Contact me? Syndication? Just like what I write?

So recently I recieved a comment on one of my posts informing me that my article had appeared elsewhere.

Cool.

I write this blog to share my thoughts and the information that I come across with others. If someone wishes to reprint something from my blog elsewhere they have my permission. I only request (not demand) two things:
1. That they let me know (and link to the reprint) in the comments of my original article, or in the comments of this article. This way I can enjoy seeing my writing elsewhere and even cross promote their site.
2. That they provide a link back to my site from the article that they reprint. That way people who enjoyed my writing can find more of it.

I've got a copyright notice on the blog - upper right corner currently - but this is the internet, people are going to link to, reprint, repost my work. I expect and even encourage and support that behaviour. As for those who do so without giving any credit to me, well, that's their choice and I'm not losing sleep over it.

Me, I'm gonna try and follow the Golden Rule, Link and Attribute, it's not that hard.

I'm linking this post to my profile as my contact page, any comments or questions about me and my blog that are not directly related to a post can be placed below.


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Nice Agents and Smiles

pic from: Bastholm

Reading the agent blogs today I came across this post on Janet Reid's site at about the same time as someone linked the above pic into IRC.

Janet Reid's other post today is a funny tale that should give some hope to authors struggling to get published today. It's also a good reminder to be nice with everyone you deal with, for you never know when you might meet them again.

And on the topic of meeting people again, I came across this happy ending to a story also on Janet Reid's blog.

Some more Writing humour to lighten your day, courtesy of Agent Rachelle Gardner.


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The Future is ?

Yesterday I talked about the future of the writing industry. So today it seems appropriate to talk about the future described by the writing industry. Over at Locus Online is an interesting piece titled: Pitfalls of Prophecy: Why Science Fiction So Often Fails to Predict the Future by Gary Westfahl. It's an interesting read that looks at some of the basic fallacies often made when predicting the future. I would like to note that it's not only Science Fiction authors that fall into these traps, plenty others predict the future and get it wrong. We just seem to expect the SciFi doods to get it right, perhaps unfairly.

Seriously, Science Fiction is about story telling, and while science has a role in shaping a plausible scenario, few stories can stand alone with just science. It's in the human interactions that Science Fiction excels. In the relationships and decisions that are shaped and forced by the backdrop of the (science) fictional reality. This is why I use the term Speculative Fiction. It frees me from having to defend the science (real or imaginary) in my stories.

The reality is that most of the best science fiction ever written has zero chance of ever being plausible. Hyperdrive? Alien Warfare? Robots using Humans as Batteries? If you look at the science behind those ideas it doesn't make sense. I don't know if there are aliens out there, but it really doesn't matter because the science is pretty clear on extra solar travel. It's SLOW. Lightspeed is a great speed limit, but it's also irrelevant. The energy requirements alone to bring a manned vessel to a fraction of the speed of light (1 or 2 percent) are high enough as to render it effectively impossible. So science tells us that we aren't going anywhere, and it's unlikely we're going to meet others along the way. The human battery thing just falls because it's a dumb idea, you don't really need to understand science to get that one. But Hyperdrive and Aliens and Human Batteries all make great backdrops to compelling stories.

Here is a great Mind Meld from SF Signal that looks at the predictions from Science Fiction and what has occurred and what has not. As with all Mind Melds a lot of the value is in the discussion by the participating authors as they present their own take on the question. James Gunn, Adam Roberts, and others being some of the participants.


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Market Mondays: Industry Future?

So even as the industry is in trouble agents are actually experiencing an upswing in queries. Perhaps it's the current recession driving people to write, losing your job gives you time to pursue your dream of getting published. I tend to think that is a simplistic look at what's happening. It may explain some of the bump in submissions, but that can only be a short term impact. Eventually those who lost their jobs will get new ones. Starving writers are romantic in fiction, but it's a less attractive life if you actually are starving. So what do I think may make up the rest of the rise in queries? Well let's look at the reality of the situation and the future.

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First of all, there is no money in books. J.K. Rawling aside, most authors make a pittance for much of their career. Now show me 20 published books later and we're talking, but how many make it that far? I understand that there will always be dreamers who expect writing to pay their way. But when a mortgage payment is due: How many are going to choose writing over any other form of employment with an hourly wage? Even sitting on a street corner begging can bring in more (though 300$/month isn't that great).

Today the industry is facing the largest changes to the publishing model since the Printing Press. The Internet? Ebooks? Kindle? Print on Demand? Where the technological changes are taking us is a subject of much debate. Can the business change in such a way as to ensure survival? Is it just a matter of improved marketing and lower pricing? Not everyone agrees it's that simple. Readers are driven by a number of factors in making a purchasing decision beyond price. Corey Doctorow perhaps has the best take on this. He believes the industry will survive, but with massive changes. There will be more niche markets for authors, and less of a role for large publishing houses to play. Something that is being witnessed in the music and film industries today.

However people are still writing, and querying in increasing numbers. So why do I think it's happening? Hope, not hope for a better income, but hope for recognition, for discussion, for change and a better world even. These people don't care that the industry is struggling and collapsing around them. They create because they can, and they want to share their messages and ideas. I have no idea what Paramount Pictures, or Producer Jerry Bruckheimer think of the average Youtube video, but they'd be fools not to acknowledge the impact on their industry by the content producers on Youtube. People who could not get a voice in the mainstream market and industry, found and created their own niches and markets. While major studios struggle, 1000's of individuals have found their voice. Whatever future comes for the publishing industry, it will be driven by the content producers, the Writers creating and submitting today, and their Readers. Anyone who tries to control or constrict the channel between them will eventually find themselves shunted to the side as an impediment to progress.

As dark as the world may seem, people are realizing that we are at the beginning of a new century that will probably see more change than the previous 10 combined. New ideas on government, or social interactions are being developed right now by people young and old. The impossible is made reality on a daily basis, be it medical miracles or new technological marvels. While the world struggles with global warming, the prize of free (or near zero cost) energy comes closer and closer to fruition. With all of that going on around us: Who can't help but dream a little?




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Fiction Fridays: Vampires and Nymphos?

For a brief period of time, until Feb. 24th 2009, Mario Acevedo's 2006 novel The Nymphos Of Rocky Flats will be available as a free online ebook. You can read it off of the publishers website here.

Mario Acevedo has combined humour, the supernatural and the classic hard boiled PI into a compelling story. The protagonist Felix Gomez is a Private Investigator, a veteran of the Iraq conflict where he became a vampire. He has come to the Denver area at the request of an old friend to investigate a serious of troubling events at an Dept. of Energy research facility. Throw in some nymphos, and aliens and you get a real page turner.
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Most novels couldn't pull it off. The subject matter seems too ridiculous, but Mario Acevedo succeeds in a way that even leaves you wanting more at the end. Things that worked in this story include the restraint on the sex, the fast pacing of the action sequences and the well constructed characterizations and plot.

Things that didn't work? Well it is what it is, a light afternoon's read. The author touches somewhat on the impact of current and past events on the character's lives, but very quickly moves us into another action sequence before any real character development is achieved. Only at the end of the novel, in a slightly predictable way, does a character show real change and growth, though it has more to do with advancing the next action sequence than enlightenment.

I don't mean to be harsh, for I enjoyed this story because of it's humour and lightness. A dark brooding vampire lamenting the torment of his eternal years for page after page is a tired cliché right now. A little action and getting on with your life (or undead) is a pleasant and refreshing change.

The main reason I'm mentioning this story, and linking to it, is because Mario Acevedo demonstrates very well the Scene-Sequel Pattern approach to creating a novel. That alone makes it worthwhile reading if you are interested in understanding and using this technique.

*Disclaimer some of the stuff on the above linked site is for pay - I link only for information, I am not suggesting you spend money.
*and yes Fiction Fridays can be posted on a Thursday, a calendar is just another cage man. ;)





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Dust Devils on Mars, Diamonds in the Sky

The Spirit Rover on Mars is still going strong after 5 years. Proving that there is life on Mars, if only the robotic type. Just recently Spirit's solar cells got a much needed cleaning. It's not much but a beneficial breeze has cleared enough dust off the solar panels to give Spirit a 30 watt-hour boost in it's daily energy budget.

Those little rovers were designed for a 3 month mission, and yet they are still going strong. There are a two factors the made this so. 1. Good Design/Planning 2. Luck. So much of what we do in space requires that combination. It's a new frontier where much is still unknown. What we can't design and plan for we must trust in luck and good fortune to take us through.

On that note, just a couple of weeks ago passed the anniversaries of Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia. Yes, all three events occurred on the calender within just a few days of each other. I sincerely hope that they are the last deaths in our quest for the stars, but I doubt they will be.

Back to happy thoughts: Diamonds in the Sky, An anthology of scientifically accurate physics orientated short stories, has recently been released as a free download(coming soon, meantime read online here). These are stories from Hugo, Nebula and Campbell-award winning authors, so it should be a good read.


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Secret Agent Contest: What's the Hook?

An interesting contest just wrapped up over at Miss Snark's First Victim. The contest was simple, write a first page to a story and have it evaluated by an agent, with feedback given to you. The best first pages 'win'.

I don't think there was a physical prize but the value of the commentary from an agent is worth more than a free book or cute trophy. Even for those who didn't 'win'. There were 60 entries ranging from way out there speculative fiction to more contemporary settings.

The 'Secret Agent' for this contest was Kristen from Pub Rants. On her blog she discusses the experience and the value to be gained, not just from her comments, but from those of the entrants. That's because in order to participate in the contest each entrant was required to comment on the at least 5 other entrants. In a sense this created an online flash mob/critique group. The comments are insightful and the discussion is a great look at writing the first page and developing a hook.

And speaking of resources, Jeffrey A. Carver, has created a detailed online resource of references and lessons to help develop your skills as a Speculative Fiction writer. Many common concepts and terms specific to the writing industry, like the above mentioned "Hook", are explained and explored there.


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Fantasy Friday? - Sober Facts of Love

There is an article on the Science of Love over at the CBC website. The Article references recent research that shows love acts in the brain much like a drug. Including withdrawal symptoms for love lost.

I like to think that this is something that any poet could tell you. The Science is interesting, but this is one area where I think Fantasy does a better job of capturing all that is love. To try and capture that emotion in something so simplistic as chemical equations is to deny the greatness that love provides us.

Some of the most memorable characters in history and fiction were driven by love. Not just love of a romantic sort, but love of country, or of comrades in arms. A drug can provide superhuman strength, or the ability to stay awake for hours. But no drug can ultimately fulfil us the way simple selfless love can. No drug brings us closer to transcendence than love.
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Happy Birthday Darwin: You haven't changed a bit

Today is the 200 year anniversary of Darwin's (and Lincoln's) Birth. There are celebrations going on all over the world, and some great collections of information on Darwin are out there.

One little known commonality between the two great men, beyond their birth, was their view on Slavery.
To Quote Darwin.
“I thank God, I shall never again visit a slave country. To this day, if I hear a distant scream, it recalls with painful vividness my feelings, when passing a house near Pernamabuco, I heard the most pitiful moans, and could not but suspect that some poor slave was being tortured, yet knew that I was as powerless as a child even to remonstrate."
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Lincoln is famous for his role in ending slavery within the US, and now the impact of the slave trade on Darwin's theories is examined in a recent book.

While Darwin hasn't changed much since his death (funny that), Evolutionary Theory certainly has grown since he first proposed it. The addition of Genetic Science has taken our understanding of Evolution to places that Darwin never suspected. On that note, here is some of the latest Science on the Evolution of Humans (Homo Sap) and the disappearance of the Neanderthals. Through reconstruction of the Neanderthal genome researchers have determined that there was little, if any interbreeding between the two species.

One thing we did have in common, however, was the same variant of the FOXP2 gene known to play a role in speech. So it's possible that we communicated, but in the end, some 30,000 years ago, they ended as a race and we remained. Intellectually it's easy to say our ancestors (Cro-Magnon) were smarter, more able hunters, and better suited to the environment than Neanderthal was. Emotionally though I have to wonder what the reality of "Survival of the Fittest" was between two species so similar that they may have shared languages or even cultures if not beds.



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Writing Wiki Wednesday: Word Count

One thing important to all writers is word count. This is how we get paid, this is the measure of our productivity, this is the demon monkey upon our backs.

I've mentioned before a few times that I use a Personal Wiki to track my writing. Mine is based on Mediawiki running on the MoWeS Software from CHSoftware. I like the wiki because it allows me all the freedom of a word processor, plus the linkability of a wiki. I can track, organize and access all my notes and story ideas very easily. This week I give you another hack to improve your Writing Wiki.

I write stories in sections, generally no more than 4000 words a section, this keeps the wiki pages from getting too big. There are ways around size limits on wiki pages. Also I think ignoring the size limits actually has little consequence for a predominately text page, other than slow loading times. So for me each section is analogous to a chapter. At the top of each section, on the web page, is a little tab counting how many words on that page. Pretty handy.

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I really have this post over at Demented Kitty to thank for this trick. (And she thanks Kishore Asokan)

This is a simple way to get a word count off of wiki pages. Let's be clear, it's crude and will count almost everything on the page. If you really need a precise word count, just cut and paste into a word processor document, but this will give you a good indicator of where you are.

I had to make some changes to the code/instructions to get it to work on my wiki, this is due to some changes in the Mediawiki software since Demented Kitty's post. My version of Mediawiki is 1.13.1 - I've looked at the Monobook skin file for 1.13.3 and I think this should work.


MediaWiki Word Count Tab


Here's how:

1. This requires a Mediawiki software based Wiki 1.13.1 or later - tested against 1.13.1

2. To put this into your Monobook Skin, open: skins/MonoBook.php

3. Look for this big comment and block of code:

# We don't want to give the watch tab an accesskey if the
# page is being edited, because that conflicts with the
# accesskey on the watch checkbox.  We also don't want to
# give the edit tab an accesskey, because that's fairly su-
# perfluous and conflicts with an accesskey (Ctrl-E) often
# used for editing in Safari.
if( in_array( $action, array( 'edit', 'submit' ) )
&& in_array( $key, array( 'edit', 'watch', 'unwatch' ))) {
 echo $skin->tooltip( "ca-$key" );
} else {
 echo $skin->tooltipAndAccesskey( "ca-$key" );
}
echo '>'.htmlspecialchars($tab['text']).'</a></li>';
} ?>

4. Paste the code from below the snip after the } ?> characters at the end of that section and before the next lines of:

  </ul>
  </div>

------------------------------snip----------------------------

// Getting the total words count

global $wgUser, $wgArticle, $db;

//check if its an article

if($wgArticle && !$_GET['action']) {

$c=$wgArticle->getContent();

$stripped= strip_tags($c);

$exploded=explode(" ", $stripped);

//you can print this variable anywhere you want

$totalwords=count($exploded);

}

?>
<li><font color="red">&nbsp; 
<?php echo $totalwords ;
?> words &nbsp;
</font></li>

-----------------------snip------------------------------

5. Save the skins/MonoBook.php file and upload it to your server.

When you finish, there should be a word count tab at the top of every article page. Some special pages will show the word count tab as well.




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Fetters, Shackles and other chains

Fetter (noun )
Etymology: Middle English feter, from Old English; akin to Old English fōt foot
1. A chain or similar object used to bind a person or animal by its legs (usually in plural).
2. Anything that restricts or restrains in any way.

I came across a word in conversation today that I had to pause and think about. "Fetters". This is a word that has a historical context going back as long as we have been restraining people. Not a positive word in most associations, fetters have a long dark history. They were used in Roman Gaols, in Slave Ships leaving the Ivory Coast, and even today in places like Guantanamo Bay.
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Fetters in a metaphorical sense can be the things that restrain us. Many good stories have been written about characters breaking free of shackles. In terms of a fictional character that can be oppression, captivity, duty, debts and more. Identifying and addressing these ideas in your stories can turn a good story into one that inspires.

As a writer fetters can be defined as all the barriers to your writing. I don't mean making supper for the family, I mean lack of confidence, a lack of knowledge or vision. Don't beat yourself up if you are fettered, do something about it. Read, learn, dream and above all write. The best way to escape any prison is with time and effort. So go chain yourself to a keyboard and know that the only way out is to write that story.




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Market Mondays: Who's Looking?

So LAST WEEK I mentioned that the Writing World is facing Market Troubles. In other words everybody is going out of business. Well, before you panic and give up writing entirely, I've got good news.

There's a new Magazine starting up this year, honestly I hope more than one starts this year, but I'll take what I can get. Warren Lapine, of DNA Infamy is back, and hoping to make good with a new Magazine: Fantastic Stories of the Imagination. Follow the link to see what they are looking for.
Here are some others also looking for new Speculative Fiction:
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* 3 Lobed Burning Eye
Online Speculative Fiction Magazine - "Stories that Monsters like to Read"

* Analog SF
Widely considered the magazine where "Science Fiction Grew Up"

* Asimov's Science Fiction
Stories from Asimov's have won 44 Hugos and 24 Nebula Awards, and their editors have received 18 Hugo Awards for Best Editor.

* Electric Spec
An e-zine featuring science fiction, fantasy, and macabre short stories

* Escape Velocity
Hard science fiction stories with a slant toward the future human condition

* Interzone
This speculative fiction magazine often publishes issues based on different themes.

* On Spec This Quarterly Magazine showcases quality works by predominantly Canadian writers and artists, in the genre they call "Fantastic" literature

* Quantum Kiss
A journal of Romantic Speculative fiction (equal weight to both)

* Shiny Magazine
A Young Adult magazine mostly interested in stories with speculative elements - science fiction, fantasy and horror

I wish the list was bigger, but many magazines are still closed to submissions, in the next quarter some more should open up. As always, check Ralan's Market Listings for information.



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The Dream Machine

So I've been out of the game for a day or two, I may have mentioned the chronic pain thing before. But today I'm back and with a look at a little bit of 1960's literature, art, science and drug free Hallucinations.

FLicKeR is a documentary film about Brion Gysin and the Dream Machine. The film explores Gysin's, and others belief, that a state of transcendence could be reached through a combination of science, art and magic.

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What is the Dream Machine?

It's a lamp on a record player covered by a cylindrical shade with a repeating cut out pattern. Or it's the key to tapping into the time space continuum. Take your pick.

Brion Gysin was an artist who experimented with many mediums, and is credited with discovering the 'cut up' method that was used by Williams S. Burroughs in the 'Naked Lunch'. He also was a pioneer in Machine Poetry. You can listen to some of Gysin's work at UbuWeb Sound. I recommend the poem "I Am".

The Film, FLicKeR, focuses principally on the Dream Machine, but through interviews with artists and former acquaintances a vision is built of a wanderer. Gysin is a man who never stayed in one place for too long, the list of countries he lived in is lengthly. Gysin spent his days in a quest of self exploration, his goal to discover new territory in art and literature, using science and the occult. The 'Occult' could also be substituted for '1950's/60's Psychology' with little change to the meaning. Heck even '50's/60's Drug Culture' would work as a substitute.

The Dream Machine can induce hallucinations in people, creating a high like experience. All you have to do is get close to it and shut your eyes, the flickering lights do the rest. Drugs are not required, and could even make the experience dangerous. The idea of a machine that can cause hallucinations through flickering light is straight out of Science Fiction (and fact!).

Musicians like Iggy Pop and Kurt Cobain have used Dream Machines; famous writers, painters, poets, the list goes on, have also used them. Many of those artists even make an appearance in the documentary (though not Kurt, RIP). Some are still espousing the virtues of the Dream Machine while others have moved on. All of them speak highly of the talent and vision of Gysin.

Brion Gysin was just one of many artists on a quest for transcendence and the tools they used were drugs, science and magic. Whether or not any of them found it isn't a judgement made by the filmmakers. What the film does show is how Gysin's and others efforts led to some of the most radical/craziest concepts of the 20th century. Surrealism, Machine Poetry, the Beat Generation, Cultural Terrorism, to name just a few.

A compelling image is created of the lives these people led, of the passions and failures that drove them. One lesson of this movie is that the limits of the mind, of imagination and creativity, are far beyond what many of us accept them to be. If you can handle the potentially seizure inducing lights and images, then there is a lot to be found in this documentary.

FLicKeR was awarded a Special Jury Prize at the 2008 Hot Docs Festival, and has wowed audiences at festivals in Canada and around the world. Currently it is showing on Bravo.



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Market Mondays: Wednesday Worries

This post would have been up on Monday, but due too some, hmmm, "Database" issues, my domain was down for the first half of this week. So Today we get back on track.

The industry is in trouble. Well maybe not, some argue that it's actually in a down cycle but will rebound.

What's going on? A whole lotta changes, some driven by technology, some by consumers. But the end result is that a number of traditional publishers of speculative fiction are either cutting back or worse, getting out of the business.

Realms of Fantasy Magazine is closing. This year would have seen their 100th issue. Other magazines may not be closing their doors, but changing market conditions, lower sales, higher postal cost, etc, are leading them to modify their businesses.
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So who else is in trouble?

Fantasy and Science Fiction (F&FS) Magazine is changing from a monthly publication to a bi-monthly one.

Susurrus Magazine went on an indefinite hiatus starting January 2009

Southern Fried Weirdness closed to submissions January 2009

Æon Speculative Fiction, the quarterly electronic magazine published by Quintamid Publishing Inc., suspended publication November 2008

That's 4 examples from the past few months, but many more are in trouble and the closures in the industry will likely continue throughout this year.

What can be done? Subscribe. I'm renewing my subscription this month to my favourite Speculative Fiction Magazine: Neo-Opsis. If you don't currently subscribe to any magazines go to Ralans to see the active and dead magazines out there. Find something to your taste and get a subscription.



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