Worldbuilding: Why It Ain’t So Easy
So, I appeared at an event at the San Marcos Library on Sunday where I’d been asked to give a talk about research. During the question and answer section, someone asked me why I would go to all the trouble of setting a fantasy in the real world? “Why do that when you can just make stuff up? That’s easier, after all. It’s a short cut!” Yeah. Um. Not so much. First, writing isn’t easy, nor is making up stuff. Worldbuilding is hard work — very difficult, detailed work. If you’re not thinking about the worldbuilding aspects of your story that much, then what you’re doing is probably derivative, and that’s not good. It’s far easier to work with environments with which the reader is already familiar than it is to make up a foreign world and make it plausible. There are certain cues
Movie Review: Mama (2013)
One of the things I enjoy about horror is its connection with fairy tales. Anyone who has actually read Grimm’s Fairy Tales is aware of this association. It’s one of the reasons why Andrés Muschietti’s 2013 film, Mama, attracted me. The story has a mundane, if tragic start fed to the audience in the form of a car radio news story — a dramatic stock market downturn results in the suicides of several members of a prominent investment firm. The abandoned car is parked in front of a beautiful house and there is a gunshot. The camera pans closer and the next scene is of a little girl named Victoria dressed for school. Her one-year-old sister is in her crib nearby. Their father arrives. His clothing is speckled with blood. Victoria asks, as all Fairy Tale heroines do, all the right questions, but her father, who is insane with grief, brushes her questions aside. He collects the girls and drives off into the wilderness with them. The car wrecks in the snow and they end up in an abandoned cabin, which is, naturally, haunted. Their
On Writing: Cold and Dead
I don’t believe in literary trend tracking. I never have. Largely, the reason why is I’m a contrarian. If hordes of people are headed one direction, I’m very likely to push against the flow — particularly if the flow is overwhelming. More often than not, I’ve found that doing so has been helpful. It keeps me ahead of the game, as it were. I simply don’t trust fads, and I certainly don’t trust mobs. In large groups, people tend to think less of the consequences of what is happening. I want to think. I want to make my own decisions. I’m not interested in doing something just because it’s fashionable. Plus, I’ve been around long enough to know that the moment when everyone is doing it is the moment one should flee the scene. The pattern is as old as humanity. Look up the Dutch Tulip Bubble of 1637 if you don’t believe me. That’s why whenever a newbie writer asks me if they should follow trends, I tell them not to bother. They’re bullshit. Understand that by the time you finish
The Sound of Thunder (On Young Adult SF/F)
This weekend is the Austin Teen Book Festival. I’m excited about attending — not only because a number of the authors making an appearance at the festival share the same literary agency I do and our agency is a pretty tight little community on its own, but because I find YA inspiring and energizing. Also? My next series may be categorized as YA.[1] [listens for the groans] There are reasons for this. I worked at BookPeople in the Teen Book section for six years. Therefore, I have a background in Teen Fiction. My agency specializes in younger fiction (YA, picture books and mid-grade.) But the biggest reason why is because… that’s where it’s all happening. It’s where the LIFE of SF and F is these days. It’s where all the really cool ideas are encouraged and welcomed and nurtured, and where, by the Gods, authors are even paid for their work. Adult SF and F seems to be dying. Here’s where I type “Don’t Panic” in small friendly letters. DON’T PANIC. Or wait… maybe you should. Let’s think about this. The adult markets have been
My Superpower: Stina Leicht
My Superpower is a regular guest column on the Skiffy and Fanty blog where authors and creators tell us about one weird skill, neat trick, highly specialized cybernetic upgrade, or other superpower they have, and how it helped (or hindered!) their creative process as they built their project. Today we welcome Stina Leicht to talk about how being meticulous, overly analytical, and sensitive relates to her work. —————————————————————————————— There should probably be a sign hung over this post that reads, Don’t Try This At Home, Kids… Frankly, I’m not sure I’d call any quality I have a ‘super power.’ (Well, other than the ability to find a goth outfit in any store.) I’m a ball of positive and negative traits that constantly war with one another–in short, I’m a human being. As luck would have it, that happens to work in my favor from time to time. My husband loves to call me a ‘method writer.’ He does this primarily when I rush outside after an ice storm[1] and tramp around in the thin layer of snow with my head tilted like the Victor dog, Nipper. Dane loves to shout, “Remember your coat!” because half the time I’m so wrapped up in capturing the experience that I forget silly little things like self-preservation. It’s why, when I took rally racing lessons as part of my research for Of Blood and Honey and its sequel And Blue Skies from Pain, he made me promise not to race on the track with other drivers.[2] When I broke my arm in Kung Fu class last summer, my biggest thought was, So, this is what it feels like. How much does it hurt? What can’t I do? What can I do? Why do I know something is wrong? How long does it take for the
