Coffee and Cigarettes

I'm a hedonist at heart. If it wasn't for the adverse effect alcohol has on my health I imagine I would be comfortable in France. Probably not real France, real France is likely full of normal people, but Hedonist France. Where it's like a Roman Orgy with better food and clothing. Perhaps Pre-Katrina New Orleans fits the bill (maybe even post, I certainly hope so).

Cigarettes. There's something for a hedonist to enjoy. I don't smoke them, I did once, but again that whole health thing. A few years ago I was in New Orleans, or 'NuhOrLens' as I was taught to say it, during Mardi Gras. I remember drinking coffee in the streets of the French Quarter, looking at the aftermath of the night's festivities and nursing a hangover. The air was so thick with moisture that with each exhale I had to push the smoke away from me. Long thick ropes of smoke that I directed toward objects of interest, watching as the smoke curled around another victim. I was no Gandolf, but I did managed to spear a ring or two even.

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I got a number of free meals in New Orleans. Not because the food was bad, but because it was fantastic! And I told the wonderful people that were serving me how much I enjoyed their food, city and atmosphere. I also made a point of bringing my friends back to those places and dropping some coin, repaying their generosity in multiples. That's the beauty of the Hedonist Life, share and share alike. There is nothing more satisfying than introducing someone to a new pleasure for a hedonist.

That's part of what makes New Orleans tick I think. The people I met there were warm and welcoming. They wanted to share their culture and history with visitors. I would have happily stayed forever in the warm fragrant embrace of that city had it been possible. What a contrast from where I lived at a time. The almost sterile mix of steel, water, and mountains that makes up Vancouver. A city where women in business suits and Nikes powerwalk the Stanley Park Seawall during their lunch hour. Holding a Starbucks latte with one hand, and a bottle of water with the other.

What does this have to do with Speculative Fiction? Very little other than colour, but colour is what gives a story texture and depth. Where do your characters come from? What is the nature of the place that they are? Do they have cravings? or passions? These details, perhaps never fully explained in an infodump, will influence your story in every area. Each interaction your characters have beyond their brain will be based in the details of the world around them. Being able to visualize that world, to understand what motivates the characters in that world, will lead to more believable fiction.



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Random Darwin

Been doing a lot of reading on Darwin recently. Fascinating dood. Witty, intelligent and at times charming in his 19th century naiveté. Though I should point out that he could be devastatingly direct and painfully insightful

Some Quotes from Darwin on religion:

Letter to Asa Gray September 17, 1861

Your question what would convince me of Design is a poser. If I saw an angel come down to teach us good, and I was convinced from others seeing him that I was not mad, I should believe in design.

Autobiography of Charles Darwin (1958) p.87

Thus disbelief crept over me at a very slow rate, but was at last complete. The rate was so slow that I felt no distress, and have never since doubted even for a second that my conclusion was correct. I can indeed hardly see how anyone ought to wish Christianity to be true; for if so the plain language of the text seems to show that the men who do not believe, and this would include my Father, Brother and almost all of my friends, will be everlasting punished.
And this is a damnable doctrine.

From his earliest writings to the end of his life religion played a role in shaping how he presented his theories and how they were received. Early on Darwin made a conscious decision to 'Stick to the Facts' in presenting his notes and theories. To avoid colouring his work (in particular the reception of it) with any religious interpretation, positive or negative. The above quotes were from personal letters and notes, but not from the scientific papers he published.

This later went on to become a large part of the modern approach to scientific research. Not only is it politic and somewhat sensitive and respectful of others beliefs, it also makes for better science. Clear, unambiguous documentation of experiments. Theories based only on repeatable, demonstrable evidence from those experiments. This is the foundation of trust and verification that enables science to work. Everybody can read the documentation and repeat each step if they have doubts. There is no need for a 'Leap of Faith'.

I doubt Darwin envisioned the scientific future he created with that simple political decision. I also find it sadly ironic that he and his work, more than a century after his death, is at the centre of the debate(battle) between religion and science. A conflict he consciously tried to keep from being a part of.


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The Readers Voice

There was a post over at SF Novelists discussing a Post Modernist concept Marie Brennan called "Reading In". The idea is that different people will find their own themes and meanings within a story, regardless of the authors conscious intent.
Here is her description of this, minimally edited and I encourage you to read her words for yourself.

...in the context of the type of story with an element that might or might not be fantasy. Me? I say screw the hedging and the ambiguity; I read that type of story as fantasy, and I do so willfully...It happens with other things, too. I willfully read strength into characters (especially women) that aren’t given any, or sympathy into characters the story wants me to demonize. And I choose that phrase for it because this isn’t something I think is in the story at all; I’m adding it wholesale, entirely against any reasonable interpretation that would pass muster with a decent literature professor.

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It's an intriguing idea that I fully agree with slash understand. What Marie Brennan calls "Reading In" I call the "Readers Voice". As a reader we are actors in our own stories. Rather than allowing the story as written to remain static words on a page a reader provides the hundreds of little details that breath life into the story. The hidden beliefs of the characters, the emotions in their voice, the humour or irony in comments that may read stale or sad. This is the same thing that a good actor does as they turn a page of words from a script into a compelling performance.

In my last writing group meeting the Readers Voice came up, though we didn't discuss it directly, it was forefront in my mind. The nature of a writing group meeting is for the members to share their views and impressions of each others work. This is the time for us as writers to find out what our readers see in our work, and use it to strengthen our stories, or to even take them into entirely new directions.

With one story in particular we all had different reactions. The Author meant for it to be a two part story, but the readers were happy with it ending in one part. While one person saw it as a mythical quest for meaning, another read it as an elaborate suicide note. Both interpretations are valid, even though one is more in line with what the author intended than the other. So to sum: Be consciously aware of the Readers Voice, use it to shape the editing of your stories (which means you need Readers). And of course it's ok to disagree with the author if it makes the story more enjoyable for yourself (though there are many 'Egos' that would disagree).



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Data Visualization Ohhhhhh Pretty

Over at SF Signal there was a post that brought to mind all the cyberpunk I read as a, well, punk kid. The visuals are spectacular, works of art that are also full of information. In an odd way it brings to mind Leonardo da Vinci's drawings and technical schematics. It was impossible for him to separate the artist from the designer, the art from the information. This also occurs here to eye pleasing effect.

The videos were taken from a BBC Show called Britain From Above and on their site you can find more videos and photos. When I think of people surfing the datastreams, this is the vision I see, not some blocky digital junk that seems to be most prevalent in the film versions of those books. When it comes to putting my own characters into a cyberworld this is the standard that I'm going to reach for.


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Writing Group Wrap Up

So last night was the second organized meeting of the writing group, and as before everyone had something to share. This week our stories had immortal body snatchers, the melusine and alien fairies by firelight. So a pretty wide collection of stories all falling within the speculative fiction definition. One thing that was surprising to me was the similar darkness to all of our stories. Nobody seemed depressed, so I'm gonna chalk it up to a reflection of the winter, or the current economic climate.

On that note, over at SFNovelists S.C. Butler has posted an article entitled The Happy Place. The article (and associated comments) explores the recent trend of what he calls the Pessimistic Fantasies garnering greater attention over Optimistic Fantasies. Pessimistic Fantasies are stories that start in a dark place, a cruel world so to speak, where characters struggle to bring positive change. Whereas Optimistic Fantasies start in a idealized place, and typically characters attempt to protect this world.

If I were to evaluate the stories presented in the meeting last night I would characterize them as pessimistic, however this is not meant as an insult. Our choices of dark worlds for our stories gave us the freedom to explore the ramifications of our characters decisions, and in a sense let them define Good or Evil, instead of their world defining it. This is one of the strengths of a short story where world building, must by necessity, be a distant second or third to the character development. There simply isn't time to waste filling in all the details of a world when an actual story must unfold. Ultimately it's easier and faster to describe Dystopia over Utopia, because the former doesn't require you to have all the answers.

Next month, new meeting, new stories. Tick Tock goes the clock, time to get writing.


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