close in March--miraculously, just after spring break. So I'll have some time to get things prepared and ready to send.
And then on to the next term! Yay!
Well, hopefully I'll be ready for it....
Monday, March 4, 2013
The Saga Begins!
So aside from living under a rock recently, cool and exciting things have been happening to me. I had two stories accepted for publication last year, meaning that they'll soon be coming to a bookstore/e-Reader near you! Whether or not this is exciting to anyone else, it's a huge step toward authorship for this little green bean. Details shall be forthcoming as I obtain them, but this is what I can share now:
The awesomeness that is Narcissus Press will be publishing "Ancestors Enthroned" soon--this SPRING, I do believe, in an anthology entitled Daughters of Icarus. The blurb on the website explains the theme thusly:
"What can women tell us about the world? In this new collection of science fiction, a stunning assembly of authors explore the work laid before the daughters of Icarus, left behind after the prideful fall. Whether the worlds they imagine are hopeful or desolate, each sheds new light on the possibilities of feminism. Daughters of Icarus is a bold exploration of the present, past and future."
http://pinknarc.com/books.htmDid you see that? Whether or not they meant to, Pink Narcissus called me "stunning" (You can tell we haven't met in person). Knowing my own story backward and forward, I'm curious about what the other writers contributed. And I love the cover art.
Maybe I shouldn't admit it but this is one of those stories I sent out on a lark, my overall thinking being: "What the hey, it's gathering dust, I'll throw it at somebody's wall and see if it sticks!" Which it did, crazy enough.
If the idea of feminist SF gives you pause, I can promise you there are mummies. Trust me, mummies.
My second acceptance was from the lovely folks over at Crossed Genres Press, who picked up my novella (short novel) "The Second Wife" for a collection called Winter Well. Here is their stunning cover art:
http://crossedgenres.com/titles/winter-well/
They summarize "The Second Wife" thusly: Enslaved by a monstrous lord, a sage seeks answers in the stars and finds more… desirable problems.
Coming in MAY!!!
I can also promise Mayanesque bloodshed and awesomeness, though if I say anything else it'll probably be a spoiler.
I banged this story out solely for the anthology, just barely scraping by the deadline. Happy that it found a home because I got quite attached to Lady Akam as I wrote her. Hopefully you'll come to like her, too.
It comes as a surprise to me (maybe to no one else in the world) that my two acceptances thus far have been of stories featuring female protagonists although I'm a writer who feels uncomfortable writing women. Does this just mean I subconsciously try harder to make them believable? Or, does it mean that I shouldn't be so uncomfortable with female characters and should just embrace my inner warrior woman/sorceress/mummification artist? After all, it's not like there's some trick to being a woman in a world where I make up all the rules.
Never mind all that--just get ready for these awesome anthologies to become available soon, so you can tell me how many typos you found! Enjoy!
Winter Well: Speculative Novellas About Older Women (Coming Soon)
Winter Well: Speculative Novellas About Older Women (Coming Soon)
Here is the link back to the site for anyone who wants to take a look!
Here is the link back to the site for anyone who wants to take a look!
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Read that Again
I'm not one of those people who does a lot of rereading; if I read a book once, even if I like it, I don't generally want to read it again. Because you have to put a lot of hours into reading a book the first time and, well, there's a lot of other good books floating around in the ether/library/bookstore that I haven't got to yet. Besides, I already know everything that happens so there won't be any surprises.
Yes, I actually have a list of books I've been meaning to get around to reading. And yes, it keeps getting longer and longer.
Of those I have read more than once, there's a few I consider worthy of being read again (and maybe again and again ... on a yearly basis or something). One of those would be Kalpa Imperial by Angelica Gorodischer because, well, it's a really weird book (meaning you have to read it a lot of times to understand everything), offering multiple narratives and giving the sense that each one means nothing and yet a whole lot at the same time. If I read it once more, maybe I'll figure it out. Also, the author is from Argentina and so the book was translated into English by Ursula K Le Guin. Which on its own is pretty cool.
Second would be Robin Wayne Bailey's take of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser (two of my favorite characters): Swords Against the Shadowland. I love the original stories by Fritz Leiber, too (have read many of them more than once), but for some reason this one sticks with me. Maybe because it's more in line with contemporary book/writing styles? I don't know if it's that or the ever-tacky reader's assertion that "I could visualize everything exactly as he wrote it" (an assertion that proves tacky because of course when the author wrote about a red table the reader visualized a red table ... etc). Or because he channeled the characters as if he'd invented rather than borrowed them.
I don't know what it is, but in both cases even though I know everything that happens, even to the point that I remember some snippets (or close enough) of the writing, I wouldn't mind reading them through again. I think all books should be such a pleasure to read that you want to read them over and over--and of course every author probably thinks so, too--and yet, if that was true, I'd never get around to reading a new book, would I?
Yes, I actually have a list of books I've been meaning to get around to reading. And yes, it keeps getting longer and longer.
Of those I have read more than once, there's a few I consider worthy of being read again (and maybe again and again ... on a yearly basis or something). One of those would be Kalpa Imperial by Angelica Gorodischer because, well, it's a really weird book (meaning you have to read it a lot of times to understand everything), offering multiple narratives and giving the sense that each one means nothing and yet a whole lot at the same time. If I read it once more, maybe I'll figure it out. Also, the author is from Argentina and so the book was translated into English by Ursula K Le Guin. Which on its own is pretty cool.
Second would be Robin Wayne Bailey's take of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser (two of my favorite characters): Swords Against the Shadowland. I love the original stories by Fritz Leiber, too (have read many of them more than once), but for some reason this one sticks with me. Maybe because it's more in line with contemporary book/writing styles? I don't know if it's that or the ever-tacky reader's assertion that "I could visualize everything exactly as he wrote it" (an assertion that proves tacky because of course when the author wrote about a red table the reader visualized a red table ... etc). Or because he channeled the characters as if he'd invented rather than borrowed them.
I don't know what it is, but in both cases even though I know everything that happens, even to the point that I remember some snippets (or close enough) of the writing, I wouldn't mind reading them through again. I think all books should be such a pleasure to read that you want to read them over and over--and of course every author probably thinks so, too--and yet, if that was true, I'd never get around to reading a new book, would I?
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Not Knowing
They (yes, the eponymous they) always say you should write what you know. It's one of those pieces of advice that makes sense and yet, when you think about it, sounds unremittingly dull. I mean, I know things, but what do I know-know? What do I know well enough to write about?
Sometimes I think it's a shame that I don't know very much about my cultural heritage because if I did, I could use it. I can tell people I'm Irish and Czech but aside from a few amusing-yet-useless words, I know nothing about being Czech, or Czech culture (slivovitz, anyone?). Anything I know about Irishness comes from movies or books, not from family history.
I guess this is because the Irish side of my family has been American so long that, yes, we're just American now. The Czech side (or quarter) is only a few generations removed from the motherland so that's why a couple words are still passed down from my mom (from her dad; from his mom). Not that they have any use whatsoever. Also, I'd give you an example but I'd spell it wrong.
So yeah, I wish I knew anything about these cultures but they've been forgotten as generations have become culturally assimilated as American. It happens. And, unfortunately, American culture isn't one with a lot of solid traditions.
So my interest in different cultures comes from the fact that American isn't much of a culture in the traditional sense, and I can't claim to know anything about other cultures except what I've read in books and studied in anthropology. Is it fair to say you know something if you got it out of a book? Is it fair to write about a culture or group of people other than your own?
Well, maybe a better question is, is it fair to me if every story I read is from the same cultural perspective? If I wouldn't want to read it why would I want to write it?
According to them, I'm not qualified to write outside of my own cultural experience--which would make a painfully narrow window if I bought into that. As it is, I feel there are some things you have to write even if you don't know them. Because how do you get to know if you don't?
Sometimes I think it's a shame that I don't know very much about my cultural heritage because if I did, I could use it. I can tell people I'm Irish and Czech but aside from a few amusing-yet-useless words, I know nothing about being Czech, or Czech culture (slivovitz, anyone?). Anything I know about Irishness comes from movies or books, not from family history.
I guess this is because the Irish side of my family has been American so long that, yes, we're just American now. The Czech side (or quarter) is only a few generations removed from the motherland so that's why a couple words are still passed down from my mom (from her dad; from his mom). Not that they have any use whatsoever. Also, I'd give you an example but I'd spell it wrong.
So yeah, I wish I knew anything about these cultures but they've been forgotten as generations have become culturally assimilated as American. It happens. And, unfortunately, American culture isn't one with a lot of solid traditions.
So my interest in different cultures comes from the fact that American isn't much of a culture in the traditional sense, and I can't claim to know anything about other cultures except what I've read in books and studied in anthropology. Is it fair to say you know something if you got it out of a book? Is it fair to write about a culture or group of people other than your own?
Well, maybe a better question is, is it fair to me if every story I read is from the same cultural perspective? If I wouldn't want to read it why would I want to write it?
According to them, I'm not qualified to write outside of my own cultural experience--which would make a painfully narrow window if I bought into that. As it is, I feel there are some things you have to write even if you don't know them. Because how do you get to know if you don't?
Monday, February 4, 2013
Less Time, More Writing!
One of the problems with being so busy I don't have time to write is ... well ... I don't have time to write!
Let me amend that: I have enough time to write whatever papers are due in class. And then, just when I think I've got a free minute, a new assignment pops up.
In the past couple weeks I've managed to get about 1-2000 words of fiction out. But here's the part where that's not so bad: I've only had about 3 hours in which to sit down and do this writing. Ideally I'd spend more time at it but, compared to my previous ratio of output to time spent, I've actually increased productivity! Whoa!
Why, you may ask? (Just as I did when I realized what I'd accomplished) I'll tell you why--because the story I'm working on right now has a deadline coming up in less than two weeks. And, if I'm going to get it done in time to be sent off (Oh I hope so!), then there's no time to goof around and check Facebook in between sentences and go back and read what I just wrote and look up word definitions and browse fun and interesting facts that may be useful ... In short, I have to cut to the chase and just get working!
I'd have a lot harder time doing it without the urgency. I never realized it was so hard to keep focus until putting aside all the time-wasting and just getting to work.
Which reminds me, I have to get back to homework!
Let me amend that: I have enough time to write whatever papers are due in class. And then, just when I think I've got a free minute, a new assignment pops up.
In the past couple weeks I've managed to get about 1-2000 words of fiction out. But here's the part where that's not so bad: I've only had about 3 hours in which to sit down and do this writing. Ideally I'd spend more time at it but, compared to my previous ratio of output to time spent, I've actually increased productivity! Whoa!
Why, you may ask? (Just as I did when I realized what I'd accomplished) I'll tell you why--because the story I'm working on right now has a deadline coming up in less than two weeks. And, if I'm going to get it done in time to be sent off (Oh I hope so!), then there's no time to goof around and check Facebook in between sentences and go back and read what I just wrote and look up word definitions and browse fun and interesting facts that may be useful ... In short, I have to cut to the chase and just get working!
I'd have a lot harder time doing it without the urgency. I never realized it was so hard to keep focus until putting aside all the time-wasting and just getting to work.
Which reminds me, I have to get back to homework!
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