This Year

In the first week of March last year, I was on the convention committee running FOGcon, and we were watching the news trying to understand what it meant for our small local con, scheduled for March 6 to 8.

We decided not to cancel. That could have been a very, very bad call, but instead we were very, very lucky, and as far as we know, our convention wasn't responsible for any COVID spread. Some would-be attendees wisely stayed home. Those of us who were there made some nice memories to think of during the time ahead. Even a couple of days after the con, it began to seem horrifying that we had just gathered 150 people together in basement conference rooms. But while we were gathering, the average person didn't yet know we were dealing with an airborne virus that had already spread widely, often through asymptomatic carriers.

This past weekend, the FOGcon committee presented a small set of virtual events to let our community reconnect. Chatting in a Zoom breakout room was of course different than hanging out in the hospitality suite or lobby. But there was also a pleasant familiarity in sharing thoughts and catching up with a group of people I've known for years, but only in this limited, con-going way. It was a lot of fun, and I'm glad we were able to make it happen.

During this long year, and especially this longest winter, I have been among those with the most privilege in every possible way. I've been in a position to comfortably go nowhere since November, but I also haven't been stuck inside, because I've been able to get out for neighborhood walks almost every day of the mild California winter.

Things are starting to change for the better in the US, though global trends are troubling. My parents and other older relatives are vaccinated, and every day I hear about more friends getting their shots. It's not my turn yet, but I don't mind waiting. I'm venturing back into the world in a limited way for routine checkups next week, talking about meeting up with friends outside, having hopeful discussions about family travel possibilities later in the year.

This year-old pandemic is not over, and some of the uncertainty of last March still remains. My optimism is uncertain, too, but it's been growing.

Good Stuff Out There:

→ At Electric Lit, Rachel Mans McKenny considers Why New Fiction Is Making Mothers into Monsters: "What I appreciate about these literary works is that there is no enfant terrible, no possessed child. It is not the child's fault that society has gutted or failed to implement systems to help caretakers. It is not the child's fault that the default caretaker in a heterosexual relationship is presumed to be the mother. In these stories, the children are just children. The mothers are eely, and their characters reveal the holes that mothers are allowed to fall through: holes in mental health care and child care and sexual satisfaction. The system is untenable, and mothers cannot continue to live this way."

FOGcon 2020 Report

FOGcon 10 was last weekend, and it already seems like months ago in another era. During those last days before it became fully clear that large gatherings should be avoided, around 150 speculative literature fans came together to geek about books, other media, and the connections between imaginative stories and the real world.

There was much talk of COVID-19. (I sang "Come On Eileen" at karaoke in tribute.) We elbow-bumped and flashed the Vulcan salute instead of hugging hello. We washed our hands a lot. (The hotel staff reported they'd never had to replenish the soap and paper towels so frequently.) Despite the undercurrent of uncertainty, we had a great con.

A number of people had to make the decision not to attend due to health or travel situations, and that included one of our Honored Guests, Nisi Shawl. Happily, we were able to arrange some teleconferencing at short notice so Nisi could participate in their programming remotely. It was delightful to have them onscreen sharing their thoughts about writing and inspiration during an excellent roundtable with authors from the AfroSurreal Writers Workshop of Oakland.

Our other Honored Guest, Mary Anne Mohanraj, was present to participate in a number of panels, including one I moderated. I was very pleased by our lively discussion of societal defaults, cultural assumptions, and how genre fiction can challenge these. Mary Anne was also part of a fun panel about Food in Genre Fiction, and the topic of food made its way onto other panels, because food is great (and also Mary Anne has a new cookbook out). During her presentation on running genre nonprofits, I took copious notes on ideas that might help FOGcon grow into the future.

I attended a couple of standout panels about horror, a genre that tends to get less attention at the con than science fiction and fantasy, and one I'm gradually consuming more often. At the first of these panels, I enjoyed seeing film stills that illustrate the ways color is used in horror movies. At the other, I loved hearing the panelists analyze how horror books and films have commented on class.

As the real world takes on the qualities of various speculative genres and we hunker down at home, I'm glad I have another year of FOGcon memories to look back on and the usual long list of story recommendations to keep me distracted. I hope you all stay safe and well entertained!

Good Stuff Out There:

→ Electric Lit offers a list of books about pandemics "for people who find it oddly soothing to read about plagues." I'm in that camp, and I can heartily recommend about half these books.

Ready for FOGcon and Beyond

It's one week until FOGcon, and I've been busy preparing for the tenth year of this awesome speculative fiction convention. This year, for the first time, I took on responsibility for the program book that contains information about the honored guests, the programming schedule, and so on. The book is professionally printed, with gorgeous cover art, so it serves as a nice souvenir of the con as well as being useful.

As program book coordinator, I collected all the different pieces that go into the book, edited everything, and did the layout. I had very little knowledge of layout or design going into this, so that part was a challenging but fun learning experience. I think it all turned out pretty well. You can see the PDF version on the FOGcon site.

Creating the program book was a big job for a couple of weeks, and the timing was good for me to handle it because I'm between things. Behind me is the completed novel revision, and I'm currently at a waiting stage with that manuscript. So now that I've taken time to recharge, caught up on other stuff, and finished this volunteer project, I'm ready to move ahead to... something.

If I'm honest, the program book timing also worked out well in that it provided a virtuous excuse to put off figuring out what comes next. I wish I had a solid novel idea that I could get started on drafting or outlining, but everything swirling around in my head is half-formed. I hope that if I settle my mind down to focusing on the possibilities, things will gel. But that requires convincing myself to get started, and I keep finding more reasons to delay. It's time to get back to writing. Definitely after FOGcon, anyway.

Good Stuff Out There:

→ Christopher Gronlund considers inspiration: "There's a fine line between seeking out inspiration and working. When it's time to put in the effort, do the work -- don't look for inspiration because you'll likely find what little time you may have taken up by the literary equivalent of hollow calories."

FOGcon 2019 Report

I spent last weekend at the ninth iteration of FOGcon. I like the way I described this convention in 2013: "FOGcon is mainly about participating in and listening to in-depth discussions of stories, fictional worlds, and the things these lead us to consider about our own world." As I tend to repeat in my annual con reports (often while commenting that I tend to repeat myself every year), I always have a great time geeking out about speculative fiction for three days with other people who think that makes for a fun weekend.

This year's theme was Friendship, a topic well explored in the works of the two honored guests, Karen Joy Fowler and Becky Chambers. Both guests served as entertaining, insightful panel members, and both were generous with their time throughout the convention weekend. I was especially excited by the opportunity to hear more from Fowler, an incredible writer who has been heavily involved in the speculative fiction community, but whose own work often doesn't fit within the genre. Ever since I met her while at the Squaw Valley writing workshop, I've felt an affinity as another science fiction fan who writes largely realistic fiction.

Fowler participated in two fascinating sessions remembering authors who have recently died. Honored ghost Ursula K. Le Guin was a well-known figure, and a friend to some of those attending the discussion of her life and work, which was run as a group conversation. I took a turn speaking to recommend Le Guin's STEERING THE CRAFT, an excellent book of writing advice and exercises that my writing group worked through years ago. The panel in memory of Carol Emshwiller introduced me to an important feminist author I'd regrettably never even heard the name of. I'm eager to start reading her work.

A few other standout panels: Speculative Motherhood considered why mothers (and parents in general) are often absent from science fiction and fantasy and how they're portrayed when they do appear. Sense of Place offered strategies for developing settings and incorporating worldbuilding details into stories without info-dumping. "Friend" As Code Word was a nuanced, entertaining discussion about real and fictional cases where LGBTQ relationships get labeled as friendships for a variety of reasons. Life in Closed Systems pondered how to sustain life in generation ships, space stations, and other imaginary, current, and future closed spaces.

Next year's convention theme will be Turning Points, with exciting honored guests Mary Anne Mohanraj and Nisi Shawl. After dragging my feet for years, I've finally volunteered to help the group who does the work of putting together the con. So I will be especially invested in anticipating FOGcon's tenth year!

Good Stuff Out There:

→ Jesslyn Shields reports on the Lunar Library, a backup of human knowledge headed to the moon: "Rest easy, because much of the entirety of human knowledge has been backed up, and is on its way to the moon on an Israeli spacecraft called the SpaceIL 'Beresheet' lunar lander. It will be among the solar system's first off-Earth libraries, and the only technology the aliens or post-apocalypse humans will need to access the data will be a rudimentary microscope -- something we've had knocking around our planet since the 1700s." (Thanks, Book Riot!)

FOGcon 2018 Report

I attended FOGcon last weekend, the eighth year of this speculative fiction convention and my eighth time participating. I had a great time, as I do every year. It's always a delightful mix of familiar and new experiences and people.

This year (like last year), both honored guests contributed to many of the high points of my weekend. In preparation for the con, I started reading the work of Ada Palmer -- I've raved about TOO LIKE THE LIGHTNING and am still in the midst of the second half of that story, SEVEN SURRENDERS. It was great to hear Palmer speak several times about her series and her areas of expertise. She gave a captivating presentation on the history of books and book censorship that demonstrated she's as skilled a storyteller in person as on the page. I also attended a fascinating panel Palmer wasn't involved in that focused on the gender aspects of her novels, and I really appreciated hearing critiques from a range of perspectives.

I didn't make enough time to read Andrea Hairston before the con, but now I can check out her work (maybe REDWOOD AND WILDFIRE) with her lively voice in mind. In addition to writing novels, Hairston is involved in theater as a playwright, director, and actor, and her performance skills were evident whenever I saw her this weekend. I was glad I didn't miss her dramatic reading of passages from her work, accompanied by music from Pan Morigan. Another attendee shared a brief video clip with the accurate word "mesmerizing".

I found the programming this year to be particularly strong, so I was happy to spend most of the weekend in conference rooms listening to people talk. Writing Sexual Assault was a thoughtful discussion of when and how sexual violence can be effective in fiction rather than a tired trope. The panelists for Acting Normal shared their experiences with disability and neurodiversity, whether they do or can try to act "normal", and the idea that normality is a myth. I was impressed in both panels by how well these difficult subjects were covered.

The panel on architecture in fiction was a lot of fun, with great examples of city and building design in Palmer's series and others. Playing And Writing The Alien, about how aliens are used in stories and how that relates to otherness, was another entertaining discussion that included Hairston's tales of imagining the body language for alien creatures in her plays.

I was excited to participate in a roundtable discussion called Whither Programming? that brainstormed possible ways to evolve the events at this con in the future. I'm looking forward to whatever the next FOGcon will bring!

Good Stuff Out There:

→ Monica Byrne's talk for the Texas A&M Science Fiction Lecture Series, Instructions for the Age of Emergency, examines the future Byrne imagines for her next novel and how it stems from the present: "In 3012, there are no borders. There are no nations. There are no families, aside from the human family. We call every other person 'carnala,' a Mexican Spanish term meaning 'a blood relation.' The average life expectancy is 130 years. The world population is steady at one billion. We roam the earth as permanent nomads, and, by common agreement, only own as much as we can carry--this is why the system is called Laviaja, a feminized form of 'El Viaje,' Spanish for 'the journey.' Those of us who cannot move or walk are accommodated so radically by mutual aid, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality that the very concept of disability no longer exists. In fact, many of us choose to have what we think of as disabilities, and call them 'gifts,' because they are ways of creating community." (Thanks, Jennifer!)

FOGcon 2017 Report

Last weekend was my seventh year at FOGcon, and my high-level recap is similar to all the previous years: I had a great three days talking about speculative fiction and related topics with other people who enjoy thinking hard about such subjects, and I came home happily exhausted from all the conversation, ideas, drinks, karaoke, and fun.

Honored guest Ayize Jama-Everett was one of the highlights of this year's programming for me. Prior to his announcement as guest, I wasn't familiar with him or his work, and the conference booklet features an excellent profile by Anasuya Sengupta addressing the fact that many black writers remain relatively unknown in speculative fiction. I'm glad I read Jama-Everett's THE LIMINAL PEOPLE before the con, and it was a thrill to hear him speak on several panels about his experiences as a writer and teacher. For his guest slot, he brought in futurist Lonny Brooks, and the two had a fascinating conversation about how writers and theorists can imagine the future and explore the present.

I didn't get a chance to read anything by the other guest, Delia Sherman, but I appreciated her thoughtful contributions as a panelist. She participated in two panels I particularly liked, one covering the joys and problems of Writing Between Genres and one about the scarcity of middle-aged women as SFF characters, called In Between the Pixie and the Crone. The "between" in both these panel titles stems from this year's theme, Interstitial Spaces, and numerous panels considered stories and identities that lie between categories.

Even more than usual this year, many FOGcon attendees were interested in politics and activism, and I attended most of the panels on those topics. At the How Did You Survive The Election? panel, participants talked about balancing emotion and action. When Do You Pick up the Blaster? reflected on resistance in fiction and the real world. The Writer as Resistor panelists talked about how their stories have changed since the election. I found all of these discussions compelling and wish I had more notes to share.

This year I wasn't placed on any panels myself, which was just as well, because after a hectic month, I was content to not have any preparation or responsibilities to deal with. I had plenty of time in my schedule to attend a couple of reading slots, where I heard some wonderful stories and poetry. And in all the interstitial spaces in the program, I enjoyed lovely meals with good friends. It was a wonderful mix of relaxation and invigoration, and I came home excited about getting deep into writing again!

Good Stuff Out There:

→ Kathryn Schulz investigates what calling Congress achieves: "In normal times, then--which is to say, in the times we don't currently live in--calling your members of Congress is not an intrinsically superior way to get them to listen. But what makes a particular type of message effective depends largely on what you are trying to achieve. For mass protests, such as those that have been happening recently, phone calls are a better way of contacting lawmakers, not because they get taken more seriously but because they take up more time--thereby occupying staff, obstructing business as usual, and attracting media attention."

→ Eric Harris reports from a congressional office on what it's like answering all those phone calls to Congress, and it's worth noting that the numbers are still small enough that your call really counts: "Before Trump's inauguration, our Washington office received anywhere from 120 to 200 calls in a given week. Those numbers have more than doubled this year."

Exciting Week of Author Events

This week, two authors with exciting new releases appeared in my area, and I made the effort to break out of my usual routine (sit at desk, then sit on couch) and attend. I'm so glad I did, because both events were a ton of fun!

First, Charlie Jane Anders visited Google to talk about her wonderful ALL THE BIRDS IN THE SKY, which I raved about last month. She read a well-chosen excerpt that introduces readers to the characters, the San Francisco setting, and the Caddy, an artificially intelligent smartphone-like device that plays an important role in the story. Since Google is likely to develop any such technology, the audience was delighted by the appropriate and funny selection.

In the interview that followed, Anders talked about building the world of the novel, which incorporates both science fiction and fantasy. When the interviewer asked which of those she'd prefer if could only have one, Anders said she'd rather live in a world with magic, provided she could be one of the witches. They discussed the decision to set the book in San Francisco, the deleted scenes she's been posting online, literary influences, and the guest list for her ideal author dinner party (Kurt Vonnegut, Doris Lessing, and Michael Chabon).

This event was filmed and is available online, so you can enjoy the reading and conversation as well.

The following evening, Helen Simonson appeared at Kepler's as part of her book tour for the just-released THE SUMMER BEFORE THE WAR. I started reading the book while waiting for the event, and I was immediately curious about the entertaining cast of characters in an English seaside town right before World War I begins.

Simonson's excellent first novel, MAJOR PETTIGREW'S LAST STAND, is charming and funny, so it was no surprise to discover the same description applies to the author. She was interviewed by Tracy Guzeman, author of THE GRAVITY OF BIRDS, and the discussion was fascinating.

Simonson talked about the terror of writing a second novel after the astonishing success of her debut. She faced this terror by setting herself an even bigger challenge, working with multiple points of view, a historical setting, and the high stakes of war. The book is set in her Sussex hometown, but she's lived in the US for 30 years, which she feels gives her the necessary distance to write about the place she grew up. Her novels start with characters and no solid plot in mind, so she writes to see what story develops, always trying "to zag when expected to zig". Simonson confessed that her writing process is one of avoidance and that she often stays away from the keyboard for days, but she's realized important story work happens in her head as she procrastinates and that she's more comfortable thinking things out before committing them to the page. This "creative procrastination" seems to work just fine for her, and I'm eager to read more of the new novel.

I hope to continue getting myself to author events when the opportunity arises. I'm looking forward to a big event in a couple of months, the second Bay Area Book Festival, which will be June 4 and 5 in Berkeley. I had a great time last year and am waiting with interest to see this year's schedule of events in a few weeks. For now, there's a sneak peek available, and guests include Charlie Jane Anders, Sherman Alexie, Jonathan Lethem, and many more.

Good Stuff Out There:

→ At Literary Hub, Ed Tarkington describes his journey to publication in How I Gave Up On The Great American Novel And Got A Book Deal: "All the arch cleverness and literary pyrotechnics in the world are worth nothing if you aren't willing to put a little blood on the page--or a lot. For so long I’d been afraid to be vulnerable, to strip away the artifice and get down to the truth of what matters to me, to stop worrying about being cool and write from a space of deep longing, a place rooted in memory and desire and, above all, love. I'm not afraid of that any more."

FOGcon 2016 Report

I spent the weekend at another fun and exhausting round of the Friends of the Genre con. I'm proud to say I've attended every previous FOGcon (writeups from 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015), and I always enjoy getting together with fellow speculative fiction fans to discuss books and other topics of interest to the SF community.

This year's programming seemed to skew toward the other topics. I attended several panels on science, technology, and language that cited few or no fictional examples, focusing instead on what exists in the real world and what might emerge in the future. For instance, "The Developing Reality of Intelligent Machines" considered improvements in artificial intelligence and their implications for society. "From Caterpillar to Butterfly" covered unusual biological phenomena that occur in nature, with some talk of how these could inspire alien characters. All these panels were interesting, lively discussions, but I was surprised at the end of the weekend to realize I hadn't collected nearly as many book recommendations as usual.

A few panels did concentrate solidly on fiction, lengthening my to-read list. I was especially excited about "Domestic Fantasy", a discussion of works that feature families and domestic matters. Honored guest Jo Walton was one of the participants, and she and the rest of the panelists had fascinating things to say about how domesticity is handled in speculative fiction. "The Ethics of Magic" was another fun topic, examining stories that address or ignore the consequences of using magic. I was also happy to wrap up the convention with a celebration of the life and work of honored ghost Octavia Butler.

Overall, my con was less focused on the programming than usual. I wasn't signed up to participate in any panels myself, and I skipped a few sessions in favor of socializing or sleeping in. I guess I say this every year, but the best part of the weekend was hanging out with cool people. I shared food, drinks, and laughter with good friends. I started chatting with Jo Walton after a panel we'd both attended, and we wound up in an entertaining conversational group for the next hour. More people showed up for karaoke than ever before, and I sang my voice out late into the night.

FOGcon came right after a wonderful, relaxing vacation to Maui, so my life has been full of travel and excitement lately. It's time to turn my writing brain back on and see if all these adventures produced any story ideas.

Good Stuff Out There:

→ At Electric Literature, Kevin Pickard considers the use, or significant avoidance, of pop culture references in fiction: "But, on the other side of the debate, novels have started popping up and earning the 'timeless' or 'out of time' approbation. What is especially interesting about this is that, in at least two examples, the timelessness seems to go against the novel's ultimate project."

Life's Been Good

I thought it was time for an update on all the exciting things happening around here, for some values of "all", "exciting", and "here".

→ FOGcon is in two weeks! I'm getting excited for great discussions of speculative fiction, the opportunity to meet and celebrate this year's honored authors, hangout time with friends, and karaoke.

→ I've been reading a lot, including my anticipated new releases as those books have come out. The ones published so far have brought me much reading pleasure, and I'm looking forward to the two appearing next month.

→ As tends to happen, more reading correlates with less writing, but I have been noodling around with a few things. We'll see if anything emerges.

→ Cleaning up my writing room is also occupying a bunch of my time. I have sorted and filed mountains of paperwork. I wish this involved digging out amusing treasures to share, but it's almost all dull stuff like bank statements. The one entertaining thing I unearthed was my commentary on the refinancing process.

→ I finished knitting another sweater! The simple, one-piece pattern for this project meant I was able to knit it in just two months, unlike my first sweater, which I dawdled over for a year and a half. The new sweater is extremely warm and cozy, and I enjoyed snuggling inside it on the blustery, rainy day after I completed it. Every day since then, it's been in the 70s, and my sweater lies here unworn. I probably shouldn't complain (but sometimes I still do).

Good Stuff Out There:

→ Tanwi Nandini Islam shares a behind-the-scenes look at the process of arriving at The Perfect Book Cover: "For the cover of my debut novel Bright Lines, I knew I wanted something abstract, geometric, bold, and iconic. What I didn’t want to see on my cover: mangoes, saris, boats, the colors green and red, or stock photos of sad-faced-sexy-faced brown women. I didn't want cultural tokens to be stand-ins for nuanced, beautiful artwork." (Thanks, The Millions!)

Book Riot Live Report

The very first Book Riot Live conference was an incredible success, and I'm so glad I was able to visit New York City to attend!

I stayed in New York for the post-con week, hanging out with various family members, attending theater, and seeing sights, all of which was awesome as well. In quiet moments between the continued fun, I jotted down the highlights of my Book Riot Live experience, and I finished assembling this report on the flight home.

The programming at the con was excellent, and my only complaint was that at times there were too many cool things happening at once! I started my weekend -- after eating gourmet doughnuts in a car wash -- with a live recording of the Book Riot podcast. This show keeps me informed about the most interesting news from the book world on a weekly basis, so it was cool and strange to see the faces of the people with the familiar voices. During the Q&A period, I asked the first question, and I was tickled when the hosts recognized me from Twitter! You can listen to the live episode and hear me at about 33 minutes in. (Is that really what I sound like?)

The next day I attended another recording, this one for the interview show Reading Lives. The guest was announced only a couple of weeks before the con, and I was thrilled to learn it would be Angela Flournoy. Back in May, I recommended her wonderful debut, THE TURNER HOUSE, and it was great to hear about her development as a writer and reader.

Fighting the Good Fight: Turning Awareness Into Action was a fantastic panel of representatives from We Need Diverse Books, VIDA, First Book, and the Harry Potter Alliance, all great organizations working to increase diversity in publishing and accessibility of books. The panelists discussed their activism efforts and ways for readers to participate. In particular, there was much talk about noticing and counting who is represented on any list of books or authors, whether it's a personal record of books read or a set of award nominees or guest speakers. Striving for diversity in any such list, and calling it out when it's not there, has a cumulative positive effect. Personally, I've been very happy with how my reading life has expanded since I started paying more attention to who I read and recommend.

I was delighted at the prospect of attending a conversation between Margaret Atwood and N.K. Jemisin, two amazing authors I admire. The subject of the panel was Writing What You Don't Know, but the discussion was a wide-ranging one. I really didn't care what topic these two were speaking on, because everything they had to say was so smart and funny. The event was covered by The Guardian, which recapped the conversation, and I suggest reading that article for some choice quotes.

Upcoming Literary Excitement

It's fall (supposedly -- the heatpocalypse continues in Silicon Valley), and I am excited about so many literary happenings coming up this season. I've been counting the days until some amazing book releases and movie adaptations, and I'm delighted to be heading to a big book event in November. Here's what has me full of anticipation:

Book releases from favorite authors: October 6 will be the best book day of the year for me, because it's publication day for two authors I adore, Ann Leckie and Rainbow Rowell.

ANCILLARY MERCY is the third and final book in Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch trilogy, an epic, universe-spanning tale with a fascinating protagonist who was once the artificial intelligence of a spaceship. Last year I enthused about the first book and then had even more praise for the second. I'm expecting more of the vivid characters, clever worldbuilding, and tense adventure in the final installment.

In 2014, I devoured everything Rainbow Rowell has published after I read and loved FANGIRL. That novel features a main character who writes fanfiction based on the Simon Snow series, a sort of Harry Potter analogue inside the world of the story. Rowell's upcoming release, CARRY ON, is about Simon Snow and his magical world, based on the imaginary book series she created while writing FANGIRL. It's a strange and meta concept, and I'll admit it wasn't something I was hoping would exist in the world, but since Rainbow Rowell is writing it, I'm sure it will be fun and unexpected and emotional and great.

Movie adaptations of books I love: On the whole, I'm pleased when good books are turned into movies, and while I have seen some terrible film adaptations, I've found many to be good or even excellent. I have high hopes for two movies coming this fall.

I really enjoyed THE MARTIAN by Andy Weir, and the book's fast-paced plot and cinematic setting scream for an on-screen depiction. I've been excited since learning that a movie was being filmed, and my anticipation has grown with each publicity video I've watched. These cleverly report on the mission to Mars as if it were real, and even Neil deGrasse Tyson got in on the act. I can't wait, and I don't have to wait much longer, because the movie opens October 2.

Emma Donoghue's ROOM blew me away, but I wouldn't have picked it as a good candidate for movie adaptation because of its extreme interiority, in two senses: the story takes place inside a single room, and much of what makes it fascinating is the five-year-old mind of the narrator. However, Donoghue wrote the screenplay and was very involved in the production of the movie, and that bodes well for the results. I'm intrigued to watch this film, which will be in released in select cities mid-October and widely in early November.

Book Riot Live!: I follow the Book Riot media empire (a site, several podcasts, and so on), and when they announced their first convention, I thought it sounded cool but didn't intend to travel to New York City for it. But months later, while planning an unrelated New York trip, I realized the dates lined up. I'll be attending Book Riot Live November 7 and 8, and I'm just thrilled.

The lineup of speakers is amazing. I'm especially excited about two of them: Margaret Atwood has long been a favorite and is coming out with another of my anticipated fall releases, THE HEART GOES LAST. N.K. Jemisin wrote the fantasy duology I read last year, THE KILLING MOON and THE SHADOWED SUN. I hope to read the work of several other participants before the con. Or maybe I'll just run around squeeing for the next six weeks.

Good Stuff Out There:

→ At Book Riot, A.J. O’Connell interviews cartographers who make fictional maps for books about their process: "For the second book in Blake Charlton's Spellwright series, Spellbound, [Rhys] Davies and the author worked together to create a map of a city, and Davies found that he needed to make the city believable; he and the author had to decide on a workable street pattern and Davies had to draw buildings that corresponded with the income of the inhabitants in certain neighborhoods."

The First Bay Area Book Festival

I'm pleased to report I had a wonderful time at the Bay Area Book Festival in Berkeley this past weekend. The event was well-attended and by all accounts a great success, so I look forward to seeing it continue as an annual tradition.

I spent all day Saturday at the festival, attending author sessions, browsing the art and booths, and hanging out with family and friends. I made it to three of the many scheduled panels, and they were all excellent.

New Views of Narrative: How Technology Interfaces with Story was moderated by Robin Sloan, author of MR. PENUMBRA'S 24-HOUR BOOKSTORE, a novel about books and technology that I adored. Sloan did an exemplary job of moderating, using his extensive knowledge of bookish technology to draw out intelligent discussion from the innovators on the panel. Lise Quintana, CEO and founder of Narrative Technologies (and one of my NaNoWriMo buddies), talked about her company's ebook platform, Lithomobilus, which enables multi-threaded storytelling. The first stories launched on the platform, published by Zoetic Press, build on familiar classics such as the Grimm fairy tales and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but the authoring tools will soon be available for any purpose. In contrast to Quintana's reusable platform, Eli Horowitz and Russell Quinn have collaborated on a number of interactive books that were each developed separately, including THE SILENT HISTORY and the forthcoming THE PICKLE INDEX, which will also be published as a traditional paperback. I haven't tried out any of these apps yet -- partly because they're all only available for iOS, a limitation the creators discussed during the panel -- but I'm fascinated.

The presenters at Lit Camp's Writers-Conference-in-a-Panel set out to share their most valuable advice during their allotted seven minutes. It was a cool idea and well-executed within the obvious constraints. Tom Barbash spoke on short stories, Robin Rinaldi covered memoir, Janis Cooke Newman talked about novels, Jordan Bass offered an editor's perspective, and agent Danielle Svetcov addressed query letters. Naturally I was most interested in the section on novels, and I appreciated Newman's thoughts. She made a great point about backstory, saying the writer has to earn its use by making the reader curious, and cautioning only to deliver those background details once the reader is in the position of wanting to know them.

The panel on Futurism, Fatalism and Climate Change, moderated by book columnist Mike Berry, featured authors of novels about cataclysmic climate change. These books appeal to my post-apocalyptic interests, and I loved the entertaining discussion among the smart and funny authors. I've already read and enjoyed Edan Lepucki's CALIFORNIA, which follows a young married couple in the wake of widespread environmental and economic collapse. I can't wait to pick up Paolo Bacigalupi's new novel, THE WATER KNIFE, about an all-too-plausible drought-ravaged future. I was excited to see John Scalzi, author of numerous books including the recent LOCK IN, after encountering so much of his thoughtful writing online. Antti Tuomainen was the one participant I wasn't familiar with, and it was fascinating to hear him talk about his experiencing publishing the THE HEALER in his native Finland, where apocalyptic and dystopian fiction is apparently an unfamiliar genre.

To cap off my day, I attended what was billed as A Very Special Evening with the Remarkable Judy Blume, and it really was a memorable event. Growing up, I read most of Blume's books, and I admire what an important influence she's had on children's literature. She turns out to be as awesome as I've always imagined. Local librarian and storyteller Walter Mayes, a longtime friend of Blume's, conducted a wonderful interview about her career and her latest book, a novel for adults. IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT puts a town full of characters into the midst of a real event that happened during Blume's childhood, when three unrelated airplane crashes occurred in Elizabeth, New Jersey in the span of three months. I'm looking forward to reading it.

Between events, I made several visits to Lacuna, an art installation at the center of the festival constructed with donated books. Visitors were encouraged to browse and take home a book, and over the course of the day I saw the shelves gradually emptied. Many photos of Lacuna, as well as of the Judy Blume event, appear in the festival's photo album.

The festival provided an opportunity for me to meet up with several cool people I know, some by design and some serendipitously. Getting to talk about books with friends made an already fun and book-filled day even better.

The one low point of the festival was a problem with ticketing logistics. Due to an enthusiastic level of attendance, I didn't get into a session despite having procured a ticket a month in advance. I wasn't the only person facing this disappointment, and it happened at more than one panel. I've submitted feedback, as I'm sure others have, and I expect the organizers will improve the ticket system for next year. I'll definitely be back!

Good Stuff Out There:

→ At Flavorwire, Sarah Seltzer wonders, Why Do We Re-Read Our Favorite Books as Kids, and Why Do We Stop When We Get Older?: "The last Austen novel I re-read was in early 2010 -- two apartments, three jobs, and five years ago. Until this week, I hadn't sat down and re-read a favorite book for pleasure since, and my re-watching had slowed to a trickle, too. I have given up a treasured part of my cultural life, a staple since I was in elementary school."

Anticipation

It's almost time for the first Bay Area Book Festival, June 6 and 7 in Berkeley, and I can't wait! The organizers have put together an amazing schedule of talks and panels featuring an incredible set of authors, and there will be art, exhibitors, and food stalls to wander through. The festival is free and open to everyone, but to reserve seats for the indoor events and avoid waiting in line, you can purchase individual session tickets for a couple of dollars each. I have tickets for a bunch of Saturday events, and I'll report back on my festival experience.

I'm also excited about heading into the home stretch of this revision! As of today, I've completed all the chapters that I expect to be tricky. Yes, sure, two chapters ago I also declared I was through all the tough parts, but now I'm totally confident that the rest will be smooth sailing. And no matter how the process of tackling the remaining chapters goes, I will be done with this draft soon, and I'm thrilled.

What happens after this revision, you ask? Well, I'll send out the improved, shortened manuscript for another try, and then I'll work hard at distracting myself with other writing. Planning on the future novel has slowed the past couple of weeks due to putting more time into revision, but before that I was making steady progress on an initial detailed outline, and I'm somewhat close to the end of that as well.

Summertime means travel on the horizon for me, and I'm looking forward to enjoying that with at least one major writing project accomplished and some steps toward whatever comes next.

Good Stuff Out There:

→ Hillary Kelly argues that publishers should bring back the serialized novel: "When we can freely turn to the next chapter in our novels, we can quash any suspense with the flip of a page. Slicing a novel into bits and slowly doling it out to the reading public takes control of that tension away from the reader, allowing it to ferment and blossom." (Thanks, The Millions!)

This Is 40

Today is my birthday. I've missed my chance to appear on a best-under-40 list, but I can now take as long as I like to claim the questionable title of late-blooming writer.

I kicked off the festivities Wednesday evening with a great event at Kepler's Books. Kirstin Valdez Quade, whose excellent story collection NIGHT AT THE FIESTAS I recommended in my previous post, appeared along with Skip Horack, whose new novel THE OTHER JOSEPH I'm looking forward to reading. Their conversation was a ton of fun, and I'm glad I made the effort to get myself off the couch on a weeknight in order to attend.

Last night, I had a few friends over to test my first two attempts at cake. The baking results were delicious, and the company was lovely. The weekend will include more friends, and of course plenty more delicious food.

A birthday obviously requires new books. Two that I'm really looking forward to will be out in the next few weeks, so I've placed pre-orders as a birthday gift to myself. I can't wait to read OF NOBLE FAMILY, the final installment in Mary Robinette Kowal's Glamourist Histories, and A GOD IN RUINS, Kate Atkinson's companion to the incredible LIFE AFTER LIFE.

Before I head off to continue my birthday celebrations, I'll allow myself the indulgence of letting you know how amazing I am. Actually, I'll let the fabulous Book Fight podcast tell you how amazing I am. As a thank-you gift to donors who support the podcast, the Book Fighters write custom blurbs that they read on the show. My blurb appeared recently in episode 82, starting at 30:30, and it's awesome and strange. The general idea is to describe donors in the ridiculous way that books are sometimes described, but the blurbs have grown quite abstract and elaborate.

Here's the text of my blurb, composed by Tom McAllister: "Lisa Eckstein is a treasure chest once owned by the Visigoths and then lost in a raid and eventually passed through the possession of the likes of Genghis Khan, the Ottoman Empire, Wild Bill Hickok, the Yakuza, Johnnie Cochran, and Clifford the Big Red Dog before disappearing. Thousands of people have died trying to unearth the treasure of Lisa Eckstein, wars have been waged, coups have been staged, and yet nobody can tell you where it is. Nobody knows what's contained inside, but everybody wants it, and so treasure hunters across the globe are drawing maps and digging, spelunking, climbing, giving it the whole Carmen Sandiego treatment really, because whatever it is this treasure chest contains, it must be invaluable, something remarkable and irreplaceable, like the secret to eternal life, or a phone that allows you to communicate with God, or the formula for nuclear fusion, or a sugar substitute that has no calories but also doesn't make you feel like shit. The point is, Lisa Eckstein exists as much as a concept as a reality, as a hope for a better future, the solution to all worldly problems, something to aspire to. She is the Holy Grail and the Maltese Falcon and the Stanley Cup wrapped in one package, and before you try to find her, understand this: once you go down that path, you will never come back."

You may hereafter refer to me as Treasure Chest.

FOGcon 2015 Report

I've attended FOGcon, the Bay Area convention celebrating speculative fiction, for the five years of its existence, and this year was one of the most fun for me.

The theme this time was The Traveler, and one of the honored guests was Kim Stanley Robinson, whose fiction takes readers on explorations of the solar system, as well as parts of our planet that are remote in space or time. I am a huge fan of Robinson's Mars trilogy, and I'd been excited about the prospect of hearing him speak and perhaps meeting him. As a panelist, he turned out to be fantastic and knowledgeable, to nobody's surprise. And when he took some time to sign books, I was able to chat with him for several minutes about the latest Mars research, which made my day/weekend/life. I'm eager to read all the other intriguing, ambitious works by my buddy Stan, a project that may take the rest of my life.

This year's selection of panels was great. The discussion of languages and linguistics in science fiction and fantasy was especially excellent, with expert panelists who had all studied and/or written in this area. Another of my favorites, which included Kim Stanley Robinson, explored how science can best be incorporated into fiction. The panel on The SF/F Of Suburbia considered a range of fascinating topics and provided audience members with many possibilities for new stories.

My friend Andrea Blythe blogged more thoroughly about her favorite panels, many of which I also enjoyed, so check out her post for a better idea of what these discussions covered.

I moderated a panel on apocalyptic fiction, and it went quite well. The panelists had some great thoughts and recommendations to share, and the audience contributed good questions and comments. We discussed the appeal of this genre, why it might be growing in popularity, and the distinction between apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic stories. One of the topics we touched on is how the speculated causes of apocalypse change over time, and one attendee was inspired to do some awesome data analysis and present statistics and graphs. Fans of the end of the world should also take a look at The Apocalypse Garden, a blog by another FOGcon participant.

As always, the very best part of the con was the time spent sharing meals, drinks, and conversation with a whole bunch of cool people, including old friends, those I only get to see once a year at FOGcon, and brand new connections. And of course, the karaoke tradition continued, with singing going late into the night.

I came away from FOGcon with a huge list of book and author recommendations that's likely to influence my upcoming reading. Plus a serious case of sleep deprivation, which I think I'm finally recovered from. Can't wait for next year!

(I also wrote about my FOGcon experiences in 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011.)

Good Stuff Out There:

→ N. K. Jemisin analyzes reviews to investigate whether readers are harder on female characters than male characters: "I see Oree taking a lot of flak for being a victim of fate, but no commentary about Ehiru having a very similar story-role. I see snark about Oree being desirable to others, but none about Ehiru being the same."

What's Up

It's been a while since I've posted anything about my current writing projects. That's because for much of last year I was frustrated by how little writing I was accomplishing. It was difficult to think what to say on the topic, and easier and more fun to talk about the many books I was reading and the awesome stories I wrote 30 years ago.

But writing has gone much better in 2015, so I think it's finally time for an update. I'm working on two projects right now: yet another revision of the completed novel and a detailed plan for the next novel.

Another revision? Scary, but true. I received a lot of interest and encouraging comments during my agent search last year, but so far nothing has panned out. After spending a year away from the manuscript, I gave it a hard look with fresh eyes (if that isn't scrambling a metaphor) and saw room for improvement. I'm making another pass with a focus on tightening and shortening, and then we'll see how it goes. I'm pleased with my progress on this revision so far. I don't want to get into the details of numbers and timeframes and so on, but I will try to corral my thoughts and advice about reducing word count into a post at some point. In the meantime, check the Good Stuff for someone else's tips.

For the next novel, I've decided to try a completely different process in hopes of cutting back on the number of revisions required. I'm doing very detailed advance planning and plotting so that I can identify problems with the story and make improvements while it's still in the outline stage. This method works great for some writers and not at all for others, and while it's a new strategy for me, I'm finding it useful. Of course, the ultimate test will come when I start the actual writing, but by then I should have a firm grip on the story and characters. No plans yet on when the actual writing will happen. I'm deliberately working slowly on this, only spending a little time on it each day, so that I have plenty of space for contemplation and random flashes of brilliance as I go along. I'm sure I'll post more eventually about my experience with taking this approach.

In addition to these major endeavors, I'm also pondering other short and long writing projects I might undertake. And I'm getting excited about attending FOGcon in a week! There's a fabulous list of panels lined up, and I'll be moderating one on apocalyptic fiction, one of my favorite genres. Again, I'm sure FOGcon will be the subject of an upcoming post.

That gives you the general idea, though. If you've been politely hesitant to ask about my writing lately, now you know that things are looking up.

Good Stuff Out There:

→ At Fiction University, Jodie Renner outlines steps for shortening your novel: "Delete or condense scenes that don't have enough conflict or change, or add much to the plot or characterization. Condense parts where scenes drag, eliminating the boring bits. (Take out the parts that readers skip over.) Summarize transitional scenes or chapters in a few sentences to tack onto another chapter."

FOGcon Reading Recap

It's no secret that I had a great time at FOGcon this year (as well as in 2013, 2012, and 2011), but Secrets were the theme of this year's convention. I attended a bunch of cool panels, many of them related to this theme, including discussions of secret fantasy worlds, books with lying or unreliable narration, and secrets in science. (The karaoke also seemed to be something of a secret this time, with fewer participants than usual, but it was still a highlight for me.)

In preparation for the con, I did a bunch of reading, so I'm going to round up my relevant book reviews here:

→ This year's honored ghost was James Tiptree, Jr., a perfect choice for the Secrets theme, because Tiptree was actually a woman named Alice Sheldon who hid her identity for years at the same time that she was garnering fame in the world of science fiction. I recently raved about one of her collections, WARM WORLDS AND OTHERWISE, and I once again encourage everyone to read these fascinating stories. During the con, I attended an excellent panel discussing Tiptree's life and work.

→ Seanan McGuire was one of the honored guests, and it was cool to experience her in person after frequently encountering her online presence. A few years ago, I read McGuire's Newsflesh trilogy, published under the name Mira Grant, and I had mixed feelings about it. The premise is a lot of fun, the world is well-developed, and the writing isn't very good. I found the books compelling enough that I read all three (though the last one was weaker than the first two), and I wouldn't steer anyone away as long as you set expectations accordingly.

→ The other honored guest was Tim Powers, who I wasn't familiar with before. He's known for writing secret histories, which imagine the fantastical explanations that hide behind history as we know it. I read one of these, THE ANUBIS GATES, and enjoyed some aspects of it, but not all:

Brendan Doyle is an expert on the English Romantic poets who gets the opportunity to travel back in time and meet one of his literary idols. It's supposed to be a brief temporal excursion, but Doyle gets stranded in 1810. As if being stuck in the wrong century, penniless, weren't bad enough, Doyle is pursued by several mysterious enemies who have magic on their side. He has to stay alive, figure out what's going on, and understand whether he can ever return to his own time or if he should get used to life in the 1800s.

There's a lot more to the plot than that: It's a pretty complex story with several different magical elements that tie together eventually but seem unrelated at the start. I liked the cleverness of how things connected, but I wasn't wild about how the story was told. The pacing was too slow, especially at the beginning, and the protagonist wasn't that compelling a character. Because of these problems, I didn't find much reason to care about certain of the plotlines until late in the book. With a different telling, this story could have made for a great novel, but instead it was only okay.

Aside from honored guest reading, I moderated a book club panel that involved a couple of great books I would recommend:

Forward March

Well, February's over, and I still haven't written a new novel or sold my last one. But it's such a short month, how can anyone get anything done?

I did manage to read quite a few books last month, and though I predicted I'd never again surpass my January reading record, I more or less tied it in February. On the novel planning front, I've transferred all my sticky notes to SuperNotecard and have been contemplating the plot. And in the agent search department, [redacted].

This weekend, I'm off to FOGcon, a local convention for fans of science fiction and fantasy literature. This will be my fourth time attending (and the fourth year the con has been held), and I can't wait. Many writers attend the con, as well as some people involved in publishing, so if I wrote in the genre, it could be a networking opportunity, but since my novel is mainstream, I'll be there primarily in my role as a reader, and I'm quite content with that situation. I'm looking forward to spending the weekend talking about stories with other people who think talking about stories is a great way to spend a weekend. To get an idea of some of the stuff we'll be discussing, check out the schedule of panels. And if you're in the area, come join us!

Good Stuff Out There:

→ In the New York Times Opinionator, Margaret Hawkins shares her Confessions of a Lifelong Eavesdropper: "I eavesdrop all the time. You could say it's my hobby, though I don't seek out opportunities. These slices of language come at me through the air, begging to be heard, like small, precious gifts I cannot refuse, mini vacations into other lives."

→ Gabe Habash at PWxyz has gathered the endings and explanations for 12 Books That End Mid-Sentence.

Wisdom From Squaw Valley

Last week I made a series of posts about my experience attending the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley. To wrap up my conference reporting, I'm going to present some of the many, many bits of wisdom I scribbled down over the course of the week.

I'm attributing these ideas to the people who shared the advice or inspiration, but nothing should be considered a direct quotation. I've taken what I wrote down in my notebook, which was usually a paraphrase to start with, and then transformed the notes into actual sentences. It's also possible I've made some attribution errors if I noted the wrong speaker during a panel or if a person was passing on a suggestion from someone else. So approach this list as a general impression of things that were said rather than a transcript.

With that caveat, enjoy these lessons from Squaw Valley! (For even more, check out Squaw Valley's WRITERS WORKSHOP IN A BOOK.)

On living the writing life:

→ Amanda Eyre Ward: The people who go home from the conference, write every day, and believe in themselves are the ones who will succeed.

→ Martin J. Smith: Writing is the worst-paying career he's ever had, but the best-paying hobby. He's always kept his other day job, because it gives him freedom in his writing by separating the money part from the creative part.

→ Janet Fitch: The people in your life will respond to your level of seriousness about your writing. Make clear that you find your writing time valuable, and they will find it valuable and allow you to have it. Much of writing is defending your time.

→ Martin J. Smith: You need a hide like a rhinoceros, and you need persistence. You know what you're trying to do in your story. If feedback rings true, take it to heart. If not, let it bounce off your rhino hide.

On getting the words out:

→ Amy Tan: She isn't good at explaining what her work-in-progress is about. It's like performing an autopsy on a story coming alive, and she fears the story will die of exposure.

→ Martin J. Smith: His magic formula for what it takes to pursue your dream can be conveyed in four words: "Ten hours a week." That's enough to accomplish something.

→ Janet Fitch: You can't think about writing a whole novel. Instead write a scene, and a scene, and a scene.

→ Teresa Jordan: Her father would say everyone should be allowed to have an experimental child and then drown it. For novels, this is actually practical to do.

→ Janet Fitch: Writing develops a shell when it sits for a while, and it becomes harder to crack into. Check in on your work every day, even just to clean up a few sentences.

Feedback From Squaw Valley

Yesterday I wrote about how the workshops are structured at the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley. As I mentioned, we had a wide variety in our group in terms of writer experience level and the style and content of the work under consideration. Approximately half of the manuscripts we critiqued were short stories and half were chapters from novels.

Though I spend most of my time noveling, I've been getting more interested in short stories lately and have been trying to read and write more of them. I was aware that it's less complicated to workshop a complete story rather than a piece of a larger work, so I decided to challenge myself to write a new story I could bring to the conference. I wrote one during the couple of weeks beforehand. I thought it was pretty good and was curious how others would respond.

When I arrived at Squaw, I learned that my story would be workshopped on the final day. At first I was concerned that I would spend all week in nervous anticipation, but I soon decided it would be nice to wait and hear feedback after already knowing a lot about the general tastes of each group member. And honestly, since I'd written the story so recently, I didn't have as much invested in it as I might have if I'd submitted a chapter from my novel. So I didn't stress about it.

During the conference we received some great advice about workshops from several of the staff members. We heard that while there's value in having your work critiqued by others, it's by far more useful to be the one giving feedback. The reason for this is that when a writer suggests improvements to a story, they are really stating how they would change the piece if they were writing it. But the author under critique doesn't want to write more like someone else, and the advice often doesn't wind up being applicable to their manuscript as written by them. The advice giver is the one who benefits, by thinking about an assortment of stories and forming opinions about strengths and weaknesses that can later be applied to their own writing.

This isn't to say that all workshop feedback should be ignored. It's up to the writer to decide what suggestions to take and how to implement the ideas. We heard that the best advice might be the stuff that resonates right away (you already knew it was a problem), but it can also be the feedback that you're angry about hearing until two months later when you realize it was right (deep down, you really knew it was a problem). One leader said that if we use five percent of the critique we receive, we had a really good workshop.

So, what did I hear when my story was workshopped? Overall, people liked my story, and they had a ton of suggestions for how to make it better. I think that's the best possible outcome of a workshop. There was some good debate about various aspects of the characterization and plot, and I've written down a bunch of conflicting opinions about scenes to shorten or lengthen or add or delete. It'll take me some time to go through all the notes and marked-up manuscripts and compile all the information, and then I expect I'll put the story aside for a while, but I think eventually it could become something much stronger than it is.