David D. LevineScience Fiction Author

Word count: 4223 | Since last entry: 251

In just a few weeks we will be going to Anaheim for the annual gay square dance convention. Naturally this includes a visit to Disneyland, and because we are obsessive control freaks we have been doing considerable research in order to beat the crowds. This has extended to the purchase of a software program called RideMax, which uses the latest available information on schedules and line movement rates to calculate an optimal touring plan for the attractions you want to see. It’s like the touring plan in The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland, which we swear by, but customized. Unfortunately, it’s Windows-only, which means we will be unable to make modifications to the plan after we leave home.

Yes, we are geeks. But we will spend less time standing in line than you, nyaah nyaah.

Tonight’s writing was remarkably hard. I had to write several paragraphs of description of the devastation of Pass Christian, Mississippi, without either having been there or plagiarizing the very-well-written description of that exact thing I found on the web. I hope that the telling details I have made up out of whole cloth sound as plausible to other people as they do to me. The hard part will continue until I reach the end of this day of the story, when my co-author’s diary picks up again.

I’ve been thinking a lot about whether the subplot I’ve invented to make life harder for my main character is extraneous or not. The problem is that if I don’t have this subplot he has nowhere to grow. He needs to start off at a place that is worth growing away from, and I can’t use even a variant of the typical “selfish/angry/repressed man learns to be generous/calm/uninhibited” plot because the character himself has to be quite generous, calm, and uninhibited or he wouldn’t be doing the job he is. I will hang onto this subplot for now, but at some point I may try removing it completely and see if the story stands up without it.

(I hope that stuff like the previous paragraph is interesting and useful to you, the readers of my blog. I haven’t thought as much, or as coherently, about writing as Jay Lake and Elizabeth Bear; all I can do is to write about what I’m doing and hope that some people will find it worthwhile. Which is just what I do with the writing itself, too, so what the hell.)

Word count: 3972 | Since last entry: 924

Today I did a lot of dishes. They’d really gotten out of hand. I finally pooped out without finishing them all, but I made a big dent. Also did grocery shopping. This week’s dinners will not be nearly as ambitious as last week’s.

In the evening, we saw a play at Artists’ Rep: Theatre District, written by Richard Kramer (creator of thirtysomething and My So-Called Life). Uproariously funny and moving by turns. I found the characters incredibly well drawn and the situation, though sometimes a bit confusing, was true-to-life. For dinner we had the spinach tacos I mentioned earlier, which were pretty good but I thought there wasn’t enough to them (but I am still trying to lose the weight I put on at Wiscon, so that might not be a bad thing).

I worked on my story at several different times during the day, adding a ghost at the end of day 1, a long conversation at the beginnning of day 2 in which the protagonist considers packing it in and also begins to realize that something supernatural might be happening, and an Authors’ Note explaining that “this story is fiction, but it climbs a trellis of fact.”

I’m going to have to work harder as I continue to write about day 2, because I discovered that my source material only gives about half a paragraph to what happened on that day. Fortunately, I found another journal of the tour posted on the web, but I need to keep reminding myself that I don’t have permission to use those words so I’ll have to read, digest, and regurgitate the events in my own words. I’m also working from a book called The Great Deluge which, by complete coincidence, Kate is reading right now. God, what a mess. I’m glad we don’t have hurricanes around here (just earthquakes and volcanoes…).

Word count: 3048 | Since last entry: 952

Finished up the first day of the story (out of four days). If the other days are as long as the first, the story will be 12,000 words, which is way too long for the story’s weight. But the other days will be shorter, because day 1 is heavy with scene-setting and introduction of characters. I hope.

I was able to add nearly a thousand words in about an hour by virtue of pulling in large amounts of text from my source document. The challenge now will be to cut it back. But it’s very good stuff. I need to decide how much of the wonderful atmosphere of this diary, which is what I fell in love with in the first place, will have to be sacrificed on the altar of Plot.

Oh, and I also have to go back and add another ghost.

The Plot must live!

Word count: 2096 | Since last entry: 150

In today’s writing I integrated the new opening into what I wrote earlier, including writing a brief conversation that introduced the situation a little better.

The other week we saw a movie called The Sci-Fi Boys, a documentary about Forrest J. Ackerman and his magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland and the boys (they were all boys) who made homemade sci-fi and horror movies after reading it and went on to become John Landis and Rick Baker and Peter Jackson and suchlike. The movie included a lot of clips from both the homemade movies and the 1950s and 60s classics that inspired them. This, in turn, inspired us to seek out a few of those classics, so tonight we rented The Day of the Triffids. It managed to be quite commendably tense and interesting despite the shabbiness of the special effects and some ludicrous logic holes (especially the ending). Tomorrow: This Island Earth.

I also feel I ought to blog about our dinners this week. For some reason (at least partly because we’ve started to receive our weekly basket of organic veggies from Pumpkin Ridge Gardens) we got inspired to try a whole bunch of new and fairly ambitious recipes. They’ve all turned out fabulous. So far this week we’ve had:

• Stir-fried mixed greens (bok choi, spinach, and beet thinnings) with tofu, greatly enlivened by the addition of a strip of bacon [improvised]
• Broiled halibut in a teriyaki marinade [Moosewood cookbook], accompanied by brown rice and sauteed broccoli with oyster sauce
• A salad of grilled chicken slices on a bed of blanched greens (snap peas, snow peas, and arugula) topped with a fresh strawberry vinaigrette [Eating Well magazine]
• Lamb satay stir-fry (lamb, cabbage, carrots, kohlrabi, and green onions in a light peanut-lime sauce) [Eating Well again] served on brown rice
• Cashew chicken [an old family recipe], with white rice — this was better than usual, made with fresh organic vegetables and chicken

We don’t usually eat this well, but I’m proud of us and I wanted to brag about it. Tomorrow: spinach tacos [Eating Well again].

Word count: 1946 | Since last entry: 328

Found another way to handle the opening. Now there’s at least a hint of something weird within the first two pages. Will have to clean up the edges a bit tomorrow.

Also, I worked in the main character’s name in paragraph 2. One of the perils of first person is that I managed to write over 1500 words without naming the narrator. Oops. Fixed now.

Word count: 1618 | Since last entry: 834

Took the train to work today, always a good way to get some writing done. And unlike last week, this time I didn’t leave my work badge on the train and have to pay $20 for a new one.

I’m pleased with the character and setting development so far, and I’ve just introduced the main character’s internal conflict, but the actual plot is still somewhere over the horizon. My current hope is that the situation and characters are engaging and unique enough to carry the reader along until the fantastic element appears — certainly I was engaged in the original diary (the true story around which I’m weaving my fiction) even when I knew no fantastic element was forthcoming. If it doesn’t work I can always start with the first fantastic incident and put what I have now in as an expository flashback.

However, if the story continues on its current trajectory it’ll be in the 8-10,000 word range, which is too long for many markets. I may have to go back and trim quite a bit after I’ve finished the first draft. (Yes, I’m obsessing over word count again. As if this is a surprise?)

Word count: 784 | Since last entry: 409

I got absolutely pummeled at the day job today. Being in a separate user interface design group means I get to work on a lot of different projects, but it can sometimes create a slightly adversarial relationship with the developers. Today I really missed being part of the development team — we did have our arguments, to be sure, but I had a better idea of what the issues were, and neither I nor the developers got blind-sided the way I did today. It wasn’t too bad, really — no hard feelings, but a very intense discussion.

I filled out one of those census forms the other day — how many people live at this address, where do you work, how much do you make, how did you get to work last week. Boy, do I feel lucky. I own my home, I drive my own car, I work every week. This survey really made me think about just how much of a privilege those simple things are.

Meanwhile, in fictionland, I’m developing the setting and introducing the rather large cast. One recent volunteer to join the cast (you know who you are) hasn’t appeared yet, but I’ll find a way to fit him in soon. I’ll get the plot rolling within another few hundred words, I hope.

Word count: 375 | Since last entry: 375

It has taken me entirely too long to get started on this story. I’ve been researching, outlining, and thinking thinking thinking… entirely too much. I’ve been paralyzed, I think, by the responsibility of writing a fictional story set in a real situation with characters based on people I know. I want to be true to their experience, but at the same time it has to be a proper story, with a plot, and that means conflict. So I’ve been trying to find a way to inject conflict into the situation without offending anyone.

I’ve written three complete cast lists, some more recognizable as the real people and others less so, each around a different central conflict. The final cast list is the closest to the originals, because the conflict I’ve settled on is mostly an internal one, and internal to one of the people I don’t know as well. So I’m less likely to step on toes because I don’t know his real problems — anything I come up with will be entirely mine, not his. I’m hoping that the resemblances between my characters and the real people will be seen as homage rather than appropriation.

The other big problem was finding a viewpoint character and a grammatical person/tense. I’ve settled on the second-in-command rather than the leader (though the real-life person he’s based on is not really the second in command) because for some reason I feel that leaders are best seen from the side, and I’m writing it in first person past tense. I’m a little concerned that I’ve been doing a lot of first-person stuff lately, because I know it’s kind of restrictive. But given the internal conflict and the source material, I think this story has to be driven in first.

This story scares me. I’m concerned I may not have the chops to pull it off. I suppose this is what Kelly Link said we should be trying to do. (I had an interesting discussion with Jay Lake about this topic at his birthday party yesterday, and we came to the consensus that the author’s truly unique voice is something that can’t be invoked consciously, though there are things you can do to encourage it.)

Whatever. At least I have begun.

Back from Wiscon. And what a treat it was.

This was the 30th annual gathering of the fans and creators of feminist science fiction, and for this special anniversary they pulled out all the stops. Just about all of the previous guests of honor were present, including Ursula Le Guin, Samuel R. Delany, Nalo Hopkinson, Mary Doria Russell, Emma Bull, and many more. This surfeit of wonderfulness brought the fans out in droves, so that the convention (usually about 600 people) had to be capped at 1000 members.

1000 members was a good choice for this hotel, the always-wonderful Concourse, giving the rooms and corridors a bustling and energetic feel without being overcrowded. Even the Tor party offered a reasonable amount of oxygen to its attendees. The one event that seemed to exceed the hotel’s capacity was the Guest of Honor speeches, where I found myself in a back corner.

My own personal Wiscon began on Wednesday, when we flew to Milwaukee to have dinner with my parents at Mader’s. This turned out to be excellent planning, because when the spectacular thunderstorm hit we were lying in a hotel room gawking at the lightning instead of running through a duck-drowning rain or sitting in an airport lounge somewhere wondering whether we’d ever arrive in Madison, both of which happened to far too many people.

First thing Thursday morning we drove to Madison, taking picturesque back roads to avoid freeway construction. This provided some bucolic views, but made it surprisingly hard to find a good place for breakfast. But we arrived in plenty of time for the writers’ workshops, where I served as “guest pro” for four talented new writers. It was interesting to see how much I’ve learned about critiquing in the past five years. It’s not that the other participants didn’t have useful comments to share, but I found that I was the only one to mention some problems that seemed really obvious to me. I hope they found my comments useful.

Friday morning we blew off the con for the morning to visit Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and school, along with Australian bookseller Ron Serdiuk. Some of the spaces were really spectacular, particularly the theatre and the student drafting room; I was particularly intrigued how intimate these spaces felt considering how large they were (the living room in the Wright residence, for example, felt no bigger than mine though it could easily have seated fifty people). On the other hand, Wright’s signature low ceilings and lack of doors/walls made me feel rather uncomfortable in parts of what was supposed to be a private home, and the level of craft (as opposed to design) was surprisingly low. Wright’s buildings were often built on the cheap, and Taliesin in particular was built by apprentices working for free. No wonder Wright’s roofs always leak.

On the way back to the con from Taliesin we stopped for lunch at a hippy-dippy general store and organic cafe, then hit Candinas Chocolates in Verona for a box of their amazing truffles. Somehow there were still three truffles left in the box when we got back to Portland. They really are best when they’re fresh.

We arrived at the con in mid-Gathering, and this is where things start to get a little fuzzy. I deliberately decided not to take notes at this con, in deference to being in the moment, so I can’t tell you all the panels I attended or who I had dinner with.

I can tell you that I didn’t attend much in the way of programming, per se, nor did I hit the dealers’ room or art show until the second or third day of the con. Mostly I engaged in conversations, in hallways and at parties. For some reason this con most of my conversations were one-on-one rather than in groups, and largely with people I hadn’t met before (or hadn’t seen for years, or knew mostly from the net).

The programming I did attend was definitely up to Wiscon standards, but none of it stands out. Most of what I remember was the programs I was on.

Saturday was my big program day, beginning with a reading at 8:30 in the morning. I had put up posters all over the con encouraging people to attend in their jammies. Only a couple people came in sleepwear — and I’m not sure it wasn’t their normal hall costume — but an amazing (for that hour on Saturday morning) 18 people came to hear me and Meg Turville-Heinz and P.C. Hodgell read. I guess the posters paid off. Saturday afternoon I had back-to-back panels on class mobility (with Chip Delany) and animals (with Ursula Le Guin) which were sprightly and well-attended. Sunday morning I appeared on a Battlestar Galactica panel at which I may have been trying too hard to be funny.

Saturday evening was the Tiptree auction, which only Ellen Klages and I knew was a program item for me. I can’t believe I let Ellen talk me into appearing in a chicken suit, but it was for a good cause and I got money stuffed into my drumsticks by Elizabeth Bear, Freddie Baer, Jane Yolen, and I’m-ashamed-to-admit-I-don’t-know-how-many others. Plus a kiss from Geoff Ryman. (Pictures here.) The auction itself was a hoot too, especially the part where Mary Doria Russell chased Geoff Ryman around the hall with a bright pink underwire bra.

Having started off Saturday in my jammies and ended it in a chicken suit, on Sunday — the night of the guest of honor speeches and the traditional Wiscon fancy dress party — I wore my tux (the whole deal, with tails, vest, black tie, starched shirt, and collapsible topper). This got me up on stage again, to help with the singing of the traditional Tiptree song, and another kiss from Geoff Ryman. The tux also got a great deal of (quite welcome) attention at the parties afterwards, easily repaying the discomfort of wearing it and the hassle of carting it back and forth across the country. Truly is it said that a tuxedo is the sexiest thing a man can wear.

I kept hoping that the tux and the chicken suit would cancel each other out and everyone would think I spent the whole weekend in ordinary clothes. But no such luck — it was chicken jokes the whole evening.

By Monday I was in a befogged state combining equal parts “I’m not ready for the con to be over” and “I’m ready to go home now.” I packed up in a rush in order to make the “Writers in Mid-Career” group session, which turned out to have been rescheduled to another time, but enough people hadn’t gotten the memo (including Ursula Le Guin, Vonda McIntyre, Terri Windling, Elisabeth Vonarburg, and Naomi Kritzer) that we still had a valuable discussion. Ursula said that the publishing business was worse than she’d ever seen, but it had never been good, which was curiously reassuring.

Lunch. Hugs. Drive to Milwaukee. Plane to Minneapolis. Another plane to Portland. No problems on any of these — which, I learned the next day, was a miracle — but didn’t get home until after midnight.

Sleepy now.

One week until Wiscon. Must do critiques for writers’ workshop. Must double-check on plane, hotel, and car reservations. Must reinforce hat box. Must remember to breathe. The final convention program has been posted. There are so many cool people! on it. My own personal schedule is:

Saturday, 8:30-9:45 a.m.: General Reading Session 6, Capitol A

Patricia C. Hodgell, David D. Levine, Meg Turville-Heitz

Saturday, 1:00-2:15 p.m.: Myth of Class Mobility?, Wisconsin

Research indicates economic mobility decreased in the United States between the 1970s and 1990s, and that France, Canada, and Denmark have more mobility than the United States. Software programming used to be a clear career choice for people looking to move into the middle or upper-middle class. But in an era of outsourcing and offshoring, is it anymore?
Avedon Carol, Matthew H. Austern, Samuel R. Delany, David D. Levine, Victor Jason Raymond

Saturday, 2:30-3:45 p.m.: Animal, Human, Alien, Wisconsin

Let’s talk about books which explore animal/human boundaries as a way to explore gender and, often, race. Books where women become animals, or animals take on a narratively feminine gender role. Examples would be Carmen Dog, Troll, Mister Boots, books like that. What roles do we project on animals? The trope of the telepathic companion animal as perfect Wife, or as the externalization of the heroine’s object position and disempowerment. What are the boundaries of sentience? In fact, animals, aliens, and AIs all explore this idea.
Elizabeth Bear, Liz Henry, Tom La Farge, Ursula K. Le Guin, David D. Levine, Lisa Tuttle

Sunday, 10:00-11:15 a.m.: Battlestar Galactica: Starbuck Ain’t a Boy Now!, Capitol A

Battlestar Galactica (the new series) has taken scifi TV by storm. Let’s talk about the mythology (Greek Pantheon, the dying leader, a cost in blood) involved along with the religion (monotheism vs. polytheism) and the fact that women play key roles in this series (President Laura Roslin, Starbuck as a woman).
Bill Humphries, Heather Galaxy, David D. Levine, Juliana B. Perry, JJ Pionke

Yes, my reading is at eight thirty in the A-freaking-M. Please come anyway. I will be in my jammies and I encourage everyone else to do the same. Will probably also have coffee and donuts if I can swing it. In other news: my story “Tk’tk’tk” is now available as an MP3 file for your listening pleasure. Thanks to the fine folks at Escape Pod for creating audio versions of all the Hugo nominees on such short notice.