Writing on Reading: Twilight

She's a hot best selling YA novelist. Her horde of fans eagerly await the next book in her series. Midnight parties are planned at bookstores on the dates of her new releases. Who is this popular author? Stephanie Meyer, of course.

I don't read a lot of YA, but I figured I'd better see what all the fuss was about, so I picked up her first novel, Twilight. The plot of the novel is pretty simple, teen girl falls in love with vampire. As it turns out, its not a fatal combination, since the vampire she falls for happens to be a sort of vegetarian--he doesn't drink human blood, only the blood from wild animals. 

Meyer is certainly a talented writer. She does a great job capturing the voice and angst of a love- struck teenaged protagonist.  She manages to fully explore the nuances of this strange forbidden love and the problems that arise from it. I would certainly recommend this book to any YA girl I know--but nobody else. Twilight is tightly focused on its audience, and, unlike J.K. Rowling's work, is unlikely capture a large adult following. Meyer's protagonist is unique and interesting, but not somone everyone can relate to. Her problems impact her world, not the world as a whole. And there's lots of romance in the book--too much for most speculative fiction readers I know.

science and expectations in SF

Betsy's comment yesterday makes me want to revisit this issue...

Re. science: One of the authors in my critique group recently wrote an SF story that prompted a lot of discussion. The gist of the discussion was this:

1. Science in SF doesn't have to be correct, but
   
2. it does have to be internally consistent.

I have thought about this quite a bit and IMHO virtually NO science in SF is correct. Many of the classic elements of the SF paradigm are wrong. For example, as far as we know there are no such things as intelligent extraterrestrials but if there were, they couldn't visit us because there's no such thing as faster-than-light travel.
So, basically anything goes except contradicting yourself. However...

Re. expectations: According to convention, one thing that differentiates SF from fantasy is SF authors are supposed to explain the events/whatever using 'scientific' terms. In fantasy, the whatever-events are not explained other than to invoke the concept of 'magic'.

Authors are free to write whatever they like as far as I'm concerned. Nonetheless, reader (and editor!) expectations can impact the success of such a story. In particular, if the protagonist of a story is a scientist, one expects some scientific explanations. How did the wormhole portal open up? How is the alien traveling back in time? How is the electrically-neutral particle being affected by electromagnetic fields? How do we have negative absolute temperatures?

The "hows" are the science, but the "whys" are the plot. We need those, too. :)

Some Don't's and Do's...

I've been working through my submissions box. First of all, thank you all so much for submitting. Electric Spec really appreciates it. I have been impressed with the quality of the submissions. However, I do have some general constructive criticisms...

• Watch out for non "said" dialog tags, e.g. "You suck," she sniffed.
  
• Watch out for protagonist self-description, e.g. running fingers through "red" hair and casting "brown" eyes about.
  
• Watch out for super-overdone cliches, e.g. a female monster/alien/ghost/vampire/werewolf/etc. kills her husband/lover/one-night-stand/etc.
  
• Please make sense. If you read the first page of your story to your husband/lover/one-night-stand are they going to say "Huh?" or "What happens next?"
  
• Please be aware of the laws of physics and do not violate them--especially if you're writing science fiction (unless you have a good reason).

Personally, I advocate stories with original ideas at our production meetings. What would I love to see? I'd love to see more stories with unique voice.

Keep those stories coming!

ElectricSpec Happy Hour at WorldCon

At Electric Spec we are starting to get geared up for WorldCon next week in Denver. Here's a newsflash for blog readers (you!): ElectricSpec is hosting a happy hour from 5:00-7:00 on Friday Aug 8 in the MileHiCon suite. Editor Betsy, in particular, is jazzed about this event, so I'll let her blog about it later. I'm hoping to blog about WorldCon (almost) real-time next week during the event. Stay tuned...

At WorldCon, ElectricSpec editors will be wearing ElectricSpec t-shirts, so feel free to come up and say "Hi".

Hhm...I should probably clear out my submissions box before then. I better get to it.

Cut it to the bone/everyone needs critique/step back/...

Editor Betsy touched on this in her recent post but it is worth repeating: cut out all extra bits in your short stories. Cut, cut, cut!

I freely admit this is tricky. In a story I've been working on for like a year, my critique group said recently, 'you know, you don't need this scene'. I looked at it, and they were totally right! So, perhaps I'm changing my point to: critique groups are vital.

I could summarize the whole 300-word-ish scene with one sentence! Jeesh! You'd think an editor could see this on her own. But no. It is difficult to truly see your own writing. All authors need to be able to step back from their work and try to see it objectively. So, wait, that's my point: step back from your writing. :)

Okay, I'm rambling a bit. That's okay on a blog, but NOT in a story. Maybe that's my point: don't ramble.

I'll stop now. :) But please continue to send Electric Spec your excellent (succinct/non-ramble-y) stories. Thanks!

Another reading session

This weekend I read half the stories in my inbox and I did hold a couple. My favorite? One in which unrelated elements all came together at the end, building the character and world into a cohesive whole. In other words, I never saw it coming.

Based on yesterday's reading session, I would also suggest writers take a close look at lengths. We are well aware we accept stories longer than comparable zines, and heck, we like 'em. Many markets prefer to cap at 5000. Remember, though, to only use the words it takes to tell your story. In my experience, many rejected longer stories are so long not because more events fill the space between A and Z, but because of narrative and exposition that does not further the plot. We have, and will continue, to accept longer stories. But remember you do have to hold my interest longer.

I think our response times are longer this summer, for a few reasons. First, it's summer. Everyone moves slower. Also, submissions are better in quantity and quality, which is exciting because it only makes for a better magazine. Thirdly, we're entering Conference Season here in Colorado. First up, World Science Fiction Convention, fondly known locally as Denvention, held in Denver 6-10 August. The Electric Spec staff will be there every day promoting the magazine, so if you want to meet any of us, keep an eye on this space and the main Electric Spec site for forthcoming details.

Next up is Colorado Gold, 11-14 September. It's a great conference, well worth attending. A bit more intimate, and the agents and editors are always top notch and generally available for smoozing (including yours truly). I'll be speaking, so come on and see me.

Then MileHiCon, our local SciFi Con, held 24-26 October. There's always a great writing track, and the Electric Spec staff are still working out details of our participation.

To tell or not to tell...

Advanced writers have had drilled into them "show, don't tell"--but is this a hard and fast rule? In the July/August 2008 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact there's a very interesting article "Hook, Lure, and Narrative: The Art of Writing Story Leads" by Richard A. Lovett. There's a lot of good information here, but I'm going to focus on only one of the rules: "Rule 2: Know when to show and when to tell." The gist of the rule is "showing isn't always better", and he gives some excellent examples, e.g. A Tale of Two Cities: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.", Stranger in a Strange Land: "Once upon a time there was a Martian named Valentine Michael Smith." Can you come up with some other good examples?

A survey of first sentences from The Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction shows the MAJORITY of the first sentences are telling, e.g. (quotation marks mine), "There is a principle in nature I don't think anyone has pointed out before.", "I awoke this morning to discover that bioengineering had made demands upon me during the night.", "I live in the oldest city in the world.", "Everything felt like a dream.", etc., etc.

Thus, if you want to submit a story with some telling to Electric Spec, this editor says, "Go for it!"

Sexism in spec fic lit?

Author Nicola Griffith posted a provocative blog entry yesterday "fainting, shame, and obviousness", which begins by comparing the relative number of male and female authors who've been awarded Hugos and Nebulas. Do you think more women or more men have won spec fic awards? I think we all know the answer to that question! Nicola goes on at some length, even quoting Lisa Tuttle from The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Check it out if you're interested in such things.

At Electric Spec, I must admit I don't pay any attention to the gender of an author. Glancing at the current issue, I see we have 75% female authors. Hhm... You might think since this is influenced by the fact we have more female editors than male. But, since our male editor is in touch with his feminine side, and since one of our female editors loves weapons/gore and general darkness/mayhem...I'm gonna say gender is totally immaterial at Electric Spec. :)

Do YOU think there's sexism in spec fic lit? If so, why?

Writing on Reading: We Can Remember It for You Wholesale

I recently reread "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale", 1966, by Philip K. Dick and watched the movie based on it, "Total Recall", 1990. This short story is excellent and I recommend it. Briefly, the plot is: an ordinary guy wants to go to Mars but can't afford it, so he decides to go to a company that offers to implant secret-agent memories of Mars. When they attempt this, however, things go wrong, and it appears the fellow really is an undercover agent with suppressed memories. The government then tries to kill him because his 'cover' is blown but he makes a deal to have his Martian secret-agent memories suppressed and in compensation, will get some other false memories implanted. When they go to implant the new false memories...real memories of THOSE events are also already there! I admit I'm being vague, but I don't want to ruin it for you. The point is, there's a twist and then there's another twist! Wow! :) Rarely do you read a short story with well-executed multiple twists.

IMHO, the movie "Total Recall" is only superficially like the story, dealing with a seemingly ordinary fellow who wants to go to Mars, can't, and tries to get memory implants but all kinds of trouble ensues. Personally, I really enjoy this movie because it is very ambiguous. Did the protag experience the adventures or were they implanted memories? Was it real? Or was it Rekall? :) I have it on good authority that the director Paul Verhoeven was ambiguous on purpose.

Upon careful review, however, I have a new interpretation: I think the entire movie is a dream. Why? Because of Melina. The protag, Quaid, dreams of Melina in the first scene...what if he never wakes up? I don't see any other way for the SAME woman to appear in Quaid's dream, on Rekall's computer, and on Mars. If Melina is a real woman, Quaid could dream about her and interact with her on Mars--in this case the events are not implanted memories--but then how would she be on Rekall's computer? On the other hand, if Melina is an implanted memory, she would be on the Rekall computer and in the fake Mars events--but in that case how would she be in his dream before the protag goes to Rekall? Moreover, at the end of the movie, Quaid asks 'What if this is all a dream?' and Melina says, 'Kiss me quick before you wake up.'

What do you think?

sad news: Thomas M. Disch

I was sorry to hear we lost Thomas M. Disch, an award-winning science fiction author and poet over the weekend. Thomas won the Hugo Award for best related book in 1999, and he had two other Hugo nominations and nine Nebula Award nominations to his credit, plus one win of the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, a Rhysling Award, and two Seiun Awards, among others. According to Locus Online Thomas committed suicide on July 4.

What is your guide?

I am noodling a new short story right now. In the midst of some heavy novel revisions, I feel the need to draft something. I actually like the white page after staring at the same 85,000 words for awhile. I have a world with a couple of values primary to the story, a vague sense of character (that's the part that seems to write itself), and some semblence of a plot. But right now I can't start writing because the plot just isn't there. I haven't pounded out a thoughtful enough synopsis. Worst of all, I don't have an ending.

I have to see the end before I can start writing. Otherwise I end up with half a story languishing on my hard drive. Do you? If not I envy you. But I actually know very few published writers who don't know where they're headed when they start. This is not to say that they don't sometimes end up somewhere unexpected. I just mean that most published writers I know have a synopsis somewhere, be it in their head or a notecard, before they start to write. I can't find my direction within 2-5000 words without such a compass.

Do you like the stars, a compass, GPS, Mapquest? What's your guide from Point A to Point Z when writing a short story?

The Nebsite

Outgoing SFWA President Michael Capobianco tells me there's a new Nebula Awards website open for beta testing. Michael says it will be focused around frequently-updated blogs and interviews and its goal is to encourage public interest in and appreciation for science fiction and fantasy literature. Electric Spec is all about those goals too! So, check out The Nebsite.

We're Live!

And we're live! Check out the new issue of Electric Spec! Thank you authors and editors for your hard work!

The Setting Leg

Regular readers know I espouse resting my stories on a three-legged stool of plot, character, and setting. I didn't invent the notion, and I'd give credit, but I have no idea who did. : ) Anyway, there's been some discussion in various internet quarters about plot v character and which should come first in your consideration. I've been surprised to see setting so neglected in these discussions. For spec fic purposes, I believe grounding readers in the story's world is essential, because spec fic always takes place in another world or a variation of this one. In fact, if I had to pick one aspect that draws spec fic readers, I'd say they come to visit new places where extraordinary things happen.

Dave spoke recently about developing ideas to their fullest, and sometimes in short stories, world-building gets short thrift, because we don't have a lot of words to spend. I see this most in urban fantasies where the writer assumes the reader is grounded because it takes place on this planet--even if it is a planet inhabited by werewolves (which are apparently in, if our inbox is any indication). But there are ways to show this strange new world your characters inhabit that don't take up a lot of real estate on the page.

--Dialogue. How do your characters relate to each other? Not like you and I would in ordinary conversation, I hope! How do they show respect; what constitutes an insult? What does their slang sound like? What are the little shortcuts or accents or usage that sets them firmly inside their world?

--Focus on the most important elements that make your world different. You should know of several, but what are the two or three that inform the reader they're not in Kansas anymore?

-- Attraction. What makes for a physically attractive "person" in your world and why? What are valued qualities based on world conditions? (Clue: use them in characters you want the reader to admire).

--Speaking of values: how does your world condition affect personal values? I'm reading DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? right now. In the Real World most everyone I know has a dog or a cat. We all value our pets, of course. But Dick elevates the rather common phenomenon of domesticated animal to status symbol and it says things about his world without exposition.

--When your character is confronted with a crisis, what is the one thing he or she might do that ties her to her world? A Christian might cross himself, a sailor might curse. What does your character do that sets him firmly in his world?

--And while we're on the topic of crisis, is yours intrinsic to your world? The most interesting crises can only happen in the world where they're set.

These are just a few ideas of many; I'm sure you can come up with more. A final note: don't explain. Just show your characters behaving as they should in their world and the reader will catch on.

Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror...

I just read about "The Saturn Awards". (They have nothing to do with the car company.) These are annual awards given out by The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, a nonprofit organization founded in 1972. I must admit, I've never heard of this organization... Have you? (If so, please comment. What's the scoop?)
Our next issue of Electric Spec has an article about their Best Fantasy Movie pick (good job, Marty)! Check it out on June 30! :)

Five More Days...

Savvy Electric Spec readers and writers know that the next issue goes live in only five more days! Check it out on June 30, 2008!

Writing on Reading: Art and Physics

I don't normally post reviews of my nonfiction reading, but I couldn't resist talking about Art and Physics by Leonard Schlain. This book is a huge undertaking, basically going through the entire history of physics and art (mostly painting). It took me more than a month to get through it, which is a lot for me (I can usually finish a novel in about a week). The time was well spent, however. Schlain is a physician by training, so he does a great job talking about complex topics in an accessible way. I learned a great deal about both subjects, especially in the areas of modern art and quantum physics. It was also interesting following Schlain's premise: cutting edge artists expressed new developments in physics before they occurred. 

For those of you who write science fiction, books like Schlain's can be enlightening and inspiring. In fact, I've already written one story based on an idea from the book. So, for those of you who want some heavy summer reading, I highly recommend Art and Physics.

Chat with Kevin J. Anderson

Dune prequel author Kevin J. Anderson will be chatting with people at the Writers of the Future forum tomorrow (June 24). Kevin will discuss topics such as work habits, characterization in spec fic, submitting to the Writers of the Future Contest (he's a judge), and building a plot. Should be an interesting discussion!

Locus Award winners

Winners of this year's Locus Awards, voted by readers of Locus Magazine in the annual Locus Poll, were were announced June 21, 2008, at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel in Seattle, at an event led by Master of Ceremonies Connie Willis. The winner for short story was:
"A Small Room in Koboldtown", Michael Swanwick (Asimov's Apr/May 2007). Read more about it at www.locusmag.com. Congratulations to all the nominees and all the winners!

A Final Trim . . .

One of the most common changes I make as I edit stories at Electric Spec are what can be described as "final trims." Even the best stories can often be made just a little tighter by cutting unnecessary sentences, clauses, and words. Authors sometimes have blind spots about these until they are pointed out by someone else, but it's worth trying to find them before you submit to a magazine. Some of the most common areas where trimming is necessary are:

• Info. repetition. In a short story, information about plot, character, world-building, or setting should only be given once. Also, information that can be inferred from the story should not be "told" by the author--trust your reader and assume he or she will "get it." If you tell or show us on page one that sprites live in the clouds and only come out at night, don't remind us again on page 6.
  
• "Walk the dog" actions. Sometimes authors include details that are not critical to the story and only serve to slow things down. For example, if a character is taking his dog for a walk, we probably don't need to know that he called the dog, got out the collar, put the collar on the the dog, clipped the leash to the collar, opened the door, stepped outside, closed the door behind him, etc, etc. Yawn!
• Unnecessary or distracting detail. In the above example, if you include a long description for the leash, i.e. "the leash was covered with pink and purple swirls of color that flashed in the sun as dog and master walked down the street," then there should be a reason why that description is there. If we never hear about the leash again, why did we need to know so much about it? I see this a lot with eye colors of minor characters. Who cares if the waiter in the restaurant has blue eyes? This is a tougher one to spot than the previous two bullets, but I do see it a lot.
• Adjective overkill. "The dark disk floated in the blue sky. It was as black as night against the azure backdrop, like a lapis boat floating on an aquamarine lake." Okay, this is an exaggeration, but you get the picture. Pick your best adjective and move on. 

So, before you sent off you story ask yourself--"What can I trim?"