Storyboard: How I Come Up With Children's Stories

I am an image-based writer when it comes to stories for young people (middle-grade).  For "The Girl Who Flew on a Whale," I was inspired by a photoshopped image of a girl touching a floating whale.  That story isn't finished yet, but it will be one day.  

A lot of my stories arise from seeing something that sparks my creative juices.  But sometimes my ideas arise from scenes in novels, which compels me to steal the real-world image, manipulate it, cut it up, throw in some weirdness and fantasy, and then put it all back together again.  Such is the life of "Mr. Pine's Woobly House (And the Mysterious Things Melinda Stone Found There)."  While reading Jean Toomer's Cane, I was inspired by the following lines:

The railroad boss said not to say he said it, but she could live, if she wanted to, on the narrow strip of land between the railroad and the road...Six trains each day rumbled past and shook the ground under her cabin. Fords, and horse- and mule-drawn buggies went back and forth along the road.  No one ever saw her.  Trainmen, and passengers who'd heard about her, threw out papers and food.  Threw out little crumpled slips of paper scribbled with prayers, as they passed her eye-shaped piece of sandy ground.  (Pg. 8-9)

I took that scene and came up with this:

Misunderstanding the LGBT (QUILTBAG) "Agenda" -- Or Why It's Not "Bigoted"

(I originally posted this on Google+, but since most of you probably don't follow me there, I figured you'd like to read this.  No, I don't cross post everything.  That would be annoying...)

To this day, I still find statements (or logic) such as the following ironically amusing: "I love you, but homosexuality is a sin." It's similar to "I don't support discrimination against LGBT (QUILTBAG) people, but I don't support same-sex marriage."

Such statements point to a failure to understand the other side. To LGBT (QUILTBAG) people, the various issues they are campaigning for, which extend from the right to marry to the various protections afforded to almost everyone else (job protection, protection against abuse, discrimination, violence, etc. etc. etc.), are all Civil Rights. In other words, regardless of what one might think about these people and their "agenda," they believe to the core of their being that this is a Civil Rights movement.

Within that context, can you really blame them for seeing bigots everywhere? From the mindset ofCivil Rights, any contradictory statement like one of the two I listed above would present a bigoted position: that is that saying "I don't support same-sex marriage because I believe it is a sin" is an dogmatic position, the adherence to which links one to bigotry within the context of a Civil Rightsdiscussion.

The fact that LGBT (QUILTBAG) people are right -- it is a Civil Rights movement -- is secondary to understanding why they are so adamant about their beliefs. Some like to say that these folks are just as intolerant as the people they claim to be against, which is little more than linguistic trickery to support a victim mentality. The reality is that almost all (notice the qualification) LGBT (QUILTBAG) people do not believe they have a right to control what you do and do not believe, just that you don't have a right to impose those beliefs on them by denying them the rights and privileges heterosexuals take for granted on a daily basis. At the end of the day, LGBT (QUILTBAG) people aren't trying to take something away from their opponents. Their opponents, however, are -- that's where bigotry finds a home.

Discussion Dept. Vol. 2: Reviewing Yourself and GRRM is Not a Punk

(I should probably change the name for this feature...)

Only two things are "bothering" me this week -- at least, only two things I can talk publicly about.  Let's get right to it:

Complaint #1:  I Give Myself Four Out of Five
It recently came to my attention that a number of authors, small and large, leave reviews on websites like Goodreads of their work.  These aren't self-published hacks (not that all SPers are hacks, just that a lot of the jackasses who do these kinds of activities happen to be SPers), but traditionally published authors.

Even if the "reviews" involve little more than giving oneself a 4-star rating on Goodreads, it is still unethical and borderline immoral.  Rating your own work, even if you claim that you are "being honest," skews the numbers and misrepresents your work to potential readers.  Not only is it not

RIP: Sara Douglass (a.k.a. Sara Warneke)

Sad news from Locus:

Australian author Sara Warneke, 54, who wrote bestselling fantasy novels as Sara Douglass, died September 26, 2011 of cancer.

She had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer last year and lost her battle earlier today.

While I have not read much of her work, I know that the SF/F community will miss her terribly, not just as a person, but also as a writer.  It is a sad day when we lose one of our own and I wish the best for those she left behind.  My condolences to her friends and family.  May she live forever through her work.

SandF Episode 5.5 (Torture Cinema Meets 2012) is Live!

The new episode is here!  This week, Jen and I take the awful apocalypse movie 2012.  And it's really bad.  Really.  Trust us...we've been watching crappy movies for a while.

Wait?  It's not as bad as we thought it would be, but still pretty bad?  Oh...

Anyway.  If you'd like to hear what we have to say about this darned flick, go download the mp3 or follow us on iTunes!

Literary Space Opera: Does it or can it exist?

I've been mulling over the idea of writing a space opera, tentatively titled The Reorientation War.  One of the things that strikes me about space operas is the epic scope; much like epic fantasies, space opera offers an immense field in which to play.  For me, that means a lot of people, a lot of places, a lot of social, political, and physical conflict, and a lot of action.  And with The Reorientation War, I'm hoping to sidestep the hero paradigm and opt instead for a more brutal, realistic vision of how an interstellar human empire might function.

But through the course of considering space opera as a genre, I've started to wonder about form.  Is there such a thing as literary space opera?  Or do writers of space opera adopt the adventurous landscape established by early SO writers, and, thus, take on its contemporary "popular prose" style?

The reason I ask these question is because I consider literary fiction to be more formally oriented than other genres.  That is that literary fiction, for me, places an extraordinary amount of attention on the language and the interrelationship of parts, which may or may not leave room for a linear plot.  Since much of space opera seems oriented towards plot-oriented conflict, it seems to me that much of the SO genre is potentially antithetical to the "literary."

A great deal of what we associated with SO borrows liberally from the same sources as Star Wars

Discussion Dept Vol. 1: Heinlein, Vietnam Drinking Games, Sony, and Stupid Arguments About SF

Every once in a while I feel like complaining about a few things instead of engaging the issues in a more sustained manner.  Usually I don't blog about such complaints (which sometimes aren't complaints so much as confusions or general "mehness").

And that's why I've created the Complaint Department Discussion Department feature:  to give me a little space to complain or babble about a few things without sustained thought (or to point out stupid things people say and do in the SF/F community).

Here goes:

The Video You've All Been (Not) Waiting For (a.k.a. That WISB Thing)

You all remember how I promised to make a video of me doing embarrassing crap?  No?  Oh.  That's depressing.

Wait, you were just messing with me?  That's nice of you...

In any case, that video is now made, with a lot of additional nonsense.  Why?  Because I was later than late on making it, and then a series of technological problems prevented me from doing it.  But a promise is a promise, and now it's here for your amusement.

For the record, you will find the following in the video:

• The Electric Slide (performed poorly, of course)
• Peanut Butter Jelly Time (somewhat quietly displayed due to me being a nice person)
• The Truffle Shuffle (performed a little too well for my comfort...)

You will also find me doing silly crap and one particularly amusing geek reference.  If you know the reference, leave a comment!

So here you go:

Feel free to share it.  You know you want to!

Update:  Some folks have said they are having issues using the above video.  Below you should find a YouTube version for your amusement.  Thanks!

No YouTube version after all.  The copyright bastards swarmed in and deleted all the audio simply because I used part of a song, despite giving it proper attribution.  So...I deleted the video and will never upload anything there again.  To those that had issues using the Blogger video above:  sorry.  I tried to provide an alternative, but the pricks at the music companies have apparently neutered YouTube.  Post a song with music in it and they'll cut the audio out.  Meh.  It's crap like this that contributes to piracy.

SandF Episode 5.4 (Interview w/ Clay and Susan Griffith) is Live!

The lovely writing duo joins Jen and I on The Skiffy and Fanty Show to talk about their Vampire Earth series, alternate history, brash Americans, and much more.  Check out the episode here!

In other news:  it poured rain outside my apart today in a way that makes me suspect flash floods have destroyed downtown Gainesville.  This, of course, would be God's justice for the city allowing such a seedy backwater hellhole to exist in the first place.  Pah!

In other other news:  a video will hit this blog some time tonight.  Look out for it!

Replacing Your Favorites: How Do You Survive When the Series Ends?

I recently had a brief, but amusing discussion with one of my friends in my graduate program about surviving the end of a series.  I've probably noted something like this before, but the completion (or cancellation) of some of my favorite series (books, TV shows, and movies) has left an endless void in my life.  It's like getting excited about going to Disneyland, finally going, and then having to cope with the knowledge that the event is over when you come home.  But you can re-experience Disneyland in a variety of ways (returning to it when you're older, taking your children there, etc.).

Yet, the same could be said of creative series.  I can still re-experience Battlestar Galactica, and just as Disneyland can change when they add new rides, so too can BSG when the producers add new material (Caprica and Blood and Chrome, for example -- though the former wasn't all that

Book Giveaway: Awakenings by Edward Lazellari

I have an extra copy of Edward Lazellari's novel (from Tor) to give away to one lucky reader.  The competition is open to U.S. residents only (unless you want to chip in a couple bucks via Paypal to help cover shipping).  Before I get to the book information, here's how to enter:

• Leave a comment saying something other than "please enter me" or "give me the book" or whatever.  Say something amusing or dumb or goofy or funny.  I don't care what it is so long as you do something other than tell me you want the book.

Simple?  Good.  You can also improve your chances by doing any of the following (+1 for each):

• Share this post on Twitter (use @shaunduke in the tweet), Google + (link it), Facebook (link it), blog about it (link it), or put it up on any other social network or service (just give me a link).

That's it!  The giveaway ends on Oct. 2nd, 2011.  Winners will be chosen at random and announced on Oct. 3rd, 2011.

Now for the book stuff.  Here's the cover synopsis:

Five Years of Mediocrity -- How Did I Survive?

I was reminded of a very important fact today by SQT of Fantasy & Scifi Lovin' News & Reviews and John Scalzi of Whatever (and writer of those funny things made of paper which we call books):  my blog is old.  But it's not that old.  SQT has been at this blogging thing a year longer than I and Scalzi has been doing it for thirteen years -- which makes my five look rather pathetic, don't you think?

But in the interest of celebrating something good, I'd like to say how shocking it is that I'm still here after five years.  Even more shocking is when and how I started.  On September 3rd, 2006, I wrote my first blogger blog post entitled "Yes!"  Apparently I was excited to have found it within myself the energy to put nearly incoherent words into a magic Internet box and press the "publish" button.  I was also excited about having a mystical mission to entertain the billions of people who still don't know I exist.

And what followed?  "Good News & Bad News," in which I mourned the death of Steve Irwin and pointed out my supreme ignorance as a writer by stating that I don't write outlines because they are oh so lame.  Then again, I still don't do outlines...  After that, I wrote "Names and Things" -- the first post where I had something coherent to say, but also the first post in which I proclaimed my

SandF #5.3 (Interview w/ Rhiannon Frater) is Live!

It's here!  Late as heck, but here!  And it's all about zombies.  This week, Jen and I talk to Rhiannon Frater about her zombie novels, Texas' survival chances when the zombocalypse finally drags the world into blood and flames, and some deeper topics, such as what makes zombies such a compelling monster, etc.

Hopefully you'll all check out the episode.  A fun interview, that's for sure.

Dear Publishers: I Want to Read Stories With LGBTQ, "Colored," and Minority Characters

If you've been living under a rock today, then you might have missed this disturbing news from Publishers Weekly (the Genreville blog):

The agent offered to sign us on the condition that we make the gay character straight, or else remove his viewpoint and all references to his sexual orientation. 

Rachel replied, “Making a gay character straight is a line in the sand which I will not cross. That is a moral issue. I work with teenagers, and some of them are gay. They never get to read fantasy novels where people like them are the heroes, and that’s not right.” 

The agent suggested that perhaps, if the book was very popular and sequels were demanded, Yuki could be revealed to be gay in later books, when readers were already invested in the series.   

We knew this was a pie-in-the-sky offer—who knew if there would even be sequels?—and didn’t solve the moral issue. When you refuse to allow major characters in YA novels to be gay, you are telling gay teenagers that they are so utterly horrible that people like them can’t even be allowed to exist in fiction.

There's much more at the link, but that little bit is the core of the problem (and not the only incidence where an agent or editor told someone to change a character from gay to straight, etc.).

But Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith didn't set out to make agents look bad.  Rather,

Mars: When Will We Go? -- The Wrong Question

Over at Universe Today, Fraser Cain wonders when we will go to Mars:

When do you think humans will set foot on Mars for the first time? Will it be a specific country or an international team effort? Or do you think it’ll never happen?

These seem to me to be the wrong questions.  It's not a matter of when we will go.  Rather, I think it's a matter of when we want to go.  All those questions about who will do it and so on and so forth seem to be questions worth wondering about after we set a goal for ourselves.

Of course, being an American, I have a soft spot for the idea that America might be the first on Mars.  Do I think we will be?  Not if a change doesn't occur in the way we think about our country, the way we demand it to work, and so on.  Right now, the climate is enormously anti-science.  By that I mean that the U.S. is a nation which no longer demands us to think outside the box.  Our

Movie Review: Contagion

I've been looking forward to Contagion ever since I saw the preview with Matt Damon.  My friends know I have a soft spot for Damon; I honestly don't know what it is about him.  He's a good actor, sure, but there are plenty of good actors I don't get excited about when I see they are in a new movie.  Damon, however...let's just say I do a little dance when I see he has a new movie for me to watch.  Maybe it's because of the Bourne films...

Moving on.

Contagion is an interesting take on a cliche theme:  that of the super infection which wreaks havoc on humanity while the government and society tries desperately to keep it under control.  Rather than focusing on the post-infection world, such as in Carriers, or a single family trying to survive the early hours of the infection (Right at Your Door), Contagion tries to show the bigger picture:  the family left behind by patient zero; the CDC director, field officers, and scientists trying to

Texas Wildfire Relief Fund: They Need Our Help!

The firefighters in Texas need a lot of help.  Due to budget cuts, a lot of firefighters are being forced to pay for supplies out of their own pockets.  Cutting from fire departments and other public services is always a stupid idea, but Rick Perry did it anyway.  And now Texans are suffering the consequences.  It's sickening and horrible.

So what they really need right now is money.  Anything.  $1.  $10.  $20.  Whatever you can give.

I know we're all hurting right now with the economy.  But if you've got a little extra, help your fellow Americans fight off these fires and save lives and homes.

Thanks!

P.S.:  It's probably best to use Paypal, since it's faster.  Time is of the essence, after all.

RIP: Terrance

None of you even know about Terrance (unless you follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Google plus).  I didn't have time to blog about him yet.  And now I'm telling you all about him having nothing good to say other than "well, he had at least one moderately good day in his life, and I tried to give that to him."

Terrance came to me after my friend Sarah messaged me on Facebook asking if I could foster a cat who was scheduled for death early last week.  He had had a terrible life with his previous owner, who had kept him on an apartment balcony for five years in Florida.  When he arrived at my place, he had an upper respiratory infection and looked fairly worse for wear (his previous owner clearly didn't feed him well and the infection he got between surrender and arrival didn't help at all).

But I didn't want him to be put to sleep without having a shot.  I took him in, gave him a place to live in the bathroom, with free reign in my bedroom (and the apartment at large when I was at home -- I have lizards, so I had to keep them isolated...you know how cats are).  Things were going well.  The first day, he came out of the bathroom to hang out underneath my legs while I was on

SandF Episode #5.2 (Interview w/ Nick Mamatas) is Live!

Over at The Skiffy and Fanty Show you'll find a brand new interview with none other than Nick Mamatas, who I am referring to from now on inside my head as Master Splinter.  The interview went pretty well and we talked about a lot of fascinating things, such as Japanese SF/F, parasites, and his writing.

Check it out and let us know what you think!

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In other news:  I'm on my desktop again, because the keyboard on the brand new laptop apparently needs replacing.  This, needless to say, sucks...

An Interview with Kevin Hearne

Thanks to Kevin Hearne for taking the time to answer my ridiculous questions.  Don't forget to check out my review of Hexed.

Now for the interview:

First things first: what drew you into writing in the first place, and why fantasy in particular? 

I was drawn into writing by One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. Chief's voice is so well done and I wanted to be able to grab somebody the way that book grabbed me. I wound up writing

It's Still Not New (Literary Genre Fiction -- Pah!)

Kim Wright has an interesting article on The Million about why literary writers going out to write genre fiction. Here's a rather amusing set of paragraphs:

It will probably always be open to debate whether these innovations are the result of writers seeking creative expression and wider audiences or a calculated move on the part of publishers who are simply trying to sell more product, even if it means slightly misrepresenting a book to its potential audience. But either way, the future seems to be stories which combine the pacing and plots of genre with the themes and style of literary writing. 

In other words, this crappy market may actually end up producing better books. Because hybrids, bastards, and half-breeds tend to be heartier than those delicate offspring that result from too much careful inbreeding. Just ask the Tudors. The best commercial writers were moving toward this anyway, creating highly metaphorical fantasy works and socially-conscious mysteries, expanding the definition of their genres even before the ex-pat literary crew jumped on the bandwagon. “We’re going to see more blending as everyone attempts to grab a larger audience,” predicts Patriarche, “and the literary snobs are going to have to stop looking down on genre.”

Overall, the article is sound, but it does fall pray to an argument I've refuted before. Namely, that the whole cross-genre literary-genre fiction, and the literary authors who have crossed over to write the stuff, is new.  But it's been going on for a while.  The only new thing is that people are starting to pay attention to it. And the sad truth Wright reveals is that people are paying attention because of the money:

Committing Blasphemy Against Doctor Who (or How to Kill a T.V. Show)

I haven't watched the latest episode of Doctor Who yet.  It's not because I live in the U.S. and can't afford cable.  In fact, I have the episode sitting there and waiting for me.  Rather, I haven't watched the episode because I've lost interest.  Not entirely, mind you.  I know I'll watch the episode eventually, but it won't be tomorrow or the day after.  It may not happen next week.  Who knows?  I might end up with all the episodes from the final half of this season sitting on my computer before I decide to watch them.

Okay, so that worst case scenario is unlikely to happen, but it is true that the excitement I once held for the new season has waned.  The new season isn't a bad one, so I know it has little to do with the quality.*  Rather, I think it has to do with the three month gap between episode seven and eight.  A similar thing happened with Stargate Universe.  I spent the first half of the first season watching every episode (at the time playing catchup, and then doing the week-by-week thing).  But then the episodes dried up and I had to wait months before the rest of the season would play.  By