On Mortality

This is a little more personal of a blogpost but maybe some of you have experienced or will experience something akin to it. I don't know if it's part of getting older or the things life chucks at me lately but I'm painfully aware of my own mortality right now. There are only a few more decades, really, to be here and to do the things I want to do (if I get to live to a ripe, old age.) And when I look back at the past (and what a whirlwind that seems) I find more regret than joy. I hope this is a passing phase.

The realization that I won't get to do everything I'd like to do, that I probably won't hit certain benchmarks that society sets, and that I might see people dear to me pass on before I do - well, it's sobering.

When I think of writing, if I'm being optimistic, say I get a publishing deal within the next year - how many of my story ideas will actual come to fruition? What will never see the light of day? And if I publish, say, five to ten years from now, the number of possible stories to share dwindles more. I sat down with my story list recently and mercilessly struck out story ideas I didn't care passionately about. It relieved a lot of pressure. Then I thought good and hard about the ones I did feel passionate about, out of those which ones did I think others might enjoy most? Which were more original in their spin than others? Did I want to get stuck writing that series or do more of my standalone ideas?

Because there is that other factor too: life outside of writing. I'm analyzing my goals and dreams there as well. The day to day moments spent with the people I love have more meaning and I'd rather build up memories than possessions. I know of one event that will completely change my life and that is the loss of my husband. He has a life-threatening disease which has already begun to deteriorate his body. If you're reading this blogpost in the morning, I'm at the hospital waiting for him to get out surgery. I know he will go before I do, someday; I've known it since the day we married. I suppose one might get very depressed about it, and to be truthful, I have at times. On the other hand, possessing this knowledge also makes me appreciate him more and the time we spend together.

Health issues have struck me down frequently in the last year, bringing forward the realization that I'm not immortal and that in the back of my mind, in my youth, I did have that attitude. I'm not as quick as I used to be. My body is changing and I've needed to re-evaluate my lifestyle to accommodate the changes.

At times I feel more awake than ever before. Like the past was some kind of blurry dream (with the occasional nightmare.) Knowing one's mortality is both frightening and empowering. What we are, what we have, and what we leave behind, it's something to think long and deeply about.

Have you experienced the mantle of mortality in regards to your writing? What changes did you make because of it?

Genre Identified #7: Hard Science Fiction

In short, hard science fiction is where modern day science and scientific understanding is used in a modern or futuristic setting. There are no fantastical trappings from pseudo science or science we wish was fact. Actual, concrete science is the name of the game. And sticking to straight facts increases the level of suspense in a hard science-fiction story.

For further reading on the definition:
Science Fiction Subgenres, Hard Science Fiction
Technology Review, The Best Hard Science Fiction Books of All Time
Mike Brotherton Hard SF Writer, Ten Issues for Hard Science Fiction
Goodreads, Popular Hard Science Fiction Books list
Hard Science Fiction website and forum
HardSF.net website and forum

Hard Science Fiction tends to be a male dominated genre in both writers and readers. A personal observation I'd like to point out: most (not all) hard science fiction that I've read tends to balance the science and technology with sex as the counter-weight. And from a writerly perspective, hard science fiction is probably the one speculative genre where info-dumping is expected, though not to an excessive scale. The science and technological advancements are the heart of the story so to have characters deeply engrossed by these things is normal.

Our Woes Aren’t So New…

…I found out while reading, and discovered this passage from a writer who lived around 600 years ago:

“But in fact, to tell you the truth, I myself have not yet made up mind whether or not to publish it at all. For the tastes of mortals are so various, the temperaments of some are so bitter, their minds so ungrateful, their judgments so preposterous that a person would do far better to follow his own bent and lead a merry life than to wear himself out trying to publish something useful or entertaining for an audience so finicky and ungrateful. Most people know nothing about learning and many despise it. Dummies reject as too hard whatever is not dumb. The literati look down their noses at anything not swarming with obsolete words. Some like only ancient authors; many like only their own writing. One person is so dour that he cannot abide jokes; another is so witless that he cannot stand anything witty. Some have so little nose for satire that they dread it the way someone bitten by a rabid dog fears water. Others are so changeable that their approval depends on whether they are sitting down or standing up.

“They sit around in taverns and over their cups they pontificate about the talents of writers, condemning each author just as they please, pulling him down through his writings as if they had grabbed him by the hair, while they themselves are safe and out of harm’s way, as the saying goes, because these good men have their whole heads smooth-shaven so that there is not a single hair to grab on to.

“Furthermore, some are so ungrateful that, even though a work has given them great pleasure, they still do not like the author any better because of it. They are not unlike ill-mannered guests who, after they have been lavishly entertained at a splendid banquet, finally go home stuffed without saying a word of thanks to the host who invited them. Go on, now, and at your own expense provide a banquet for persons of such delicate palates and various tastes, who will remember and repay you with such gratitude!”
(Thomas More, Utopia, his letter to Peter Giles)

It seems subjectivity has always been with us and always will be.

I recently read a newsletter from a prominent author and writing teacher who said we need to dumb down our prose because the average reader struggles to understand anything difficult or beyond their limited vocabulary. That authors should be careful in what they write, to make sure they write clearly and leave little for any other interpretation than what they mean their writing to say.

That same day I pulled up an article by another prominent writer, who like most giving advice on this subject, emphatically urges authors not to dumb down their prose but to say true to their I.Q. That readers are smarter than we tend to think and will easily comprehend what we are trying to say.

I think there is a nugget of truth in both and that both are equally wrong. There are all kinds of readers out there, people of varying taste, I.Q., vocabulary, and need. When you publish a book, it’s free for anyone to read and once out of our hands and into theirs, it’s open to reader interpretation, no matter their limitations. Some people will understand your writing and connect with it. Others won’t. Authors have no control over this.

I think, instead, it’s important to know who you are writing for and to stay true to that audience. Don’t worry about everyone else who might pick up your book. If you wish to make a connection with a more intellectual crowd, write for them. If you wish to encourage people who don’t read as much or as well, write for them. Know your audience.

The same goes for what you write about and how you present your writing. Know what your target audience expects, likes, and needs. Write to those expectations. Certainly others will groan, complain, or just not get what your books is about or trying to say. Don’t stress about that.

I know that numbers are an important equation in the publishing game. I’ve seen this past week a handful of authors vent about reviews from readers who didn’t get their books or maybe didn’t even read them all the way through before passing judgment. These authors wanted and expected full stars for their work. I understand their frustrations but I also know that if you live each day to how many stars you get from any reviewer you’re going to get hurt or upset. The right audience will appreciate what you write. Others won’t. It’s as simple as that. Let the ignorant or bad reviews slide off your shoulders, or better yet, don’t go looking for them.

What do you think?

Guest Blogger Peter Burton on Why Adult Speculative Fiction Isn't Dead

Joyce has invited me to do a guest post here in Yesternight’s Voyage. I jumped at the opportunity. It is always a great vote of confidence when a fellow writer offers you a chance to guest on their blog.

Joyce had several options for the post; why adult speculative fiction is not dead, and who some of the great authors of speculative fiction are, to name a couple. To be honest, I can’t separate those two subjects, so this is going to be something of a hybrid.

Since the genre of speculative fiction could be pretty much perceived to cover all fiction ever written, it can get a bit confusing. Technically, Mark Twain’s Huck Finn is just as much speculative fiction as Frank Herbert’s Dune. So, for the sake of this post I’ll just stick to the basics of the genre; Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror. I realize that even those genres have been sliced and diced to death, but let’s keep it simple, shall we?

Why is speculative fiction not dead? Because it is the genre that covers some of the most basic needs in humanity. Our need to romanticize the past, Fantasy; our need to speculate on the future, Science Fiction; and our need to be scared, Horror.

That last bit may seem a bit silly to a few people, but it is the truth. We love to be scared and will go to great lengths to feed that fix. Just look at the lines for the rollercoasters, and all the scary rides at any amusement park. I’m not even going to mention base jumping, white water rafting, or bungee jumping. We like getting the bejesus scared out of us from time to time.

That would partially explain why adult speculative fiction is still alive and well, but I don’t think it’s the entire reason. No genre can continue without great stories, and great stories come from great authors. Even if their status happens to be a one hit wonder. Both Mary Shelly and Bram Stoker fall into that category, as far as the general public goes, yet Dracula and Frankenstein are still read, and the fodder of pop culture media to this very day. Steven King is the long term superstar of the horror brand of speculative fiction.

How many people do you know who don’t know King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, or Merlin? There is some speculation that those people might have come from actual historic persons, but the truth is, the story as we know it is Fantasy. How does that fit into today, you may ask? Look at the number of adults who devoured J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Although not of the Sword and Sorcery brand, it is undeniably Fantasy.

Science Fiction is, and has pretty much always been something of a juggernaut under the speculative fiction umbrella. The ongoing popularity of Jules Verne’s works, such as The Time Machine and 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, right up to The afore mentioned Dune is proof enough of that. If that isn’t enough, we didn’t even mention the works of Isaac Asimov, or the recently departed great Ray Bradbury. These two giants of the genre have achieved legendary status, and I’ve no doubt their work will live on for millennia to come.

So far we have only touch the big three in speculative fiction, and I think we’ve made a pretty good case that the genre as a whole is still alive and kicking. If not then consider the popularity New York Times bestselling authors under the new sub-genres of SF such as Laurell Hamilton’s Anita Blake series (Paranormal Urban Fantasy), and Lisa Myers’s Twilight series (Paranormal Romance). Both of which are clearly adult in nature.

Yes. I would say it is more than safe to say Speculative Fiction is alive as a viable market, and will be for many years to come… if not indefinitely.

Thanks for giving me a chance to mouth off on your blog, Joyce. I am more than grateful for the opportunity. And as usual;

Later Gang.

Saturday Link Special #15

Have some time to read? Great! There were a lot of good blogposts out there this past week so let's get right to it.

Here's A Genre I Didn't Think Of! by Agent Kristin Nelson
The Good Seed III by Agent Donald Maass
When Bad Books Happen to Good Writers by Agent Sarah LaPolla
You Have a Request Or You Get “THE CALL” – Now What? by Agent Scott Egan
Passive Vs. Active Voice - A Little Grammar For Tuesday by Agent Scott Egan
How To Influence Editors in a Way That 90% of Other Writers Don’t by Jane Friedman
The Faux Editor - Will You Walk Into My Parlour? Said the Spider to the Fly by Ciara Ballintyne
Five signs you’re about to land an agent: observations from a freelance editor by The Intern
7 Things That Will Doom Your Novel (& How To Avoid Them) by James Scott Bell
The Ultimate Guide to Pitch Writing by Jami Gold
An Author’s Guide to Fan Fiction by Jami Gold
An Online Presence by Beth Revis
How to Respond to Negative Reviews by Beth Revis
Nonlinear Storytelling by Patricia C. Wrede
The Slow Blog Manifesto…and 8 Reasons Why Slow Blogging Will Help Your Career, Your Love Life, and Protect You From Angry Elephants by Anne R. Allen
Describing Your Characters by Inkfish7
Speculative Fiction by Jenny Kaczorowski
Reading Others to Hone Your Writing by Imran Siddiq
Gorebags! The New SpecFic Party Favor! by E.F. Jace

And for more inspiring stories of awesome people who recently signed on with agents:
The Obnoxiously Long Story of How I Got an Offer by Stephanie Diaz
See also: Getting the Call: Stephanie Diaz from It’s In the Details blog
R.C. and the Terrible/Wonderful, No-Good/Very-Rad Day by R.C. Lewis
See also: On Contests, and Being a Sneaky Agent from Jennifer Represents…