Yes, it's that time of year again.
My co-ML (Hi, Nicki!) started a WordPress blog for us (http://lvpanano.wordpress.com/). I've put up two posts this week on preparation:
Plotting vs. Pantsing
Methods of Plotting
Feel free to check them out.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
2009 goals update
Okay, I'm a bit behind on the "six month" update. I listed my goals for the year on December 31, and I'm doing pretty good so far.
I have:
Still on the agenda:
I'm hoping to send out the novelette soon, and then there's family vacation. A good reward for good progress!
I have:
- edited one novel and sent it off for crits
- submitted one novella (today)
- finished writing and editing one novelette and sent it off for crit
- reoutlined my 2007 NaNo (which will probably be my second novel edited for the year)
Still on the agenda:
- second novel edited
- one novel out to agents
- novelette submitted
- new novel for NaNo 2009
I'm hoping to send out the novelette soon, and then there's family vacation. A good reward for good progress!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Review of August/September issue of the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
Toward the beginning of the month, I saw a note on Twitter about reviewing an issue of the Magazine of Fantasy & Science-Fiction, and I immediately went over to the magazine's site to volunteer. A free copy of a major genre magazine in return for sharing my opinions? What's not to like?
When my review copy arrived, I was startled. I knew the magazine had gone to a bimonthly schedule and had increased their page count in the process, but I wasn't expecting the full-length paperback in my mailbox -- 256 pages. (I think they count it as 260, counting the front cover as page 1; I'm only counting the pages between the covers.) Wow.
Not every story was to my taste, but I wouldn't have expected to enjoy them all equally. If I were picking this issue up in a store and started at the beginning, not knowing any of the authors, just starting at the beginning, I probably wouldn't have finished reading. However, having read the entire issue, I found more to enjoy than otherwise, and I recommend picking up a copy.
The seven novelettes, three short stories, two reprints, one poem, and various departments and cartoons cut a wide slice across the genres, in length, style, and sub-genre. The tales cover everything from magical realism to exploration of a foreign planet to traditional fantasy with wizards battling for a kingdom. Most people will find something in these pages that resonates with them.
Herewith, my commentary on the various stories:
"The Art of the Dragon" by Sean McMullen starts vividly, with a two-mile-long dragon eating the Eiffel Tower. The writing was beautiful, and the story developed well -- until we got to the climax. To me, it felt like the start of a dystopian world, and the narrator saying, "understanding what the dragon wants is not the same as agreeing with it" does not make the idea of the story any more palatable to me. (I realize a story does not necessarily reflect an author's views. I know that some people prefer stories that make them uncomfortable or that espouse ideas in conflict with their own. Knowing these things also does not help me to appreciate this story.)
The second story, "You Are Such a One" by Nancy Springer, is a bit of magical realism, lushly depicted in second-person present, that left me at the end saying, "So what?" By this point in reading the magazine, I was feeling disappointed -- two for two on good stories where the ending fell flat to my sensibilities. This is the point I might have given up.
I'm glad I didn't. Melinda M. Snodgrass's "A Token of a Better Age" captivated me. (Who says frame stories don't work?) It took a minute for the last line to penetrate, but once I got it, I laughed out loud. THAT was a story with a complete arc and satisfactory ending. I immediately put Ms. Snodgrass's Edge books on my list of things to look for. I want more by this author, in this world.
"Obsolete Theories" is a lovely poem that recaptures the spirit of "Some say the world will end in fire . . . " yet is original. Kudos to Sophie M. White!
Matthew Hughes' "Hunchster" is short -- possibly the shortest story in the magazine. I wouldn't say the prose is beautiful ("You'd think I'd remember the kid's name, but I never could" is how it starts.), but the voice is true throughout, and there's a completeness in its shortness.
There are two reprint stories -- one introduced by Gordon Van Gelder, one by Harlan Ellison -- and both are clearly memorable. "The Goddamned Tooth Fairy," by Tina Kuzminski, presents a wonderful view of scars and pasts and history and moving on. As someone with my own set of highly visible scars, I found this story resonated with me, even if I still hold on a bit tighter than I should to the past. "Snowfall," by Jessie Thompson, is vivid, poignant, perfectly crafted, and very horrifying. I can see why Mr. Ellison found it memorable; I don't believe I shall forget it, either.
Yoon Ha Lee created a singular world of necromancy and zombies in "The Bones of Giants." In many ways, it strikes me as classic fantasy, with undertones of fairy tales, but it moves beyond those boundaries. I enjoyed my time in Tamim's world.
Another story where the ending left me disappointed and feeling a complete lack of resolution was "Icarus Saved from the Skies" ("Icare sauvé des cieux") by Georges-Olivier Châteaureynaud, tranlated by Edward Gauvin. The writing was beautiful, but I got to the end and said, "That whole build-up was for that? What's the point?"
"The Others," by Lawrence C. Connolly is, the introduction says, a direct sequel to "Daughters of Prime," which will be available on their Website (but was not yet when I looked, presumably because it's still June and this issue is supposed to be on the shelves in two months). I found this very engaging adventurous SF, with the caveat that I want to read a longer piece, as the story was complete but entirely new questions had arisen at the end. Wanting to read more of an author's work is far from the worst reaction a reader can have. This is, perhaps, the only story in the magazine where I hesitated at the end but felt unquestionably that I would read more by the author when given the opportunity.
The next novelette, "Three Leaves of Aloe" by Rand B. Lee, immerses the reader in an India of the future, yet one immediately recognizable to the people of today -- call centers purportedly in the United States, bullies at work and at school, a driving need to get ahead in life. This is a moving SF story. I don't know if I'll be on the lookout for more of Mr. Lee's work per se, but if given the opportunity to read it, I expect to enjoy it.
Albert E. Cowdrey's "The Private Eye" is filled with a strong narrative voice that brings small-town Louisiana of Jimmy John Link to life. This was another story that had me laughing -- and I plan to hit the local bookstore to get the June/July issue of the magazine before the end of this month, as it has another, but far different, tale by Cowdrey in it.
The best was definitely saved for last: "Esoteric City" by Bruce Sterling. Set in a Turin of Black and White magic, this story features an Egyptian mummy, a major automotive company, and a visit to hell. Entirely captivating, this story is going to stay with me for a while.
The Departments are also worth a mention: the books reviewed by Charles de Lint have given me a couple of items to add to my ever-growing TBR pile, while Elizabeth Hand's analyses gave me more to think about. I found Lucius Shepard's analysis of the movie Watchman patronizing with his assumption that all superhero comics have a "vision of history and . . . take on human relationships [that] are adolescent and simplistic." This is not the place for a long discussion of the pros and cons of superhero comics, but if a reviewer feels the need to make comments little different from "It's not bad for what it is," maybe he should find a different genre to review.
Also, there are comics scattered throughout. They vary in quality (I've seen much better Harris cartoons than the one on page 192), but they are all welcome breaks. (My favorite appears on page 212.)
Overall, I found three stories with endings that left me cold, a couple new authors whom I won't seek out but might enjoy seeing again, and a handful of stories, both fantasy and science fiction, that earned high marks all around. The true mark of how much I enjoyed this issue? I'm currently waiting on a check for a freelance job, and as soon as it arrives, I'm subscribing to the magazine. I want to see what their 60th anniversary issue holds, and I want to see where they go from there.
When my review copy arrived, I was startled. I knew the magazine had gone to a bimonthly schedule and had increased their page count in the process, but I wasn't expecting the full-length paperback in my mailbox -- 256 pages. (I think they count it as 260, counting the front cover as page 1; I'm only counting the pages between the covers.) Wow.
Not every story was to my taste, but I wouldn't have expected to enjoy them all equally. If I were picking this issue up in a store and started at the beginning, not knowing any of the authors, just starting at the beginning, I probably wouldn't have finished reading. However, having read the entire issue, I found more to enjoy than otherwise, and I recommend picking up a copy.
The seven novelettes, three short stories, two reprints, one poem, and various departments and cartoons cut a wide slice across the genres, in length, style, and sub-genre. The tales cover everything from magical realism to exploration of a foreign planet to traditional fantasy with wizards battling for a kingdom. Most people will find something in these pages that resonates with them.
Herewith, my commentary on the various stories:
"The Art of the Dragon" by Sean McMullen starts vividly, with a two-mile-long dragon eating the Eiffel Tower. The writing was beautiful, and the story developed well -- until we got to the climax. To me, it felt like the start of a dystopian world, and the narrator saying, "understanding what the dragon wants is not the same as agreeing with it" does not make the idea of the story any more palatable to me. (I realize a story does not necessarily reflect an author's views. I know that some people prefer stories that make them uncomfortable or that espouse ideas in conflict with their own. Knowing these things also does not help me to appreciate this story.)
The second story, "You Are Such a One" by Nancy Springer, is a bit of magical realism, lushly depicted in second-person present, that left me at the end saying, "So what?" By this point in reading the magazine, I was feeling disappointed -- two for two on good stories where the ending fell flat to my sensibilities. This is the point I might have given up.
I'm glad I didn't. Melinda M. Snodgrass's "A Token of a Better Age" captivated me. (Who says frame stories don't work?) It took a minute for the last line to penetrate, but once I got it, I laughed out loud. THAT was a story with a complete arc and satisfactory ending. I immediately put Ms. Snodgrass's Edge books on my list of things to look for. I want more by this author, in this world.
"Obsolete Theories" is a lovely poem that recaptures the spirit of "Some say the world will end in fire . . . " yet is original. Kudos to Sophie M. White!
Matthew Hughes' "Hunchster" is short -- possibly the shortest story in the magazine. I wouldn't say the prose is beautiful ("You'd think I'd remember the kid's name, but I never could" is how it starts.), but the voice is true throughout, and there's a completeness in its shortness.
There are two reprint stories -- one introduced by Gordon Van Gelder, one by Harlan Ellison -- and both are clearly memorable. "The Goddamned Tooth Fairy," by Tina Kuzminski, presents a wonderful view of scars and pasts and history and moving on. As someone with my own set of highly visible scars, I found this story resonated with me, even if I still hold on a bit tighter than I should to the past. "Snowfall," by Jessie Thompson, is vivid, poignant, perfectly crafted, and very horrifying. I can see why Mr. Ellison found it memorable; I don't believe I shall forget it, either.
Yoon Ha Lee created a singular world of necromancy and zombies in "The Bones of Giants." In many ways, it strikes me as classic fantasy, with undertones of fairy tales, but it moves beyond those boundaries. I enjoyed my time in Tamim's world.
Another story where the ending left me disappointed and feeling a complete lack of resolution was "Icarus Saved from the Skies" ("Icare sauvé des cieux") by Georges-Olivier Châteaureynaud, tranlated by Edward Gauvin. The writing was beautiful, but I got to the end and said, "That whole build-up was for that? What's the point?"
"The Others," by Lawrence C. Connolly is, the introduction says, a direct sequel to "Daughters of Prime," which will be available on their Website (but was not yet when I looked, presumably because it's still June and this issue is supposed to be on the shelves in two months). I found this very engaging adventurous SF, with the caveat that I want to read a longer piece, as the story was complete but entirely new questions had arisen at the end. Wanting to read more of an author's work is far from the worst reaction a reader can have. This is, perhaps, the only story in the magazine where I hesitated at the end but felt unquestionably that I would read more by the author when given the opportunity.
The next novelette, "Three Leaves of Aloe" by Rand B. Lee, immerses the reader in an India of the future, yet one immediately recognizable to the people of today -- call centers purportedly in the United States, bullies at work and at school, a driving need to get ahead in life. This is a moving SF story. I don't know if I'll be on the lookout for more of Mr. Lee's work per se, but if given the opportunity to read it, I expect to enjoy it.
Albert E. Cowdrey's "The Private Eye" is filled with a strong narrative voice that brings small-town Louisiana of Jimmy John Link to life. This was another story that had me laughing -- and I plan to hit the local bookstore to get the June/July issue of the magazine before the end of this month, as it has another, but far different, tale by Cowdrey in it.
The best was definitely saved for last: "Esoteric City" by Bruce Sterling. Set in a Turin of Black and White magic, this story features an Egyptian mummy, a major automotive company, and a visit to hell. Entirely captivating, this story is going to stay with me for a while.
The Departments are also worth a mention: the books reviewed by Charles de Lint have given me a couple of items to add to my ever-growing TBR pile, while Elizabeth Hand's analyses gave me more to think about. I found Lucius Shepard's analysis of the movie Watchman patronizing with his assumption that all superhero comics have a "vision of history and . . . take on human relationships [that] are adolescent and simplistic." This is not the place for a long discussion of the pros and cons of superhero comics, but if a reviewer feels the need to make comments little different from "It's not bad for what it is," maybe he should find a different genre to review.
Also, there are comics scattered throughout. They vary in quality (I've seen much better Harris cartoons than the one on page 192), but they are all welcome breaks. (My favorite appears on page 212.)
Overall, I found three stories with endings that left me cold, a couple new authors whom I won't seek out but might enjoy seeing again, and a handful of stories, both fantasy and science fiction, that earned high marks all around. The true mark of how much I enjoyed this issue? I'm currently waiting on a check for a freelance job, and as soon as it arrives, I'm subscribing to the magazine. I want to see what their 60th anniversary issue holds, and I want to see where they go from there.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
1,000 Words a Day
Debbie Ridpath Ohi, aka Inkygirl, has started the 1,000 Words a Day Challenge, a year-long challenge to keep yourself writing. She says she's open to having a 500 Words a Day badge, too, if enough people are interested.
The rules are simple: Try to write 1000 words a day, at least six days a week.
As long as you're honestly trying, it counts -- even if you don't reach it. How's that for cool?
I could do it now, but we're going on a long vacation starting next month, so I won't put the badge up until we get back.
If you want some motivation or encouragement, go check it out.
The rules are simple: Try to write 1000 words a day, at least six days a week.
As long as you're honestly trying, it counts -- even if you don't reach it. How's that for cool?
I could do it now, but we're going on a long vacation starting next month, so I won't put the badge up until we get back.
If you want some motivation or encouragement, go check it out.
Friday, June 05, 2009
halfway there?
Almost a month ago now, I posted that I was going to be starting the revision of Witchy Woman. To refresh your memory (if you don't want to click on the link),
The anticipated process:As of this morning, I have a completed revision outline, meaning I've completed the first four steps. Of course, that fifth step being the actual page-by-page edit plus writing of new scenes, it's going to take some time. It took me longer to get to this point than I'd hoped, but I didn't actually work at it every day. That changes now.
- read through the manuscript
- create outline of current state
- work through world-building and necessary plot expansions
- update revision outline
- hard copy edit (get rid of tics and add description at this stage!)
- type in edits
- have Word read manuscript to me while I follow along to make sure all edits complete
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
One edit down, on to the next
Yesterday, I finished my revision of The Christmas Tree Farm Murders and sent it off to be critted. I started working on the revision outline April 7, so that's just under a month. Not bad.
I'm going to be starting the revision of Witchy Woman next, and I thought I'd talk a little about my editing process here. I started off with Holly Lisle's articles on One-Pass Manuscript Revision and How to Revise a Novel. These are essentially the same process, just written up slightly differently.
Now, I knew I couldn't use her process as written -- as I mentioned in Making the writing pay, I feel the need to see the big picture first before I jump into cutting and making notes about adding scenes. So I added an extra pass through to create a revision outline and remind what the book as a whole looked like before I made any decisions. I actually got so caught up in the prose that I wound up stopping the outline to just read, then had to go back and page through again to create the outline. This turned out to work very well, since I could make notes on my index cards about upcoming scenes that I wanted to tie things to, or note that some scenes might work better pushed together.
Once I had my outline (a series of index cards, one scene per card), I went through and adjusted them all, removing the second POV, noting which scenes should be rewritten to the primary POV, tracing clues and planting new ones -- generally, making certain the continuity worked. I also noted dates and times to make sure the timeline worked.
Then I went through the hard copy and edited. Lots and lots of red ink all over the pages. Deletions, changes, additions. New pages written on the back of old ones. That took about a week.
Next up, the type-in. I'm odd -- I type in from back to front. This serves two purposes: the manuscript hasn't been repaginated by changes earlier in the manuscript, so the hard copy pages correspond to what's in front of me on the screen; and focusing on the sentences and paragraphs out of context gives me a separate proofreading check where I'm not seeing words because I expect them to be there.
I typed in the last four chapters and realized I was going to need another pass. I had entirely too many body language tics of the "she smiled," "she shrugged," and "he nodded" variety, and I needed to take those out and add in more actual characterization and setting description.
Thus, when I finished the type-in, I started through again, this time front to back, making those sorts of changes as I went -- and noting on my outline specific changes that would have to be propagated through later chapters.
Turns out, though, I wasn't quite done when I sent it off for crit. I'd left a wishy-washy sentence highlighted that I meant to come back to and fix. I sent e-mail about this and chalked it up as learning experience: Don't skip the final read-through before sending a manuscript to agents or editors.
That's the process as I just went through it. I'm hoping to streamline it for this next project -- sort of. You see, WW has about half the word count it needs, so I know I'm going to be layering in story-line and sub-plot.
The anticipated process:
I'm hoping to get through the read-through this week, and begin the rest next week. This time, I'm estimating closer to two months than one, but we'll see.
I'm going to be starting the revision of Witchy Woman next, and I thought I'd talk a little about my editing process here. I started off with Holly Lisle's articles on One-Pass Manuscript Revision and How to Revise a Novel. These are essentially the same process, just written up slightly differently.
Now, I knew I couldn't use her process as written -- as I mentioned in Making the writing pay, I feel the need to see the big picture first before I jump into cutting and making notes about adding scenes. So I added an extra pass through to create a revision outline and remind what the book as a whole looked like before I made any decisions. I actually got so caught up in the prose that I wound up stopping the outline to just read, then had to go back and page through again to create the outline. This turned out to work very well, since I could make notes on my index cards about upcoming scenes that I wanted to tie things to, or note that some scenes might work better pushed together.
Once I had my outline (a series of index cards, one scene per card), I went through and adjusted them all, removing the second POV, noting which scenes should be rewritten to the primary POV, tracing clues and planting new ones -- generally, making certain the continuity worked. I also noted dates and times to make sure the timeline worked.
Then I went through the hard copy and edited. Lots and lots of red ink all over the pages. Deletions, changes, additions. New pages written on the back of old ones. That took about a week.
Next up, the type-in. I'm odd -- I type in from back to front. This serves two purposes: the manuscript hasn't been repaginated by changes earlier in the manuscript, so the hard copy pages correspond to what's in front of me on the screen; and focusing on the sentences and paragraphs out of context gives me a separate proofreading check where I'm not seeing words because I expect them to be there.
I typed in the last four chapters and realized I was going to need another pass. I had entirely too many body language tics of the "she smiled," "she shrugged," and "he nodded" variety, and I needed to take those out and add in more actual characterization and setting description.
Thus, when I finished the type-in, I started through again, this time front to back, making those sorts of changes as I went -- and noting on my outline specific changes that would have to be propagated through later chapters.
Turns out, though, I wasn't quite done when I sent it off for crit. I'd left a wishy-washy sentence highlighted that I meant to come back to and fix. I sent e-mail about this and chalked it up as learning experience: Don't skip the final read-through before sending a manuscript to agents or editors.
That's the process as I just went through it. I'm hoping to streamline it for this next project -- sort of. You see, WW has about half the word count it needs, so I know I'm going to be layering in story-line and sub-plot.
The anticipated process:
- read through the manuscript
- create outline of current state
- work through world-building and necessary plot expansions
- update revision outline
- hard copy edit (get rid of tics and add description at this stage!)
- type in edits
- have Word read manuscript to me while I follow along to make sure all edits complete
I'm hoping to get through the read-through this week, and begin the rest next week. This time, I'm estimating closer to two months than one, but we'll see.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Where I stand
At the end of last month, I mentioned all that I had on my plate.
I already said that I didn't get anywhere with the Nocturne Bites pitch contest. Fortunately, I can still send in the full Bite per their normal submission guidelines.
Monday, I sent off my entry for the Knight Agency's Book in a Nutshell competition. Since then, I've finished my hard copy edits of The Christmas Tree Farm Murders and started typing them in. I'll probably have to do another clean-up pass after it's all in, but it should be fairly solid by the end of the month.
I did get a phone interview for the blog gig I applied for, but they decided my experience and skills didn't match their needs.
Looking ahead to May, I'm planning to finish up the edits on my Bite and get it sent off, work on a few short stories (maybe do Forward Motion's Story-a-Day!), and then work on two different outlines: the revision outline for Pepper (my NaNo 2007 story) and the writing outline for Ivory & Bone, which has been calling to me. I'm thinking that, even if I take more time with Pepper than I did the Christmas Trees, I can have her finished and ready to go to critters before we head out on our family vacation this summer -- and then maybe I'll work on Ivory & Bone longhand while we're on vacation. All plans, of course, are subject to change at any time.
By the way, in my New Year post, I listed getting two novels edited, submitting a novelette, and reoutlining my 2007 NaNo (plus a couple of other things) as my goals for this year. Editing The Christmas Tree Farm Murders puts me halfway to that first one, submitting the Nocturne Bite will get me the next one, and 2007 NaNo outline is up next, so I'm doing fairly well at sticking to my goals for the year. Yay, me! How are you doing, one-third of the way through the year?
I already said that I didn't get anywhere with the Nocturne Bites pitch contest. Fortunately, I can still send in the full Bite per their normal submission guidelines.
Monday, I sent off my entry for the Knight Agency's Book in a Nutshell competition. Since then, I've finished my hard copy edits of The Christmas Tree Farm Murders and started typing them in. I'll probably have to do another clean-up pass after it's all in, but it should be fairly solid by the end of the month.
I did get a phone interview for the blog gig I applied for, but they decided my experience and skills didn't match their needs.
Looking ahead to May, I'm planning to finish up the edits on my Bite and get it sent off, work on a few short stories (maybe do Forward Motion's Story-a-Day!), and then work on two different outlines: the revision outline for Pepper (my NaNo 2007 story) and the writing outline for Ivory & Bone, which has been calling to me. I'm thinking that, even if I take more time with Pepper than I did the Christmas Trees, I can have her finished and ready to go to critters before we head out on our family vacation this summer -- and then maybe I'll work on Ivory & Bone longhand while we're on vacation. All plans, of course, are subject to change at any time.
By the way, in my New Year post, I listed getting two novels edited, submitting a novelette, and reoutlining my 2007 NaNo (plus a couple of other things) as my goals for this year. Editing The Christmas Tree Farm Murders puts me halfway to that first one, submitting the Nocturne Bite will get me the next one, and 2007 NaNo outline is up next, so I'm doing fairly well at sticking to my goals for the year. Yay, me! How are you doing, one-third of the way through the year?
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