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My favorite panel at World Fantasy Convention was "Why Steampunk Now?" A great subject. I mean, don't ya kind of wonder what brought on this huge enthusiasm for 19th century technology, a reimagined British Empire, top hats and goggles? A fad, a band wagon, an aesthetic -- but why now?
The following does not pretend to summarize the erudite points of this panel, so I'll just cherry pick from comments among panelists Liz Gorinsky, Ann VanderMeer, (editor with Jeff VanderMeer of Steampunk) Nisi Shawl, Michael Swanwick. After my initial reaction, of "boy am I dumb that I had no clue," the fearsomely smart panelists debated about why now. Some of the conjectures circled around what Steampunk is reacting against: e.g, a reaction against technology, a return to good technology, where you can actually understand it; the appeal to the techies among us of getting your hands on "the machine" instead of the distance imposed by gooey interfaces --goodness, starting to get brainy already--also the stylish and edgy aspects (ah, I thought, I get it, it's the clothes!) but no, Steampunk, I learn, is anti-style, anti smooth and perfect; what the literature is really saying is more populist: "anyone can do this; I, or my neighbor, can tinker and get the job done." Oh, I think, crestfallen at my plans for cool goggles. Then there is the idea that Steampunk is a reaction against staid and pretentious and it's about time we just had fun with hot air balloons. Ah ha, I think, so Steampunk is optimistic (thank you Michael, I think I needed a lift.) But no, Ann VanderMeer reminded us of the other, darker, perspectives and Liz Gorinsky smartly said that the dark side is the story of those who technology is hurting. Then, just as I was sobering to the meat of the discussion, Nisi Shawl suggested that it is a reaction against racial diversity. After all, the age glorified (the British Empire) is based on bloated lies. Now I am really sobering up. Wishing that I hadn't put a zeppelin in Bright of the Sky . . .
And yet I came away with a sense that the aesthetic and the literature have things in common with a greener world and a better approach to technology. I am looking forward to Jeff VanderMeer's upcoming The Steampunk Bible for more erudition--and fun.
Kay's Website
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A great weekend just past at World Fantasy Convention in San Jose. I highly recommend World Fantasy for those of you working on speculative fiction, even SF. The panels are consistently so interesting, layered, deep . . . and fun. Top notch presenters.
I loved the panel on "Why Steampunk Now?" with Ann VanderMeer, Liz Gorinsky, Michael Swanwick, Nisi Shawl and others. More on this later.
Other favs: A very brainy analysis of whether readers prefer originality or the tried and true. "Invention vs. Tradition." Delia Sherman, John Kessel, Richard Lupoff, Beth Meacham, Daniel Waters. I casually wondered what the average IQ on that panel was. Controversy? Oh yeah. Bottom line: It's the story!
Also excellent: "Urban Fantasy as Alternate History." L.E. Modesitt, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Paul Park, Michael Swanwick, Bill Willingham. "Coarse Dialogue and Graceful Description--the Balancing Act," With Deanna Hoak, Jim Frenkel, Guy Gavriel Kay, Ellen Kushner and Patricia McKillip. "The Role of Religion in Contemporary Fantasy." Randy Smith, Zoran Zivkovic, Robert Silverberg, Julie Andrijeski.
Overheard in bar and hallway conversation: The potential impact of the Apple Tablet (will it finally provide a business model for ebooks that doesn't exploit the author?) The changing face of publishing (*&*&^%$$^^.) The state of the industry and publishing layoffs and reduced lists (still going on; non-US publishers buying a bit more than US or UK) Also: Improvements needed for authors' royalties on ebooks. The fun trends in remixing and mash-ups of the tropes of literature. (The subgenres are out the door; it's a freewheeling world.)
More later . . .
Kay's Website
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My World Fantasy Schedule in San Jose:
Panel (see below):10:00 a.m. Friday Oct 30.
Autographing: 8:30 p.m. Friday Oct 31.
Shop talk in the bar: most of the time
Writing Human Characters, Whether or Not They’re Human (Gold Room) Our panelists will discuss the challenges of writing relatable non-human characters in heroic and mythic fantasy that are both alien enough to be something more than funny-looking people but also human enough for readers to relate to.
David B Coe (moderator), Kate Elliott, Kay Kenyon, Shauna Roberts, Laurel Anne Hill
Kay's Website
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I'm sorry to answer this question in a way that may be perceived as snotty and selfish:
But almost never.
Well, if you are an aspiring novelist, you really do wonder, don't you, when you can turn that cordial acquaintance you have with a published writer into something helpful for you? When I first started out I did wonder what the protocols were for various things: reading ms, getting advice, getting blurbs and asking for references. I'm not going to go into those other areas right now, except to say that if you have sold the ms. and are asking for a blurb, it's ok to ask for a read. After all, I may ask you for a blurb sometimes soon. (I had a fan once who sort of attached himself to me. I quite liked him, and we had a cordial relationship, including a request for me to read his manuscript, which I did. Within two years he was far out-selling me, and if he were in my genre, I would have asked him for a blurb!) This does not give you the right to feel insulted if the writer has no time to read the ms., of course. But you knew that.
The reason that I can't read your manuscript is that I get a lot of requests. Some months it feels like a flood. Time is always short for writers; there are more stories than one has time to write. There is steadily increasing pressure to spend huge amounts of time in promotion, including social media and web presence. Writers are horribly underpaid for the most part, so we are always writing more things than we have time to in the hopes of maximizing our income. We long to read for pleasure, not one more ms. that one must attend to critically.
Furthermore, when an author reads your ms., you may get the unsettling reaction that she doesn't like the story. This is uncomfortable for both the new writer and the author. The author is aware that the aspiring writer may be quite downcast by criticism; the author is aware that the aspiring writer is very likely looking for validation rather than genuine feedback. Worse, the author is aware that she may be wrong. Just because I've written ten novels doesn't mean I'll be right about questioning your concept of a psi-enabled dog who turns into a vampire hound and saves deserving children. I may hate that book, and you may be outselling me in two years.
Those of you who follow my e-newsletter on fiction writing know my conviction that it is up to the writer to critique and edit his own ms. It is your story. You can't assign revision away, and you may not, even with the best of intentions, get helpful feedback from a published writer.
A caveat to all this: If you have a relationship with the author, then things change a bit. What do I mean by a relationship? Well, suppose you've done a favor for this author. . . such as set up an appearance for her or supplied some research for her work in progress. A favor deserves a return favor; but of course it is still a favor--that is, not an entitlement. Or you may have hit it off right away and had lunch a few times with her, say, at conferences; she's asked you to lunch.
If this is sounding elitist, I'm sorry. I think it is honest and practical, given how busy all our lives really are.
And besides, there is no magic answer to getting published. Not my advice, nor Neal Stephenson's, nor Margaret Atwood's is going to make it happen for you. Neither my connections nor theirs is going to do more than save you a couple of steps. It's all about the story you tell, and how you tell it. There are no shortcuts.
If there are, it certainly isn't about a harried author's quick read of your manuscript when they'd rather be playing scrabble with the kids or finishing their own novel.
Kay's Website
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Just back from a six day stay in NYC, thanks to friends D & L, who let us stay in their Greenwich apt. while they were away. Tom and I brought son Matt with us, who despite being more widely traveled than either of us, had never been to New York. The whole thing was nonstop fun, the weather beautiful, the apartment amazing, and man, I haven't stayed up that late for decades. And Matt went out after tucking us in . . . and so I think he had twice as much fun as we did, although I don't really want to know!
My favorite things: Museum of Natural history; the subway; Greenwich Village for restaurants and knocking around; Central Park on a sweet September day, top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center) which sure beats the Empire State Building for views and lack of annoying lines, Broadway at night, Momma Mia! and dim sum at Ruby Foos afterward, the cheap eats in Hell's Kitchen, the Highline elevated walk, listening to an acappella quartet on the steps of the Met, lunch in Little Italy, and the food, the food, OMG.
We just had such a blast. And I haven't spent so much time with son Matt since he was a teenager; I must say the three of us had such laughs and great fun. A trip of a lifetime in many ways.
Kay's Website
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| » One handed typing |
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Because it's necessary sometimes.
Sumo and Kay today at 1:18
Kay's Website
Sep. 3rd, 2009 @ 01:16 pm
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| » Good Advice from Jessica |
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From Jessica Morrell's "The Writing Life" Newsletter, wherein she holds forth on the glories of summer and not seeing writing as suffering:
". . . . I used to see summer as a distraction—a siren’s call, luring me from my computer and into the garden or park. But I’ve come to realize that I have fewer summers ahead of me than are behind me, and although I despise heat, I’m savoring this summer as if it’s a waking dream. So this isn’t a starry-eyed column about dancing in the daisies or one that suggests that you quit your job, but it is a nudge for you to steal the mood, the languor, the lazy breezes, the quality of light that can only be captured a few brief months each year. To allow them to creep into your cells, to change your way of seeing things, and to illuminate and slow time. Summer is your chance to shine, a chance to believe for a few months that life is truly gift-wrapped. And to allow this all to transform your writing into something alive, that can be experienced by the reader in the way that we experience a summer morning. And to realize that writing is more like summer than other seasons, more like sand castle building than torture.
Summer, while it invites languor, must be met with appreciation for all that is vibrant at our finger tips, for the noise of lawn mowers and bird calls and sprinklers. For the extended hours of daylight and apricot-colored sunsets. The icy drinks and smoky barbecue smells. The rose arbor and vegetable patch. Fourth of July fireworks and motorboats cutting through blue waters and waterfalls splashing down with as if joy could be dispensed in a column of water.
Now, in the midst of appreciation and celebrations we need to keep working on the novel, memoir, column, or letter to the editor. But write about what is right in front of you. Step outside and notice, and then allow the torpor of a dreamy afternoon or evening to stir your memories and senses.
Immerse yourself in the minutiae of life—which is where great writing comes from. Because it’s the details in writing that convince readers that a story is unfolding. So for a few months, live life like a poet, or a person newly released from prison, or a stranger to the place you live. . . ."
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I've been a fan of Jessica's monthly e-newsletter on writing for a long while. It always informs me and often inspires. Sign up here.
Kay's Website
Sep. 1st, 2009 @ 08:42 pm
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| » Never Have, Never Will |
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My interview on Examiner.com. (Wherein I reveal which character in my novels I am most like) and other nonsensical things.
tinyurl.com/mjnx3o
Kay's Website
Aug. 31st, 2009 @ 04:43 pm
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| » "Adventures" interviews Kay |
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Just posted at Shaun Farrell's podcast Adventures in SciFi Publishing, an interview with yours truly where we discuss "blending science fiction and fantasy tropes, propaganda versus fiction, and assuming the mind of Evil."
Kay's Website
Aug. 11th, 2009 @ 05:11 pm
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| » Sumo at Rest |
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Air conditioning inside, but with 100 degree heat, Sumo's fav spot is under the hydrangea bush.
Kay's Website
Aug. 9th, 2009 @ 03:45 pm
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| » Independents still rule |
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Having just returned from Diversicon, I'm happy to report that Uncle Hugo's is still alive and thriving. (This is something that everyone in the Twin Cities and probably across the country already knows.) Uncle Hugo's is the oldest independent science fiction bookstore in the country, begun in 1974. Long may it reign! Photos courtesy of Scott Lohman, chair of Diversicon.
Doing my part to hold up the indies. Also bought a stack of books after my signing.
Frighteningly, owner Don Blyly knows where every book is.
Kay's Website
Aug. 4th, 2009 @ 12:46 pm
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| » SF in Minnesota |
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I'm in St. Paul, ready to head home this morning. Diversicon turned out to be the best little sf con in the universe. Scott Lohman, Eric Heideman, Greg L. Johnson and others put together a book-centered con that doesn't take itself too seriously. Had a blast. They treated me royally, including an umbrella during a thunderstorm and a grand tour of Minneapolis. I signed at the famous Uncle Hugo's, met some wonderful people, and had really stimulating discussion on topics like lost worlds, what is a hero, gender roles in sf, moral development in fiction. Came away with a list of books to read and these pictures:
Kay and reviewer Janice Bogstad.
With panelists Eleanor Arnason, Martha Hood, Ruth Berman, Sandra Lindow and Greg L. Johnson.
Greg L. Johnson, reviewer for SFSite and others, interviewing yours truly.
Aug. 3rd, 2009 @ 08:28 am
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| » SF Site calls it a classic |
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Got to point to SF Site's review of City Without End. Greg L. Johnson said:
 ". . . a series that wowed at the beginning for the complexity and creativity of its invented setting, earning comparisons to classics like Riverworld and Ringworld, has now filled that setting with characters whose motives and aspirations are often hidden and always conflicting, a situation that makes The Entire and the Rose at least as comparable to Dune and the tension-filled novels of C.J. Cherryh as it is those other works. Which means that at the end of City Without End, even though several story lines have been concluded, a couple in surprising and dramatic fashion, the crux of the problem still remains. Titus Quinn's family and loved ones are scattered across two different universes, and whether he can save or hold on to any of it remains in serious doubt. The stage is now set for the final volume in what is already looking like one of the classic science fiction series of our time."
Read the whole review here.
Kay's Website
Jul. 16th, 2009 @ 07:12 pm
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| » Symphony goes fantasy |
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Noted with interest that the Seattle Symphony in an attempt to reach out to a younger audience last weekend played selections from the score of Final Fantasy using composer Nobuo Uematsu's soundtrack for the video game. And not only that, the performance was multi-media, with sequences from Final Fantasy projected onto a giant screen above the stage. Pandering? Man, I don't think so. Who are the arbiters of taste who decide to play the old stuff, and pieces that are comprehensible only to the rare audience here or there? Play more adventurous music, and you might get me into Benaroya Hall to hear the symphony. Um, if anyone cares if I attend. Apparently though, the Seattle Symphony is starting to reach out. I say, go for it.
Jul. 12th, 2009 @ 04:45 pm
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| » A Primer on Bad Literary Agencies |
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This is a fun warning from Steven York if you are in market for an agent. His blog here.
And BTW, I don't mind if an agent writes a book about writing . . . the important point here is not to be desperate for an agent, and even if you are, don't let this blind you to the fact that some agents are just really bad, not to mention useless!
Kay's Website
Jul. 3rd, 2009 @ 12:25 pm
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| » "World" an Endeavour Nominee |
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 Pleased to report that A World Too Near, Book Two of The Entire and The Rose has been nominated for the Endeavour Award. The other finalists are: Anathem by Neal Stephenson, Ill Met in the Arena by Dave Duncan, Long Walks, Last Flights and Other Stories by Ken Scholes, and Space Magic by David Levine.
Kay's Website
Jul. 2nd, 2009 @ 01:03 pm
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| » Kay in the Twin Cities |
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Hey, wanna come to Minneapolis at end of July? Because that's Diversicon, the biggest little con in the midwest celebrating diversity in culture, race, gender, and the imagination. July 31 - Aug 2. The con is small and prides itself on acceptance, broad-mindedness, cool discussions and friendliness. There are also, like, parties.
I'm going because Minnesota is my home state, and I'm the Guest of Honor. Besides con activities, I'll also be doing the following:
- A reading & autographing at DreamHaven Books Thursday, July 30,
6:30-7:30 p.m. - An autographing at the venerable Uncle Hugo's bookstore Friday, July 31,
noon-1:00 p.m.
There's also a nifty 250-word flash fiction contest that you get to enter if you go to the con, and I'll be judging it, so I'll have to put on my egg-head look, like the picture above.
So, if you're anywhere in the vicinity, I might see you there!
Kay's Website
Jun. 30th, 2009 @ 10:52 am
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| » Clarion/Locus |
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Great to get over to Seattle on a beautiful evening for the Clarion/Locus party. I don't get over the mountains from Wenatchee as often as I want to, what with a six hour round trip and . . . well, no excuses.
Happy to reconnect in person with Greg and Astrid Bear, Connie Willis, Amelia Beamer, who interviewed me for the June Locus issue,, Patrick Swenson, Ted Chiang, John Pitts, Ken Scholes, Paolo Bacigalupi, Vlad Verano, Gordon Van Gelder, Gary Clark, Leslie Howle, Neile Graham, Nisi Shawl, Cat Rambo, Eileen Gunn and others, including a few Clarion students. Got a chance to meet Michael Whelan, Gary Wolfe and Shelley Rae Clift. A fun time. Missed seeing a few of you. Geez, don't you get out anymore?!
Kay's Website
Jun. 29th, 2009 @ 08:19 am
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| » On a Bulletin Board This Week |
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I'm the guest this week at the LongRidge bulletin board, discussing:
- Building the Story
- Revision
- Surviving in the Trenches
Mary Rosenblum, moderating.
You can sign in here, then Mary will approve you probably within a few hours. She won't spam you, so just do a user name and password, you know the drill!
Kay's Website
Jun. 23rd, 2009 @ 01:11 pm
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| » The Fire in Fiction |
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 Just finished this outstanding book by Donald Maass on the novel.
The Fire in Fiction is Maass's clearest enunciation yet of what separates the competent but disappointing novel from those that "effortlessly lift off." It is a hard-hitting and also quite funny account of the types of manuscripts that come across his desk (and also, unfortunately, that get published and sink.) He gets even more specific than in "Writing the Breakout Novel" about the type of characters we empathize with as well as those who surprise us.
He debunks (or at least downplays) the usual writing advice claiming it's ok as far as it goes, but does not go far enough. Things like good premise, tight writing, quick pace, showing not telling. He shows how authors at the top of their game dispense with these formulaic rules and yet hold our attention. Each chapter ends with Practical Tools and a summary of the lesson, both in bullet points and a helpful paragraph.
I loved the book and wholeheartedly recommend it. One of the best things about it is how specific it is, showing the way out of low tension traps and over-reliance on plot conflict to carry scenes. This was the most outstanding lesson of the book for someone like me. (I think I've read 'em all.) Attention those with manuscripts in progress: Chapter Eight!!
I must say I cringed through parts of the book. *gulp* am I guilty of doing THAT? But then he leaves you at the end with a passionate discourse on the fire in you, in me, in everyone.
Buy this book.
Kay's Website
Jun. 19th, 2009 @ 03:20 pm
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