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6/14/08: Taos Toolbox, days 6-7: Nellie Goes Spung!

Word count: 3804 | Since last entry: 3804

Friday morning we critiqued three stories, the last of the batch submitted before the workshop started. Four people have already turned in stories for next week, and the rest (including mine) are due by noon Monday.

Friday afternoon we engaged in a group plotting exercise, kind of like television or movie writers in a writers’ room. Starting with the concept of “steampunk to the stars!” we wound up with Nellie Bly, Oscar Wilde, and Prince Edward on a colony planet where alien celery (we never nailed down whether or not it was intelligent) gave women intense orgasms and caused mutations in their children. We also had some made-up characters, including a Doctor (the villain) who was an ex-lover of Nellie’s and a gay Archivist who was in love with her in male disguise. The “act outs,” or big finishes to each act, were as follows: Act I, Nellie’s true identity is revealed by the Doctor; Act II, Nellie has her first experience with the alien celery (see the title of this post); Act III, Nellie and the Archivist form a mutually satisfactory relationship with the alien celery, world is changed, happy ending. Very silly, yet educational.

The workshop fee includes basic food for breakfasts and lunches and a nice catered dinner on Monday through Thursday nights, but for Friday through Sunday dinner we’re on our own. This Friday, at Kelly Link’s suggestion, we had a progressive dinner in which each condo (we are divided into several two- and three-bedroom condos, each with a fully equipped kitchen) would prepare a course. It was fabulous. We wound up with an overwhelming amount of food, including a great Greek salad, gaspacho, fennel-carrot soup, stirfried beef with mushrooms and celery (that was me, and the rice turned out fine), and rhubarb-strawberry pie a la mode. Even the condo that consists of three guys who can’t cook produced a three-bean salad, with Kelly’s help.

After dinner I finally started drafting my week 2 story. For a variety of reasons I decided to use on a story idea I had a long time ago about a magical plumber who meets an undine. Yes, it’s a story all about water, it’s set in Portland, and I’m writing it in the desert. Go figure. I stayed up until 1am and got about a thousand words down.

I promised myself if I got to 3000 words before lunchtime today I’d allow myself to get out and do some touristing. I made 2300 words — close enough. Six of us went to Taos Pueblo, which claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited community in the US (1000 years old). The guided tour emphasized how many awful things the white man has done to them (reserving greatest scorn for the Spanish who imposed Catholicism, and Roosevelt who turned their most sacred lands into a national recreational area), and yet St. Jerome’s Church is the central structure of the pueblo and the people are buried under crosses in the graveyard. They strike me as being like the Amish, but more extreme in their rejection of the white man’s technology and culture. Also, the Amish came here on purpose, while the pueblo dwellers were here first. Anyway, after that we hit Taos itself, a touristy little town, for lunch and a little shopping.

I’ve been writing pretty steadily since then, with a brief break for dinner, and I’m up to 3800 words (3400 if you don’t count the outline of the second half of the story that’s lurking at the bottom of the file). I’m stopping now because my brain has stopped working, but I anticipate I should be able to finish tomorrow without staying up too late.


Exterior view of Snakedance Condos


Our condo’s kitchen


Our living room — the spiral stair leads to my loft bedroom

6/12/08: Taos Toolbox, days 4-5: It’s Chinatown, Jake

Just got back from a group viewing of Chinatown. Walter pointed out how many aspects of the ending are foreshadowed, including the way Faye Dunaway’s head falls forward onto the horn. Creepy.

Yesterday my global-warming honor-killing unreliable-narrator second-person-present story was critiqued. Reviews were mixed. I was applauded for tackling such a difficult subject and technique, and the second-person-present narrator seems to have worked. But the murder was insufficiently motivated, the setting (which was praised) vanished in the second half, the husband was cardboard, and I was chided for turning the abused wife into a monster. Also, the twist ending didn’t work for most people, and the honor killing wasn’t really one (apparently real honor killings are community-motivated, not individual). It was sugggested that I rewrite the story without the twist ending, but I’m not sure there’s any plot at all without that… just despair. I will probably patch it up a bit and send it out, but I won’t make extensive changes and I won’t really expect it to sell. If it does sell, I guarantee some readers will hate it.

I remind myself that I deliberately challenged myself and risked failure; I appear to have succeeded. Or something like that. I have talked with Kelly Link about the exercise (and a number of other things, such as how to make the story I’m working on now weirder and more unique) and it’s been helpful. I’m still feeling a bit down. Though nowhere near as bad as I did at Clarion.

I have written over 3000 words of notes and outline on the next story, which I must turn in by Monday. It’s much more conventional in structure and style, but I’m trying to make it as rich and personal as I can. There’s also one voice trick I have in mind, which will require a little more research before I even know whether or not I’m going to attempt it. I’m going to be doing a lot of typing in the next 3 days. Also preparing a dish for a progressive dinner Friday night. I’ve never made rice before without a rice cooker, never mind at an altitude of 9200 feet. It would probably be a good idea to fix the rice in the afternoon, in case something goes wrong, and heat it up just before dinner.

Yesterday we went out around sunset to see the space station and space shuttle go by. They never did appear; either they were behind the mountains to the south or we were off by an hour on the time. Oh well.

We’ve had a talk by Walter on plot structures and techniques, and another talk from Kelly on how publishing works. Not much new for me there. Walter also gave us a detailed walk-through of the plot of Nova, showing that it was richer and more carefully structured than I thought it was. My first reading of the book came off as a very thin plot padded out with a bunch of unrelated incidents and infodumps, but rescued by a number of extremely cool scenes (like the party on the Ile de France, which reminded me a lot of The Stars My Destination). I missed most of the parallels, most of the foreshadowing, much of the symbolism, and the fact that the main character was black. I don’t fault myself for missing the implied homosexuality — the book was written in 1968 and it was really deeply coded.

We’ve also had a couple of brief exercises. One was to outline a published novel, find the turning point, change the turning point, and write a new outline from that point forward. I chose The Mote In God’s Eye, identified the turning point as the point at which MacArthur‘s sailing master deduces the existence of the Warrior caste, and wrote a new ending in which the humans do not learn about the threat and enter a trading agreement with the Moties. The Moties expand into human space, gradually building up their numbers and covertly breeding Warriors towards the point where they are powerful enough to decapitate the Empire. But Kutuzov, who never trusted the Moties, discovers and exposes their plan at the cost of his ship and his own life. Blaine, realizing he’s been played for a fool, assembles and then launches a massive attack on the Moties; he succeeds in destroying the Moties in human space, at a cost of billions of human lives. The remaining Moties, penned up in their home system with a massive Warrior breeding program already underway, immediately go to war with each other over the remaining resources. Due to the savagery of the combat and the addition of human technology to the equation, Motie civilization falls so hard that it may not ever rise again. The book ends with Blaine looking down on the devastated Motie homeworld and regretting that they were unable to overcome their own biology; he hopes that humans will be able to do better.

Mine wasn’t nearly as funny as the one that rewrote the last act of Romeo and Juliet with mass arrests and executions. Really. You had to have been there.

This afternoon I wanted to make sure to get out in the sunlight, because it is supposed to help one sleep (I’ve been waking up much earlier than I’d like to). I passed on the group hike, because it involved a river crossing and I don’t have the right shoes for that, but I did get out for a nice 20-minute walk by myself. The wind up here right now is amazing, roaring across the landscape picking up large quantities of dust. It feels like a storm’s blowing in, but so far there have been no clouds and no rain.

We’ve been warned that New Mexico is #1 in the USA for deaths by lightning. If the bears don’t get you first.

6/10/08: Taos Toolbox, day 3: Casablanca

I’m going to say right now that I don’t promise to blog every day.

Three critiques today. On one of them I was the only one who spoke about a particular issue that I thought was pretty serious. I must ponder the significance of this (there may be none). After critique, Kelly Link spoke about the economics of publishing. Much there that I already knew, but it was interesting to get it from the perspective of a small press publisher.

In the evening, a guided viewing of Casablanca which I found out I didn’t know as well as I thought I did. For example, I thought Peter Lorre had a much bigger part. Walter pointed out that most significant characters are prefigured before their first on-screen appearance (the long, long build-up to the first time we see Bogart’s face is delicious and shows you just how important he is). The young Bulgarian couple (for whom Bogart cheats at roulette) appear many times before their first significant appearance; their situation with Renard parallels and inverts Bogart’s situation with Ilsa and Victor. Victor’s super power is that he makes everyone who comes in contact with him a better human being. And the plane in the background during the final scene? Tiny cardboard mock-up, with midgets as aircrew. They just don’t make ’em like that anymore.

I should be writing now…

6/9/08: Taos Toolbox, day 2: Begin as you would continue

The first full day of classes began with a nice breakfast, though the butter wouldn’t melt on my English muffin right out of the toaster. I assume this is an effect of the altitude. Most meals are provided; I’m not sure what the options will be for Friday and Saturday’s dinners, which aren’t.

We convened in the lobby at 10am for opening remarks by Walter Jon Williams and Kelly Link and introductions all around, then jumped right in with critiques of two novel excerpts (everyone had to submit something for week 1 before the workshop started). Both works were of high general quality but interestingly flawed. The quality of the critiques was also quite high, with almost every one adding something interesting to the conversation. After lunch (I had cold leftover pizza from yesterday’s dinner, a rare indulgence) Walter gave us a brief lecture about Two Surefire Ways to Keep a Reader Reading.

In the afternoon Walter led a hike; Deborah Jacobs, Allen Moore, and I came along. (Many of the other students ran off to Taos to purchase supplies, but I think I have everything I need.) I was a bit nervous about tackling the exertion, after the way the altitude kicked my ass yesterday, but Walter promised a fairly easy hike and, indeed, I had no difficulty. It was almost entirely uphill, but not too steep, with crisp mountain air and gorgeous views.

We also met a very cute dachshund-chihuahua mix on the trail. We have been warned about the dangers of the local wildlife (Giardia! Hantavirus! Bubonic plague! Bears!) but this one seemed harmless enough.

I’m drinking Gatorade, taking lots of naps, and generally taking it easy. Lots of good, juicy conversations over meals, on the hike, and in the hall between sessions. So far so good.

Also: is blogging from Mexico! Go say hola.

6/9/08: Taos Toolbox, day 1: Clarion Deluxe, now with 50% less oxygen

Long day yesterday. Up at 5am, cab to the airport, uneventful flights to Albuquerque via SFO, picked up rental car, drove 130 miles to Taos Ski Valley. Some confusion over the various Taoses (Taos, Taos Pueblo, Taos Ski Valley, Taos Ski Valley Village) but we only got lost once.

Looks like a good bunch of people. As this is a “graduate-level” workshop, almost everyone here has attended Clarion or Odyssey or Orson Scott Card’s Literary Boot Camp or some such. It’s also an older crowd than my Clarion and Writers of the Future classes (for once I am not the Old Guy).

The accomodations are fabulous. I have a huge loft bedroom with a spectacular view, sharing a 3-bedroom 3-bath suite with Jerry Weinberg and Allen Moore (no, not that Alan Moore). The spiral stair is very keen but getting my humungous bag up to the loft was a trial, especially as I was suffering mightily from the altitude, with a wicked headache and dizziness verging on nausea.

I fell over hard at about 10pm, and after a good night’s sleep the symptoms are greatly reduced. I will strive to keep hydrated, avoid alcohol and caffeine for the first few days, and not overexert myself. First critiques at 10am today. Whee!

6/7/08: We’re off

(But then you knew that.)

Kate left for Mexico on Friday, for two weeks of Spanish language immersion. I’m leaving for New Mexico bright and early tomorrow, for two weeks of Taos Toolbox writing workshop with Walter Jon Williams, Kelly Link, and Stephen R. Donaldson. Whee!

6/4/08: Miscellaneous writing news

It’s been an eventful few days for me, writing-wise. I completed the requested rewrite, and received an almost immediate acceptance: “Aggro Radius” will be appearing in Gamer Fantastic, edited by Martin Greenberg and Kerrie Hughes. I also received my contract and check for “Midnight at the Center Court” from Witch Way to the Mall and my contract for “Joy is the Serious Business of Heaven” from Realms of Fantasy. And today’s mail brought a pleasant surprise: a package from F&SF with a copy of its French edition, containing “Titanium Mike à la rescousse!”

The French edition of F&SF is confusingly entitled Fiction and claims to be edited by “les moutons électriques.” According to its web page, “Fiction présente chaque semestre le meilleur de la science-fiction et du merveilleux. Tout simplement.” So I’m honored my story was selected for translation. And, even better, “tome 7” of this fine magazine features zeppelins on the cover.

I also took half an hour to whomp off a 500-word vignette for a nonprofit project. This was an educational experience. I remember at Clarion I protested mightily when Candas Jane Dorsey asked us to write a 500-word writing exercise as well as our weekly story. It was work! Eight years later it’s like rolling off a log, and not only that I think the resulting piece is pretty darn good. (Admittedly it’s funny and fanfic-ish, which made it easier.) Ever watch a professional jeweler replace a watch battery or watchband? It’s like that. Do something often enough, even something fairly complex, and it becomes almost automatic. Which only goes to show the value of writing more.

As I was adding the Gamer Fantastic story to my spreadsheet I took a moment to tot up some figures. I’ve written 45 stories since I started getting serious in 1998 (wow, that’s 10 years ago). Of those, 4 are in submission, 4 have been critiqued and are awaiting revision, 1 is awaiting critique, 5 have been trunked, and 31 have sold (some of them multiple times). That’s a pretty decent sell-through rate, if I do say so myself.

5/31/08: Wiscon, and going to my dark place

Word count: 2890 | Since last entry: 2890

For some reason, since returning from Wiscon I’ve been very low on energy and generally feeling swamped by life — certainly too overwhelmed to blog about the con. I mean, yes, it was a con and I didn’t get a lot of sleep, but usually I’m not this derailed by the experience. In any case, I seem to be mostly recovered now.

It’s not because I had the stomach bug, norovirus, WisCholera, or whatever you want to call it. Kate have gas and threw up once, but we think now that it might have been a reaction to some iron pills she had just started taking rather than The Bug. It certainly didn’t lay her out flat like it did many of the other people at the convention.

The con itself was great fun; all of my favorite people were there. In fact, I kept saying “I have too many friends!” because I saw so many of them only in passing. But I had many fine meals with many fine people, and the hallway conversations were varied and stimulating. One in particular stands out: talking with Barth Anderson about the precautions everyone was taking to prevent coming down with the bug and how much they reminded me of the things people did to try to avoid the Black Plague (ring around a rosie, pocketful of hand sanitizer, ashes ashes all throw up). Later Benjamin Rosenbaum and Sean M. Murphy joined us and it turned into a discussion of the appropriate Hebrew prayer for applying Purel. I also distinctly remember Sarah Monette demonstrating the magical utility of her corset by pulling a variety of useful objects out of her cleavage. (I really wish there were something for guys to wear at cons that was as sexy, yet socially acceptable, as a corset.) My best meal of the con for both food and conversation was on Monday, I think, when we joined enthusiastic Australian bookseller Ron Serdiuk at Dotty Dumpling’s for fried cheese curds and one of the best burgers I’ve had in years (mine was bison, but the beef ones also got rave reviews).

I was rather annoyed that we’d failed to snag a Governor’s Club room (we’d waited until a mere ten months before the convention to reserve our room, by which time they were long gone), not only because I missed the free breakfast but also for the hanging out with con people in a quiet and convivial space. The number of times someone said “well, look for me in the bar” (meaning the Governor’s Club bar, inaccessible without the right flavor of elevator key) made me so determined to not repeat this experience that I set an alarm for 8am Monday to make my reservation for next year. Good thing I did; Governor’s Club rooms were gone by 10:30am.

I didn’t attend a lot of programming, but the two panels I was on (“Get Out Your Decoder Rings,” on fiction that requires knowledge from outside the story to understand, and “The ‘Real City’ of Urban Fantasy,” which turned into a general discussion of the value of cities in fantastic fiction) both went very well, with rapid-fire and meaty discussion. The Fretful Porpentines reading (me, Elizabeth Bear, Sarah Monette, and Ellen Kushner) was well-attended, although I’m afraid the noise of the coffee maker made it a less satisfying experience for the audience than I’d hoped for. I also participated in the Sign-Out for the first time, as I finally had a whole book to myself, and it went pretty well… I signed about ten books and had a nice time talking with tablemates and passersby.

The best program item I attended was the Mid-Career Writers’ salon on Monday afternoon. This is an opportunity for those of us who have achieved some success to compare notes and complain about the problems that newer writers think they wish they had. One theme of the salon was that everyone described themselves as being in a weird transitional phase (I think this is just the human condition) and that success and happiness are both heavily influenced by the expectations set beforehand.

Since returning home, I have written a story for the Taos Toolbox workshop (for which I leave a week from today, ack). Thinking back to Clarion, I decided to really challenge myself — try new things and risk failure. The resulting story is very different from my usual. It’s the bleakest thing I’ve ever written, a grim tale of despair and honor killing in the wake of catastrophic global warming. It uses thematic imagery (of flood, storm, and collapsing levees), which is something I don’t think I’ve ever done consiously. It’s only 2800 words long. It has an unreliable narrator. And it’s written in second person present tense. Why? Well, I just started out thinking about the main character talking to herself, and her voice kind of took over the narrative. I don’t yet know if it’s the most emotionally powerful thing I’ve ever written, or a complete failure. We’ll find out in less than two weeks.

In other writing news, I got a rewrite request on a story which I think is very likely to turn into a sale. I’ll get to that rewrite in the next couple of days. One of the many things I have to do before leaving for Taos.

5/20/08: Signing in Milwaukee

Word count: 6053 | Since last entry: 633


From left to right: Kate, Dave the owner of the Safe House, my dad, me, my mom

We’re in Milwaukee. Sold and signed 11 copies of Space Magic at Panther Books this afternoon, mostly to friends of my parents’, followed by a wonderful dinner at Kincaid’s. We’re staying at the Art-Deco-styled Hotel Metro. Having a great time and looking forward to Wiscon in a few days.

I finished and submitted the story I’d been working on and I’ve been doing my novel crits for Wiscon. Once I finish those I must immediately begin work on another short story for Taos Toolbox, which is due June 1. It’s going to be a challenge for me…

5/15/08: Another sale!

Last night’s reading at Powell’s went very well: just about every chair was filled, with people from all my various communities (fandom, writing, work, square dancing, Clarion, neighbors, and even a few people I don’t know). I read my story “Nucleon,” an old favorite I haven’t read in a while, and signed bunches of books. The 36 attendees bought 27 copies of Space Magic, out of 32 in stock, plus 4-5 other books of mine (um, by which I mean anthologies containing one story of mine each). Peter from the bookstore says that’s some kind of record for proportion of attendees buying the book. I’ll post some pictures when I get them.

And then today I got an email indicating that Esther Friesner is buying my story “Midnight at the Center Court” for her anthology Witch Way to the Mall. Two sales and a book launch in one week, not too shabby.

Other things are happening, though, some good, some not so good (maybe very not-so-good). More news as the information becomes available.