BEA stands for the Book Expo of America and it takes place in NY (or at least has for the last several years). It's a great time, fun publishing parties, free books, lots of authors etc. I'm going this year to meet my editor Nancy Conescu in person for the first time, and to re-connect with some other awesome publishing folk (including my AMAZING agent Jessica Regel). I'm also sitting on a panel at the end of the week at the Backspace Writers Conference.
Also I have a lot of friends in NY and I just love the city in general.
As always I'll post a re-cap upon my return, but until I do . . . let's walk down memory lane . . . my recaps from previous years . . .
BEA 2010
BEA 2009
BEA 2007
Monday, May 23, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
TIMOTHY AND THE DRAGON'S GATE shortlisted for the Red Cedar!
I was seriously delighted a few years ago to learn that ALEX AND THE IRONIC GENTLEMAN had been nominated for the Red Cedar Award out in BC. For those of you who don't know the Red Cedar is, here's a brief description:The Red Cedar is British Columbia’s Young Reader’s Choice book award. Every year, thousands of children between grades 4 and 7 from across the province are invited to read books from the nominated lists of non-fiction and fiction titles and vote for their favourite.
Well I am very very excited to announce that TIMOTHY AND THE DRAGON'S GATE got shortlisted for the 2011/2012 award this time!
It's such a cool award, and I am an uber fan of any award voted on by the actual readers, ie the kids.
So thank you so much to the Red Cedar committee and of course to BC and the awesome that is Western Canada. It's an honour.
:)
Here's a full list of nominees:
Red Cedar Fiction 2012 Nominees
The Dread Crew by Kate Inglis
Wanting Mor by Rukhsana Khan
Rex Zero: The Great Pretender by Tim Wynne-Jones
Walking Backward by Catherine Austin
After the Fire by Becky Citra
Faerie Rebels: Spell Hunter by R.J. Anderson
The Ship of Lost Souls by Rachelle Delaney
The Giant Slayer by Iain Lawrence
Zoobreak by Gordon Korman
Dear Canada: A Desperate Road to Freedom Karleen Bradford
Timothy and the Dragon's Gate by Adrienne Kress
The Prince of Neither Here nor There by Sean Cullen
Red Cedar Information Award 2012 Nominees
Charlie: a Home Child’s Life in Canada by Beryl YoungLearn to Speak Music by John Crossingham
The Insecto-files by Helaine Becker
Big Train: the Legendary Ironman of Sport by Lionel Conacher. Richard Brignal
Fighting for Gold by Lorna Schultz Nicholson
Pharaohs and Foot Soldiers by Kristin Butcher
Animal Aha! Thrilling Discoveries in Wildlife Science by Diane Swanson
It’s a Snap! George Eastman’s First Photograph. Monica Kulling.
Whispers from the Ghettos by Kathy Kacer & Sharon Mckay
Hoaxed: Fakes and Mistakes in the World of Science by The Editors of YES Magazine
How to Build Your Own Country by Valerie Wyatt.
100% Pure Fake by Lyn Thomas
Out of this World: The Amazing Search for an Alien Earth by Jacob Berkowitz
You Are Weird: Your Body’s Peculiar Parts and Funny Functions by Diane Swanson
Kaboom! Explosions of all Kinds by Gillian Richardson
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Climbing into a Bookshelf in Four Easy Steps
Because my life isn't just acting and writing . . .
I'm moving at the end of the month to my very first home that I actually own (well, condo), and the packing has sort of taken over everything. Fortunately I have a very savvy cat that keeps me entertained.
(the boxes you see him in are FrogBoxes - a company that rents out reusable boxes for moving, really cool)
STEP 3
STEP 4
I'm moving at the end of the month to my very first home that I actually own (well, condo), and the packing has sort of taken over everything. Fortunately I have a very savvy cat that keeps me entertained.
(the boxes you see him in are FrogBoxes - a company that rents out reusable boxes for moving, really cool)
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
STEP 4
Friday, May 13, 2011
My Canadian National Steampunk Exhibition Video is finally up!
Yup! I know y'all have been waiting for it, and finally it's here! Thanks to the amazing Nadine Bell and MakeGoWork who helped me edit the thing together, I now have a lovely 5 minute video of some of what made the Canadian National Steampunk Exhibition so totally awesome!
So, here below is my report on the con, my very first attempt to produce and direct a segment like this. I got some pretty cool interviews with the likes of Meinert Hansen - concept/design artist for such films as the 300, Spiderwick Chronicles, Stranger Than Fiction and Silent Hill; musician Genevieve Young from Psyche Corporation; and the gang from Mental Floss Sideshow, who gives us a lovely exclusive performance. And of course many others (including some of Professor Elemental‘s fabulous show).
Check it out!
So, here below is my report on the con, my very first attempt to produce and direct a segment like this. I got some pretty cool interviews with the likes of Meinert Hansen - concept/design artist for such films as the 300, Spiderwick Chronicles, Stranger Than Fiction and Silent Hill; musician Genevieve Young from Psyche Corporation; and the gang from Mental Floss Sideshow, who gives us a lovely exclusive performance. And of course many others (including some of Professor Elemental‘s fabulous show).
Check it out!
Friday, May 06, 2011
A couple cool "me" things . . .
Like the title suggests . . . here's a couple cool things about me that I've discovered recently.
First - Kirkus reviewed CORSETS & CLOCKWORK, and my story "The Clockwork Corset" got a nice special mention along with two other stories (yay!):
"The best stories are those that most closely adhere a fairly traditional definition of steampunk in manners, machinery and punk spirit, like Frewin Jones’ weirdly wonderful “The Cannibal Fiend of Rotherhithe,” with its half-mer cannibal heroine and a plucky boy who might be true love or just a snack; Adrienne Kress’ “The Clockwork Corset,” high romance with a spunky cross-dressing heroine; and Kiersten White’s excellent closing tale, “Tick, Tick, Boom,” whose narrator is a machinist and noble’s daughter who falls for an anarchist."
Next - Nathan, the French publisher of ALEX is re-releasing it as a mass market paperback. And they are doing it with a brand spanking new really fantastic cover.
Here is the cover:
Here is the artwork on its own (click on it to see it in larger detail - Giggles the cat makes me laugh out loud - lol, as it were):
And here are a couple sketches of the cover as a work in progress:
The latter images I discovered just by accident on the artist's blog: Le Grand Vrac! Check it out, he's got some amazing illustrations and images in general up.
Lastly - the Canadian Steampunk Exhibition has been getting some decent press around the net. I'm still working on putting my video together (or rather my awesome editor friend is working on the rough cut right now), but in the meantime check out these links covering the event (I'm even mentioned in the Torontoist!) - SPACE (Canada's SyFy channel), Studio 12 News - the event is covered at the 7:50 mark.
First - Kirkus reviewed CORSETS & CLOCKWORK, and my story "The Clockwork Corset" got a nice special mention along with two other stories (yay!):
"The best stories are those that most closely adhere a fairly traditional definition of steampunk in manners, machinery and punk spirit, like Frewin Jones’ weirdly wonderful “The Cannibal Fiend of Rotherhithe,” with its half-mer cannibal heroine and a plucky boy who might be true love or just a snack; Adrienne Kress’ “The Clockwork Corset,” high romance with a spunky cross-dressing heroine; and Kiersten White’s excellent closing tale, “Tick, Tick, Boom,” whose narrator is a machinist and noble’s daughter who falls for an anarchist."
Next - Nathan, the French publisher of ALEX is re-releasing it as a mass market paperback. And they are doing it with a brand spanking new really fantastic cover.
Here is the cover:
Here is the artwork on its own (click on it to see it in larger detail - Giggles the cat makes me laugh out loud - lol, as it were):
And here are a couple sketches of the cover as a work in progress:
The latter images I discovered just by accident on the artist's blog: Le Grand Vrac! Check it out, he's got some amazing illustrations and images in general up.
Lastly - the Canadian Steampunk Exhibition has been getting some decent press around the net. I'm still working on putting my video together (or rather my awesome editor friend is working on the rough cut right now), but in the meantime check out these links covering the event (I'm even mentioned in the Torontoist!) - SPACE (Canada's SyFy channel), Studio 12 News - the event is covered at the 7:50 mark.
Monday, May 02, 2011
Canadian National Steampunk Exhibition Report
So the Canadian National Steampunk Exhibition was this past weekend and it was bloody brilliant! I had such a great time, meeting some really cool new people, and sitting on some truly awesome panels.
My favourite panel of course would have to be the one where I did a reading from THE FRIDAY SOCIETY. It was the first time I'd ever shared the book with anyone aside from my editor and agent, and I am very happy to report that the audience seemed to enjoy it. They laughed at the right spots, and came up to me after to compliment me on the writing, saying they couldn't wait to read the whole thing. If only 2012 wasn't so darn far away! The reading was moderated by the fab Liana K who asked some really cool questions, and there was a lot of audience participation and we had some pretty sweet conversations going. Thank you so much to all who came to listen to me, it meant a lot.
But my other panels were nothing to sniff at either. I learned a lot from my fellow panelists on both of them: Kenneth Shelley, J. M. Frey, Mike Perschon and Alexandra Gerlach. We each had our own interests in Steampunk, from writing fiction to costuming, to Mr. Perschon doing, you know, his PhD on the subject. Really really cool.
What was also cool? Well everything. Professor Elemental's brilliant rap performance in the evening ("When I say Earl Grey you say Lovely!"), I've never raised the roof with my pinky finger before. Meeting a host of very talented people who I'll be featuring in a video I'm editing together on the con - stay tuned. Seeing all the awesome wares for sale, and just chillaxing in the green room with delightful funny and brilliant people.
Special thanks go to Adam Smith, Liana K, and Lee Ann Farruga for organising the event. It ran like a well oiled machine - maybe something with lots of moving clockwork parts maybe - and this was the very first CNSE ever. Well done! Here's hoping for many many more!
My photographs are few and far between as I was also filming a lot of the con. Said final video will go up once it's actually edited together. And of course the con had so much going on and so many different parts to it, that I just couldn't be all places.
With that said, here are the few pictures I DID take.
First of all . . . me.
Here are my two outfits I wore that day. Hardly as spectacular as some that were present, but I think they were still pretty cool. Day wear and evening wear, augmented with my amazing Steampunk jewelry which I shared in a post below:
This is Professor Elemental and his performance (Kenneth Shelley is milking the audience for more applause):
This is author J.M. Frey and me photographed with the good professor:
A Steampunk Captain Kirk:
Me and the amazing concept/design artist (he worked on 300, Spiderwick Chronicles, Stranger Than Fiction etc) Meinert Hansen:
How amazing is he? Well see this picture I took of Kenneth Shelley and Ashley Regimbal-Kung?
In twenty minutes, sitting on that couch that we were photographed on together, laptop in lap . . . Mr. Hansen turned it into this:
I know. Seriously amazing right??
Last but not least . . . a mouse wearing chainmail and holding a dagger:
My favourite panel of course would have to be the one where I did a reading from THE FRIDAY SOCIETY. It was the first time I'd ever shared the book with anyone aside from my editor and agent, and I am very happy to report that the audience seemed to enjoy it. They laughed at the right spots, and came up to me after to compliment me on the writing, saying they couldn't wait to read the whole thing. If only 2012 wasn't so darn far away! The reading was moderated by the fab Liana K who asked some really cool questions, and there was a lot of audience participation and we had some pretty sweet conversations going. Thank you so much to all who came to listen to me, it meant a lot.
But my other panels were nothing to sniff at either. I learned a lot from my fellow panelists on both of them: Kenneth Shelley, J. M. Frey, Mike Perschon and Alexandra Gerlach. We each had our own interests in Steampunk, from writing fiction to costuming, to Mr. Perschon doing, you know, his PhD on the subject. Really really cool.
What was also cool? Well everything. Professor Elemental's brilliant rap performance in the evening ("When I say Earl Grey you say Lovely!"), I've never raised the roof with my pinky finger before. Meeting a host of very talented people who I'll be featuring in a video I'm editing together on the con - stay tuned. Seeing all the awesome wares for sale, and just chillaxing in the green room with delightful funny and brilliant people.
Special thanks go to Adam Smith, Liana K, and Lee Ann Farruga for organising the event. It ran like a well oiled machine - maybe something with lots of moving clockwork parts maybe - and this was the very first CNSE ever. Well done! Here's hoping for many many more!
My photographs are few and far between as I was also filming a lot of the con. Said final video will go up once it's actually edited together. And of course the con had so much going on and so many different parts to it, that I just couldn't be all places.
With that said, here are the few pictures I DID take.
First of all . . . me.
Here are my two outfits I wore that day. Hardly as spectacular as some that were present, but I think they were still pretty cool. Day wear and evening wear, augmented with my amazing Steampunk jewelry which I shared in a post below:
This is Professor Elemental and his performance (Kenneth Shelley is milking the audience for more applause):
This is author J.M. Frey and me photographed with the good professor:
A Steampunk Captain Kirk:
Me and the amazing concept/design artist (he worked on 300, Spiderwick Chronicles, Stranger Than Fiction etc) Meinert Hansen:
How amazing is he? Well see this picture I took of Kenneth Shelley and Ashley Regimbal-Kung?
In twenty minutes, sitting on that couch that we were photographed on together, laptop in lap . . . Mr. Hansen turned it into this:
I know. Seriously amazing right??
Last but not least . . . a mouse wearing chainmail and holding a dagger:
Friday, April 29, 2011
A More Concise Definition of Steampunk
Yesterday I attempted to concisely define what Steampunk was in my post Steampunk Goodness. My friend Katie (who designed my jewelry in said post) said it was a very excellent definition, but that she knew of an even more concise one. She sent it to me. I agreed.
Thus:
Thus:
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Steampunk Goodness
Steampunk.
Steampunk?
While more and more the word is making its way into popular vernacular, I realise that not everyone automatically knows what the heck it means. For example, when I say my debut YA The Friday Society (Dial, 2012), is a Steampunk Charlie's Angels without the Charlie. . . I imagine there are people out there going, "Charlie's Angels without the Charlie, sounds neat . . . but, uh, what the heck is Steampunk?"
Now, I might do a longer "history of" or "long winded definition of" later, but right now, since I have other stuff to talk about, I thought I'd do a very short definition here.
Steampunk is: contemporary science fiction set in a Victorian/Edwardian world.
Kind of like Jules Verne or H.G. Wells - except that Steampunk is a modern style. Modern authors writing as if they were back in the olden days. Verne and Wells were writing science fiction back in that period itself. So. Movies: think WILD WILD WEST, or THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, or, to a certain extent, the most recent SHERLOCK HOLMES. Books: LEVIATHAN (Scott Westerfeld), THE HUNCHBACK ASSIGNMENTS (Arthur Slade), and SOULLESS (Gail Carriger). Basically ask yourself, "If I was living in Victorian times, and I was capable of creating, say, a machine that could fly to the moon, what tools from that period would I use to get there?" So . . . steam, for one thing, clockwork pieces, winches and wires and pulleys oh my!
Here's an amusing Steampunk image (if anyone knows the name of artist, please let me know):
See - a carriage powered by steam and clockwork pieces, with Victorian gentlemen hunting a tiny rabbit with science fiction like weaponry.
There is more to the genre than just the science fiction, though it is the core of it. There's a lot about reflecting current society, discussing class structure . . . and of course . . . there are the pretty pretty costumes.
Because Steampunk has evolved from not just a literary movement but into also an aesthetic movement.
Which brings me to my first thing:
I'm doing a Steampunk con this weekend, the Canadian National Steampunk Exhibition, and to augment my costumes (pictures to be posted post con) I decided I wanted some gorgeous jewelry to go with them.
I got into writing Steampunk just in the last couple years. A very good friend of mine, Katie, who I grew up with, went to arts schools with (she was a dance major, I was a drama major) was in New Zealand for a few years and coincidental also got into Steampunk . . . into making Steampunk jewelry that is.
When she came back we were amazed to discover our parallel attraction to Steampunk. And we agreed to an exchange. I'd give her a copy of TIMOTHY, and she'd make me a necklace (I, uh, loved two of them so much that I just bought the second one :) ).
Here's me wearing them - so you get a sense of their proportions - along with some closeups of them. Aren't they amazing??? (one of them is reversible!)
If you do indeed think they are amazing, here's her etsy page. Here's her email as well: tempusluna AT gmail.com Please check her out.
___________________________________________
On the second Steampunk note, as I already said, I'll be at the Canadian National Steampunk Exhibition this weekend. I'll be attending just as any other fan on Friday night, watching performances and checking out the artists' stalls. But Saturday is when I'm doing panels and such. If you do plan on coming, please come up and say hi. I'm a nice person, and "hi" is just such a lovely word.
Here's my schedule:
CANADIAN NATIONAL STEAMPUNK EXHIBITION
Saturday April 30, 2011
Toronto, Canada
Steampunk?
While more and more the word is making its way into popular vernacular, I realise that not everyone automatically knows what the heck it means. For example, when I say my debut YA The Friday Society (Dial, 2012), is a Steampunk Charlie's Angels without the Charlie. . . I imagine there are people out there going, "Charlie's Angels without the Charlie, sounds neat . . . but, uh, what the heck is Steampunk?"
Now, I might do a longer "history of" or "long winded definition of" later, but right now, since I have other stuff to talk about, I thought I'd do a very short definition here.
Steampunk is: contemporary science fiction set in a Victorian/Edwardian world.
Kind of like Jules Verne or H.G. Wells - except that Steampunk is a modern style. Modern authors writing as if they were back in the olden days. Verne and Wells were writing science fiction back in that period itself. So. Movies: think WILD WILD WEST, or THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, or, to a certain extent, the most recent SHERLOCK HOLMES. Books: LEVIATHAN (Scott Westerfeld), THE HUNCHBACK ASSIGNMENTS (Arthur Slade), and SOULLESS (Gail Carriger). Basically ask yourself, "If I was living in Victorian times, and I was capable of creating, say, a machine that could fly to the moon, what tools from that period would I use to get there?" So . . . steam, for one thing, clockwork pieces, winches and wires and pulleys oh my!
Here's an amusing Steampunk image (if anyone knows the name of artist, please let me know):
See - a carriage powered by steam and clockwork pieces, with Victorian gentlemen hunting a tiny rabbit with science fiction like weaponry.There is more to the genre than just the science fiction, though it is the core of it. There's a lot about reflecting current society, discussing class structure . . . and of course . . . there are the pretty pretty costumes.
Because Steampunk has evolved from not just a literary movement but into also an aesthetic movement.
Which brings me to my first thing:
I'm doing a Steampunk con this weekend, the Canadian National Steampunk Exhibition, and to augment my costumes (pictures to be posted post con) I decided I wanted some gorgeous jewelry to go with them.
I got into writing Steampunk just in the last couple years. A very good friend of mine, Katie, who I grew up with, went to arts schools with (she was a dance major, I was a drama major) was in New Zealand for a few years and coincidental also got into Steampunk . . . into making Steampunk jewelry that is.
When she came back we were amazed to discover our parallel attraction to Steampunk. And we agreed to an exchange. I'd give her a copy of TIMOTHY, and she'd make me a necklace (I, uh, loved two of them so much that I just bought the second one :) ).
Here's me wearing them - so you get a sense of their proportions - along with some closeups of them. Aren't they amazing??? (one of them is reversible!)
If you do indeed think they are amazing, here's her etsy page. Here's her email as well: tempusluna AT gmail.com Please check her out.
___________________________________________
On the second Steampunk note, as I already said, I'll be at the Canadian National Steampunk Exhibition this weekend. I'll be attending just as any other fan on Friday night, watching performances and checking out the artists' stalls. But Saturday is when I'm doing panels and such. If you do plan on coming, please come up and say hi. I'm a nice person, and "hi" is just such a lovely word.
Here's my schedule:
CANADIAN NATIONAL STEAMPUNK EXHIBITION
Saturday April 30, 2011
Toronto, Canada
12 Noon: Roundtable Guest Autograph Session, Melville
Step right up! Step right up! Get your memorabilia 10-in-1 experience right here! Yes ladies and gentlemen, you will see the finest talent the CNSE has to offer, in one place, at one time, and ready to sign autographs! Merchandise will also be available for sale.
Participants: Professor Elemental, Maureen Jennings, Adrienne Kress, and more!
3pm: Steampunk Young Adult Fiction with Adrienne Kress
The author of Timothy and the Dragon’s Gate, Alex and the Ironic Gentleman, and a contributor to Corsets and Clockwork, will share her thoughts on writing steampunk for younger readers. Plus, she will preview her upcoming new steampunk series, The Friday Society. Moderated by: Liana K
4pm: How I got into Steampunk, Beaufort West
By accident or by design? Hear how established pros in costuming and literature found their way into the theme of steam.
Panelists: Alexandra Gerlach, Adrienne Kress, J. M. Frey, Kenneth Shelley
6pm: Steampunk Literature, Beaufort West
What's good, what's not; what's required reading and what are some hidden gems you may have missed. Our panel of experts shares its reading lists from the varied perspectives of an academic, a reviewer, and a writer in the genre!
Panelists: Mike Perschon, Nancy Overbury, Adrienne Kress
Monday, April 11, 2011
Ad Astra report (and pics) - 2011 edition
Yes . . . it's that time of year again . . .
Time for our annual Ad Astra report! (echo echo echo)
For those of you who don't know, Ad Astra is a nice intimate SF/Fantasy con here in Toronto, with a very literary bent. This year was their 30th anniversary and the list of Guests of Honour included:
• Ben Bova • Kathryn Cramer • Julie Czerneda • Ellen Datlow • Dave Duncan • Scott Edelman • Eric Flint • Ed Greenwood • David G. Hartwell • Tanya Huff • Don Hutchison • Stephen Jones • Guy Gavriel Kay •Todd McCaffrey • Shawna McCarthy • Tamora Pierce • Howard Tayler • Élisabeth Vonarburg • Peter Watts
But, of course, I was also there, and truly I am such a huge draw that they don't even have to mention me on the front page of the website for people to know I'll be there and that is why they come to the con.
Yes.
That's the reason.
Exactly.
So . . . let us begin!
I arrived very close to 11am which coincided with my first panel, one I'm on every year and which never gets tedious: Young Adult Writing. Of course it helps to share a panel with the amazing Tamora Pierce (who aside from being a brilliant writer is a brilliant panelist - she says the best one-liners ever), and getting to meet the delightful Sarah Zettel and of course hang out with the usual suspects: Lesley Livingston and Rob St. Martin.
I wound up moderating the panel, though I hadn't been meant to, and we discussed what made a successful YA story (in conclusion, the same thing that makes a successful story period) and why did we choose to write YA (in conclusion, because the story we wanted to tell happened to be YA).
Quickly I then moved on to discussing the nominations for the Constellation Awards (Canadian SF/Fantasy awards given out at the Polaris Convention), and then got to have a quick break for lunch, where I hung out with the posse: Lesley, Guy Gavriel Kay, Caitlin Sweet, Steve Perry, Nadine Bell, Russel Winkelaar, and Martin Springett (who later signed two absolutely gorgeous prints of his for me, which I can't wait to frame and put on my wall).
Then Lesley and I flew off to discuss book trailers on a panel and then it was time to jet off to the mass signing, where I had the distinct pleasure of signing an Aero Chocolate Bar wrapper for someone's daughter - the father explained that he was sad he hadn't brought the daughter's copy of ALEX along and that's when Lesley suggested I sign the wrapper. Also he mentioned that ALEX had surpassed Neil Gaiman's CORALINE as her favourite book. Which means I only need around 30 million or so other readers to do the same in order to finally topple the king. So doable.
After that, it was dinner time already. And then Lesley, Caitlin and I did a joint reading which was wonderfully well attended and in general rather hilarious. We were all feeling a wee bit silly (panelists and audience alike). I read a bit from my short story THE CLOCKWORK CORSET in the CORSETS & CLOCKWORK anthology, which I think went really well. It's a lot of fun reading something in the first person and in my most charming British accent (RP, for those of you curious which one).
Then it was off to J.M. Frey's launch of her debut novel TRIPTYCH which was packed to the rafters. She had these awesome cookies shaped like 1950s style UFOs and a great UFO cake. And the amazing Liana K had crafted these fabulous blue alien ears and I was quick to nab a pair for myself. J.M. did a lovely reading and then we got our books signed. It's amazing watching someone launch their first book, the emotions are pretty strong and you know you are in the process of witnessing someone's dream come true. Needless to say, I got a little verklempt.
Back to the bar after, and then, back home.
I returned on Sunday to sit on two panels, Why Professionalism Matters and Getting Your First Novel Published. They were both well attended, especially the latter. I've noticed that the publishing panels are always packed and I think it might bode the conference to consider doing a day of writing/publishing workshops. I think people would just love that.
But I digress.
After that it was lunch with Steve Perry, Caitlin Sweet and Peter Watts. All just such lovely people.
Then home.
Then I went to see JANE EYRE with my friend Heather that evening (quite good, actually).
NOW . . . picture time:
Me and Lesley posing with the ARC for CORSETS & CLOCKWORK (we're both in it)
Guy Gavriel Kay signing a fabulously worn copy of one of his books.
Caitlin Sweet, Me and Lesley at our reading. We move around a lot and make funny expressions while talking, so it was tough to get a shot of us all still. Needless to say this is the best and most flattering of the lot . . . yes, THIS is the most flattering shot of the three of us.
Le sigh.
Kenneth Shelley and Ashley Regimbal-Kung all Steampunk-ed.
One of the stone angels from Dr. Who.
At the TRIPTYCH book launch:
Ed Greenwood in the alien ears.
Me posing "angelically" in the ears.
Lesley posing "devilishly" in the ears.
Me and J.M. Frey with her book.
Time for our annual Ad Astra report! (echo echo echo)
For those of you who don't know, Ad Astra is a nice intimate SF/Fantasy con here in Toronto, with a very literary bent. This year was their 30th anniversary and the list of Guests of Honour included:
• Ben Bova • Kathryn Cramer • Julie Czerneda • Ellen Datlow • Dave Duncan • Scott Edelman • Eric Flint • Ed Greenwood • David G. Hartwell • Tanya Huff • Don Hutchison • Stephen Jones • Guy Gavriel Kay •Todd McCaffrey • Shawna McCarthy • Tamora Pierce • Howard Tayler • Élisabeth Vonarburg • Peter Watts
But, of course, I was also there, and truly I am such a huge draw that they don't even have to mention me on the front page of the website for people to know I'll be there and that is why they come to the con.
Yes.
That's the reason.
Exactly.
So . . . let us begin!
I arrived very close to 11am which coincided with my first panel, one I'm on every year and which never gets tedious: Young Adult Writing. Of course it helps to share a panel with the amazing Tamora Pierce (who aside from being a brilliant writer is a brilliant panelist - she says the best one-liners ever), and getting to meet the delightful Sarah Zettel and of course hang out with the usual suspects: Lesley Livingston and Rob St. Martin.
I wound up moderating the panel, though I hadn't been meant to, and we discussed what made a successful YA story (in conclusion, the same thing that makes a successful story period) and why did we choose to write YA (in conclusion, because the story we wanted to tell happened to be YA).
Quickly I then moved on to discussing the nominations for the Constellation Awards (Canadian SF/Fantasy awards given out at the Polaris Convention), and then got to have a quick break for lunch, where I hung out with the posse: Lesley, Guy Gavriel Kay, Caitlin Sweet, Steve Perry, Nadine Bell, Russel Winkelaar, and Martin Springett (who later signed two absolutely gorgeous prints of his for me, which I can't wait to frame and put on my wall).
Then Lesley and I flew off to discuss book trailers on a panel and then it was time to jet off to the mass signing, where I had the distinct pleasure of signing an Aero Chocolate Bar wrapper for someone's daughter - the father explained that he was sad he hadn't brought the daughter's copy of ALEX along and that's when Lesley suggested I sign the wrapper. Also he mentioned that ALEX had surpassed Neil Gaiman's CORALINE as her favourite book. Which means I only need around 30 million or so other readers to do the same in order to finally topple the king. So doable.
After that, it was dinner time already. And then Lesley, Caitlin and I did a joint reading which was wonderfully well attended and in general rather hilarious. We were all feeling a wee bit silly (panelists and audience alike). I read a bit from my short story THE CLOCKWORK CORSET in the CORSETS & CLOCKWORK anthology, which I think went really well. It's a lot of fun reading something in the first person and in my most charming British accent (RP, for those of you curious which one).
Then it was off to J.M. Frey's launch of her debut novel TRIPTYCH which was packed to the rafters. She had these awesome cookies shaped like 1950s style UFOs and a great UFO cake. And the amazing Liana K had crafted these fabulous blue alien ears and I was quick to nab a pair for myself. J.M. did a lovely reading and then we got our books signed. It's amazing watching someone launch their first book, the emotions are pretty strong and you know you are in the process of witnessing someone's dream come true. Needless to say, I got a little verklempt.
Back to the bar after, and then, back home.
I returned on Sunday to sit on two panels, Why Professionalism Matters and Getting Your First Novel Published. They were both well attended, especially the latter. I've noticed that the publishing panels are always packed and I think it might bode the conference to consider doing a day of writing/publishing workshops. I think people would just love that.
But I digress.
After that it was lunch with Steve Perry, Caitlin Sweet and Peter Watts. All just such lovely people.
Then home.
Then I went to see JANE EYRE with my friend Heather that evening (quite good, actually).
NOW . . . picture time:
Me and Lesley posing with the ARC for CORSETS & CLOCKWORK (we're both in it)
Guy Gavriel Kay signing a fabulously worn copy of one of his books.
Caitlin Sweet, Me and Lesley at our reading. We move around a lot and make funny expressions while talking, so it was tough to get a shot of us all still. Needless to say this is the best and most flattering of the lot . . . yes, THIS is the most flattering shot of the three of us. Le sigh.
Kenneth Shelley and Ashley Regimbal-Kung all Steampunk-ed.
One of the stone angels from Dr. Who.At the TRIPTYCH book launch:
Ed Greenwood in the alien ears.
Me posing "angelically" in the ears.
Lesley posing "devilishly" in the ears.
Me and J.M. Frey with her book.Tuesday, April 05, 2011
Finishing A Book . . .
. . . writing one that is.
Sunday night I put the finishing touches on the first version of THE FRIDAY SOCIETY and sent it off to my editor at Dial.
Yay!
And it occurred to me, we all have our different responses to that moment. That metaphorical typing of "The End" at the finish of a manuscript.
Some writers feel a sense of loss, a kind of postpartum depression, which I can relate to as that's how I feel after a show I'm in comes down. Some feel the need the jump into the next thing, whether it's an anxious feeling of "what now??" or an elated feeling of "ooh, and now . . .!".
Well, for me . . . I feel . . . awesome.
I often compare my writing process to another activity I undertake frequently: exercise. I know I need to do it. But in the moment before, I want to do anything but. I finally convince myself to do it, and as I'm doing it I usually feel a lot of pain. Once in a while though, I feel great, really strong, really sure of what I'm doing. Most of the time . . .pain, hard work, struggle, a sense of "I'm never going to make it." Then, when it's over, I feel so proud of what I've done. I feel physically fantastic and mentally I feel a great sense that what I did was exactly the best thing I could have done for me. Also I feel exhausted.
So when I finish writing a book, the first thing I feel is a massive weight off my shoulders. I feel light, I feel elated. Okay, let's be honest, I feel a little giddy. I also tend to sleep really well that night. I relish the time I now have to do other things in my life. I finally picked up a book for the first time in ages (my relationship with fiction changes drastically in the final moments of writing a book and I can't read a word of it . . .for many complicated and ridiculous reasons). Sometimes I panic - "Adrienne! You can't just sit here! You have a novel to write!" And then with a fabulous relaxation I remember, "Actually, no, no I don't."
My life is filled with projects, so the lack of writing a novel doesn't leave an empty spot for me. Instead I feel incredibly proud of myself. And stunned too.
Many of you who follow this blog know the story of how I became a writer, and how it wasn't exactly the expected path for my life. So the fact that I have now completed 5 novels, blows my mind. So yes. I feel proud.
And of course a little scared, as I am nervous what my editor is going to say (just because I finished writing a book, doesn't mean the book is any good - and when you're so closely tied to something, it gets really hard to be objective about it after a while), and I anticipate the hard work when the edits come back . . .
But right now, I just feel awesome.
Now that I've shared :) I was hoping others of you would too. We are all individuals and how we write and how we feel differs widely. So, how do you feel when you complete a writing task (doesn't have to be finishing a book)? I'd like to know.
Monday, March 28, 2011
District 7 - Reaping for THE GIRL WHO WAS ON FIRE
Yes, I warned you guys that I might or might not but most definitely might be participating in something amazingly awesome for the release of the amazingly awesome essay anthology I'm a part of that analyses the amazingly awesome series, the Hunger Games, called . . . THE GIRL WHO WAS ON FIRE (echo echo echo).
Basically I get to be part of a contest, aka Reaping, where I get to give away to two people a copy each of the book!
Or as Smart Pop Books puts it:
"April 5 is the official release of The Girl Who Was on Fire, and we’re celebrating by holding our own version of the Hunger Games’ reaping—one with much less threat of death and way less perilous prizes.
For the 13 days (excluding weekends) leading up to the release, we’ve arranged to give away 2 copies of The Girl Who Was on Fire at 13 different “districts” around the web."
If you are curious what those other districts are and want to up your chances of winning, check out the contest page here.
(if you want to read an excerpt from my essay you can do so here)
So evidently I am representing District 7, which really, I feel is so totally perfect a district for a book giveaway contest considering it is the district responsible for lumber and PAPER products.
And it's all pretty simple. Leave a comment and contact email below and at the end of the day I'll be "reaping" two winners of the book! And just to make it a bit more fun, how about this, why don't you also share your favourite character from the series aside from the obvious trio: Katniss, Peeta and Gale.
I'll go first: my favourite would have to be . . . Cinna.
Your turn!
*UPDATE*
The contest is now closed :( . But do check out the linked page above to see where the next district is! Thank you all for entering, and I hope for those of you who don't win you'll still get yourself a copy of the book (I've been reading the essays myself, and they are so compelling, a must read for any HUNGER GAMES fan). All hail the HUNGER GAMES!
Friday, March 25, 2011
Literally
Let's just get this straight once and for all.
Literally means literally.
It doesn't mean figuratively.
So when you say you did something embarrassing and that you were "literally dying inside", unless you actually have a fatal disease or a knife plunged into your gut, no, you aren't literally dying. You felt like you were dying. You were figuratively dying inside.
Here's the thing. "Literally" is used correctly when you are demonstrating that the usual metaphor used to describe the situation is not a metaphor at all, but real. So, let's say your friend had a heart transplant and they put in a heart made of marble for some reason. THEN you could say, "He literally has a heart of stone." Otherwise you are using the metaphor as a means of demonstrating a truth about someone, so if you met a guy who was super mean and cold and didn't care about anyone or anything, that's when you'd say "He has a heart of stone." Because it isn't literal. He doesn't actually have a heart made of stone. He's just a jerk.
If you feel a need to put extra emphasis on how stone like that heart is, don't add "literally". You could add "figuratively" but that's a bit obvious, I mean, we tend to know that it's a figurative description.
Basically it's like this. If you want to emphasize your metaphor, chances are . . . you don't mean "literally". You just don't.
Ehem.
I'm done now.
Literally means literally.
It doesn't mean figuratively.
So when you say you did something embarrassing and that you were "literally dying inside", unless you actually have a fatal disease or a knife plunged into your gut, no, you aren't literally dying. You felt like you were dying. You were figuratively dying inside.
Here's the thing. "Literally" is used correctly when you are demonstrating that the usual metaphor used to describe the situation is not a metaphor at all, but real. So, let's say your friend had a heart transplant and they put in a heart made of marble for some reason. THEN you could say, "He literally has a heart of stone." Otherwise you are using the metaphor as a means of demonstrating a truth about someone, so if you met a guy who was super mean and cold and didn't care about anyone or anything, that's when you'd say "He has a heart of stone." Because it isn't literal. He doesn't actually have a heart made of stone. He's just a jerk.
If you feel a need to put extra emphasis on how stone like that heart is, don't add "literally". You could add "figuratively" but that's a bit obvious, I mean, we tend to know that it's a figurative description.
Basically it's like this. If you want to emphasize your metaphor, chances are . . . you don't mean "literally". You just don't.
Ehem.
I'm done now.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Emotions and Ebooks
So the web has been in a tizzy the last few days ever since Barry Eisler turned down a $500,000 book deal on two books in favour of self-publishing (ebook self-publishing). So now lots of people are talking about the brave new world etc ahead all of a sudden. Again.
And I thought to myself, didn't I blog about this already? 'Cause I feel like I did, and yet . . . I feel like I didn't.
Turns out I was half right. I blogged about The Race for the Future and my hope that we could all just get along, stop being so adversarial in having either one form of media topple the other. And that we could appreciate the unique qualities of both.
And I touched upon the fact that the debate is between two very different sides, the pragmatic (ebooks) vs the emotional (paper books).
However I wanted to expand on the emotional thing, not just focus on the emotional connection to paper books, but on the emotions running underneath this whole ebook discussion currently going on. And thought that I'd already done that too. Again . . . half right. I'd done it. But in a writing forum. So I decided to repost what I said there, here. Because I think emotions are often ignored, and people who are all gung-ho about ebooks tend to look at us who, yes think they have a lot of merits to them but are nonetheless a little sad about their existence, as totally bonkers. Why on earth wouldn't we be as excited as they are about this brave new world?
So here's that post. Hope you like it:
You know what I think [the tension] is, it isn't people dismissing the Kindle ebook revolution or whatever you want to call it (I for one am keeping a very close watch on it, and I adore my new Kobo ereader - it's so pretty
), it's more personal than that.
Honestly, with the rare exception of some real techno-files, the true reason for the joy amongst certain authors about the boom in ebooks has to do with "how can I use this to get my books out there". It's not about the technology or how reading is changing, it's "what can I get out of this". And there is ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with that. There are SO MANY advantages to self epublishing. Getting the writing into the hands of more readers. Control over the product, higher percentage of sales etc.
But just as people greet the ebooks with that kind of excitement over what they will get out of it, so too do people on the other side of the aisle greet the news with "what am I going to lose".
So for someone like me, who has seriously contemplated self publishing herself, I think about what I lose:
1. I lose the ability to just be an author. Now I know people really do feel that publishers these days do nothing for an author, but that isn't true. They edit, they format, they hire a designer and cover artist. Some publishers even pay for fancy websites for their authors. They make swag, they offer special deals etc. They send you on tour.
Yes authors these days are doing more than ever and to just sit back and do nothing is ridiculous. But some people are more publicity savvy than others, and the thought that I'd have to do EVERYTHING (and that includes all the putting the book together stuff) on my own terrifies me. Also one of the things holding me back from putting an ebook out there is that I'm currently trying to finish writing a novel, and I just don't have the time to do both. Now I know some people are seriously awesome at writing fast and multi-tasking, but I'm not.
That's another thing. It seems to me the authors who do best with epublishing are authors who can produce books quickly. Like Amanda Hocking . The idea that the world of literature is going to turn into "be fast or be left behind" frightens me because I don't know if I can keep up, and I don't know if I want to keep up.
Instant gratification isn't always a good thing.
2. I don't get to hold a copy of my book in my hands. I love books. I love how they look, I love how they feel. I love everything about the aesthetic of a book.
For that matter, I love bookstores, and I'm SO worried what would happen in an ebook only universe.
3. I don't get paid up front.
4. A more general thought: a possible devaluing of books. Like what they say in THE INCREDIBLES: "When everyone is special, no one will be." When everyone who wants to be an author can be, then it devalues the work of authors who actually ought to be. I know people say that the strong stuff will float to the top, and I hope people are right in that (and that it won't just be people with marketing savvy who float to the top), but I still fear being put on par with someone who can't even string a sentence together and decided for a lark to put their work up on Kindle.
5. I don't get to role play author. I know that's probably the most superficial of all the losing out things, but having gone to BEA three times now, been sent on tour, going for lunch with my editor and agent, meeting my publisher at their offices. All that stuff is just plain fun. I like it.
I know all these points are debatable, and I know some of these points are just personal preferences. I am NOT posting them to debate them. I am pointing them out to maybe give some a perspective on the other side. On why people can feel sad about the ebook revolution while still being interested in it. That it can also just be an emotional thing, not entirely pragmatic.
And also, you know what, it hurts to see so many authors be so full of joy at the demise of publishers. Because for those of us with publishers, their demise means we're . . . well . . . in trouble. So these authors are basically happy that we're in trouble. I know they don't think of it like that, but that's how some of us feel. Like they'd be happy to see all us authors published the "traditional" way fail.
And that just hurts.
I know people would prefer to think emotions aren't a part of this debate, but I believe they are so key to it. It's a matter of either an excitement over what we'll get out of it, or a sadness over what we'll lose. Though I do think most people, like myself, are somewhere in the middle.
And I thought to myself, didn't I blog about this already? 'Cause I feel like I did, and yet . . . I feel like I didn't.
Turns out I was half right. I blogged about The Race for the Future and my hope that we could all just get along, stop being so adversarial in having either one form of media topple the other. And that we could appreciate the unique qualities of both.
And I touched upon the fact that the debate is between two very different sides, the pragmatic (ebooks) vs the emotional (paper books).
However I wanted to expand on the emotional thing, not just focus on the emotional connection to paper books, but on the emotions running underneath this whole ebook discussion currently going on. And thought that I'd already done that too. Again . . . half right. I'd done it. But in a writing forum. So I decided to repost what I said there, here. Because I think emotions are often ignored, and people who are all gung-ho about ebooks tend to look at us who, yes think they have a lot of merits to them but are nonetheless a little sad about their existence, as totally bonkers. Why on earth wouldn't we be as excited as they are about this brave new world?
So here's that post. Hope you like it:
You know what I think [the tension] is, it isn't people dismissing the Kindle ebook revolution or whatever you want to call it (I for one am keeping a very close watch on it, and I adore my new Kobo ereader - it's so pretty
), it's more personal than that.Honestly, with the rare exception of some real techno-files, the true reason for the joy amongst certain authors about the boom in ebooks has to do with "how can I use this to get my books out there". It's not about the technology or how reading is changing, it's "what can I get out of this". And there is ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with that. There are SO MANY advantages to self epublishing. Getting the writing into the hands of more readers. Control over the product, higher percentage of sales etc.
But just as people greet the ebooks with that kind of excitement over what they will get out of it, so too do people on the other side of the aisle greet the news with "what am I going to lose".
So for someone like me, who has seriously contemplated self publishing herself, I think about what I lose:
1. I lose the ability to just be an author. Now I know people really do feel that publishers these days do nothing for an author, but that isn't true. They edit, they format, they hire a designer and cover artist. Some publishers even pay for fancy websites for their authors. They make swag, they offer special deals etc. They send you on tour.
Yes authors these days are doing more than ever and to just sit back and do nothing is ridiculous. But some people are more publicity savvy than others, and the thought that I'd have to do EVERYTHING (and that includes all the putting the book together stuff) on my own terrifies me. Also one of the things holding me back from putting an ebook out there is that I'm currently trying to finish writing a novel, and I just don't have the time to do both. Now I know some people are seriously awesome at writing fast and multi-tasking, but I'm not.
That's another thing. It seems to me the authors who do best with epublishing are authors who can produce books quickly. Like Amanda Hocking . The idea that the world of literature is going to turn into "be fast or be left behind" frightens me because I don't know if I can keep up, and I don't know if I want to keep up.
Instant gratification isn't always a good thing.
2. I don't get to hold a copy of my book in my hands. I love books. I love how they look, I love how they feel. I love everything about the aesthetic of a book.
For that matter, I love bookstores, and I'm SO worried what would happen in an ebook only universe.
3. I don't get paid up front.
4. A more general thought: a possible devaluing of books. Like what they say in THE INCREDIBLES: "When everyone is special, no one will be." When everyone who wants to be an author can be, then it devalues the work of authors who actually ought to be. I know people say that the strong stuff will float to the top, and I hope people are right in that (and that it won't just be people with marketing savvy who float to the top), but I still fear being put on par with someone who can't even string a sentence together and decided for a lark to put their work up on Kindle.
5. I don't get to role play author. I know that's probably the most superficial of all the losing out things, but having gone to BEA three times now, been sent on tour, going for lunch with my editor and agent, meeting my publisher at their offices. All that stuff is just plain fun. I like it.
I know all these points are debatable, and I know some of these points are just personal preferences. I am NOT posting them to debate them. I am pointing them out to maybe give some a perspective on the other side. On why people can feel sad about the ebook revolution while still being interested in it. That it can also just be an emotional thing, not entirely pragmatic.
And also, you know what, it hurts to see so many authors be so full of joy at the demise of publishers. Because for those of us with publishers, their demise means we're . . . well . . . in trouble. So these authors are basically happy that we're in trouble. I know they don't think of it like that, but that's how some of us feel. Like they'd be happy to see all us authors published the "traditional" way fail.
And that just hurts.
I know people would prefer to think emotions aren't a part of this debate, but I believe they are so key to it. It's a matter of either an excitement over what we'll get out of it, or a sadness over what we'll lose. Though I do think most people, like myself, are somewhere in the middle.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Some fun news!
So I have a couple nice things to share!
First: I got my author copies for THE GIRL WHO WAS ON FIRE this week and they're awesome!
For those of you who don't know, it's an essay anthology analysing the awesome that is the HUNGER GAMES, and I was super stoked to be asked to contribute seeing as I'm a pretty big fan of the series (on a side note, how exciting is it that they cast Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss?! Good choice and bodes well for the quality of the film I think).
Here's a description of the book:
"In The Girl Who Was on Fire, thirteen YA authors take you back to Panem with moving, dark, and funny pieces on Katniss, the Games, Gale and Peeta, reality TV, survival, and more.
And over at The Reading Zone you can check out a great review and a nice little mention that the reviewer "used [my essay] as an example in [her] classes!" Seriously, I don't know what could be more flattering than someone using my work as a teaching tool in class. Coming from a long line of teachers, I know what a big deal that is. So thanks so much to the reviewer!
First: I got my author copies for THE GIRL WHO WAS ON FIRE this week and they're awesome!
For those of you who don't know, it's an essay anthology analysing the awesome that is the HUNGER GAMES, and I was super stoked to be asked to contribute seeing as I'm a pretty big fan of the series (on a side note, how exciting is it that they cast Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss?! Good choice and bodes well for the quality of the film I think).
Here's a description of the book:
"In The Girl Who Was on Fire, thirteen YA authors take you back to Panem with moving, dark, and funny pieces on Katniss, the Games, Gale and Peeta, reality TV, survival, and more.
- How does the way the Games affect the brain explain Haymitch’s drinking, Annie’s distraction, and Wiress’ speech problems?
- What does the rebellion have in common with the War on Terror?
- Why isn’t the answer to “Peeta or Gale?” as interesting as the question itself?
- What should Panem have learned from the fates of other hedonistic societies throughout history—and what can we? <----- that's my essay :)
The Girl Who Was On Fire covers all three books in the Hunger Games trilogy."
(other contributing authors are: Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Mary Borsellino, Sarah Rees Brennan, Terri Clark, Bree Despain, Cara Lockwood, Mitali Perkins, Diana Peterfreund, Elizabeth M. Rees, Carrie Ryan, Linda Joy Singleton, Ned Vizzini, Lili Wilkinson)
My essay is "The Inevitable Decline of Decadence" and you can read an excerpt from it over at the Smart Pop site.
There's also a contest going called (appropriately enough) The Reaping, where each day two books are given away and I may or may not be participating in said contest. Stay tuned!
So here is the book:
Here is the back cover:
Here is the intro to my essay:
And over at The Reading Zone you can check out a great review and a nice little mention that the reviewer "used [my essay] as an example in [her] classes!" Seriously, I don't know what could be more flattering than someone using my work as a teaching tool in class. Coming from a long line of teachers, I know what a big deal that is. So thanks so much to the reviewer!
_____________________________________________
Second: And on another note, review copies of CORSETS & CLOCKWORK (the other anthology I'm in, this time YA Steampunk Romance) have been sent out and people have been saying some awfully nice things around the web. Here in particular is a sweet mini-review of my story, "The Clockwork Corset" that I just had to share with my thanks to the reviewer over at Reading Between The Wines Book Club (warning the site is a bit PG 13):
"The Clockwork Corset by Adrienne Kress
A beautiful tale about a girl who grew up on a house filled with clocks, the boy she grew up with and the promises that they made to each other. I really enjoyed Imogen (though not her name =P) and Rafe, the clockwork inventions he made and Imogen’s loyalty to him. It was a full story packed into a small space, 40 pages.
Rating – 4 (Loved it)"
So yeah! There you go for now :) . Will as always keep you posted and keep checking back in the next week for more Reaping news . . .
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
The Image of Canadian Authors
So today the Globe and Mail posted a series of answers made by Canadian authors to the question: Is This Country Supportive of its Authors? You should check out the answers, especially if you're Canadian because it does fill you with a sense of pride. Also two of my most awesome friends (Lesley Livingston and Tish Cohen) were asked to contribute their thoughts, so that's just cool too - you know, the fact that I know cool people :) .
But then a few people posted in the comments section talking about how much they didn't like Canadian writing. One person said that he/she was waiting for the day "when the writers in Canada finally produced something worth reading" and another commented that "the reason many Canadians don't want to read Canadian authors is because people feel down and depressed after doing so . . ." and that "living in the cold is no excuse for depressing writing. It's as if a Cdn. writer who isn't perpetually depressed and grumpy doesn't qualify for grants. "Another said "why would anyone slog through the extreme dullness of most Canadian fiction?"
So I decided to respond to these posters. You can read my responses over at the newspaper's site but basically I just said something along the lines of "uh, I know a lot of Canadian authors, and many of them write happy upbeat stuff. Also there's more Canadian fiction out there than just this supposedly depressing lit fic, and how can you judge all us authors based on reading only a very select few?"
I then added a list of awesome Canadian authors I knew, who write in many different genres and styles. This is that list (and I apologise for it not being entirely comprehensive, it was a spur of the moment response):
Guy Gavriel Kay
Robert J Sawyer
Danielle Younge-Ullman
Arthur Slade
RJ Anderson
Caitlin Sweet
Rob Weston
Kelley Armstrong
Vincent Lam
Peter Watts
Julie Czerneda
Robert Munsch
Gordon Korman
Erin Bow
Robert Wiersema
(I should add that this list came after I asked whether a particular poster had actually read any of the authors interviewed for the article and was used to augment that list of authors - that's why you'll see a lack of say Lesley and Tish's names in the list, as well as big wigs like Margaret Atwood etc)
But I realised in answering these absurd generalisations about Canadian authors that there was another point to be made. And so I made it. In a follow up post:
"Having now responded twice to people posting in the comments section about the state of Canadian lit and what kinds of books Canadians write, I felt a need to post an actual post on what these posters represent.
You see, the idea that there is only one genre in Canadian writing (depressing lit fic) is very frustrating to me as I am very familiar with many Canadian authors who write many different genres (myself included), but I think it might be very well worth having a conversation as to WHY that's the image Canadian writing has with its own people. Why when there are Canadian authors who write every genre and style imaginable, does Canadian writing get pigeonholed as only one thing? And maybe this conversation can help answer the question of this article as to the supportive nature of Canada of its writers. Possibly this reputation suggests that Canada tends to be more supportive of a certain kind of writer, and less so of others, if people only consider Canadian authors to write one kind of thing.
I would never say that Canada doesn't support authors, and I myself have benefited from its generous support, but that isn't to say that there can't be room for improvement and, further, that maybe we should take a serious look at the nature of that support when the reputation of our writers does not accurately reflect the diversity of our writers.
For example, in a list created by one of Canada's largest national papers there was a remarkable lack of genre and children's writers. There was also a remarkable lack of ethnic diversity. Certainly not done on purpose, but interesting to note it having been done nonetheless."
And now . . . through the marvel of blogging . . . I expand on that thought . . .
The question I think isn't if Canada is supportive of writers - Canada is one of the most supportive countries of authors. In fact, we are a country where one only tends to get famous once one leaves it (ie: like with actors, musicians etc), unless one is an author. Authors are lauded in this country and can become bonafide superstars here. And I think that's wonderful.
But in a casual article for the Globe and Mail we see how the support tends to be distributed, even if it is totally by accident: a lack of children's, genre, and minority authors.
And this is reflected on a larger scale as well.
We see the work of our children's authors ignored in favour of this Canadian lit fic. A perfect example can be found this past year when the TD Canadian Children's Literature Awards - which hands out several monetary awards with the top being $25 000 - was almost completely ignored by the mainstream media in favour of the Scotiabank Giller Awards which honours literary fiction (with a larger award, $50 000 - but when you factor in the other prizes given out at the TD event, the amount spent on both genres is about equal). When it comes to the Giller awards, every year the nominees are interviewed separately in televised specials, then sometimes even in a group special, AND THEN the evening was televised itself. Oh. And both events? Happened on the same night. I can honestly tell you I have no idea why one gets all the attention and the other none. If the money wasn't the same, maybe . . . but . . . it's not even that.
Okay. I can tell you. It's because Adult Lit Fic is seen as more worthy of attention than Children' Fic.
We see genre authors time and time again seek agents outside this country because selling genre to Canadian publishers is very difficult. We see how genre fiction (SF/Fantasy) has had to create its own series of awards here in Canada because otherwise such authors with international acclaim don't get recognised.
We see minority authors constantly struggling not only to be heard, but also to be considered worth being read as simply an author first, visible minority second (and yes, while I notice the lack in the article in the paper, I do also notice a lack in my own list, something which I will work hard to remedy). And the same of course goes for sexual diversity.
Now. I'm not saying there isn't support here in Canada for all these kinds of authors, as Lesley herself said in the comments section to that article, the Forest of Reading Awards is a marvelous way to bring authors to children, and Canadian Children's Book Centre sent me on a book tour to the other side of this country, so clearly there is support for children's fiction for example.
But perception matters. Visibility matters. On a much bigger scale, seeing what is happening in countries half way around the world compels us to action far more than just hearing about it. We need to SEE children's lit and genre and minority authors. We need to see them respected and not considered a sub-section of writing, but a worthy (and not needing a qualifier) form of writing. No "this is good . . . for a [insert kid's, fantasy etc ] book".
No.
We need "this is a good book". Full stop.
As a slight tangent to my point - we also need to stop defining Canadian literature as books set in Canada. Because even if Canadian authors set their work someplace else, they still bring their history of growing up Canadian, their unique perspective, to their writing. I consider myself a Canadian writer though and through and have only one identifiable Canadian character in my novels (so far). This doesn't mean I don't write with my Canadian upbringing informing every part of my work. Especially that whole Canadian sense of humour thing.
My point is . . . Canadian writing is seriously fantastic. And the diversity in the writing is seriously fantastic. And we need to change our reputation, not with the rest of the world, which is actually a pretty wonderful reputation. But with Canadians.
While we're at it . . . can we also change the reputation that a literary piece of fiction that might not be all happy go lucky can't still be highly entertaining and wonderful thing to read? Because I like a good literary work as much as the next person, and there is some beautiful stuff out there that shouldn't just be shoved to the side as "typical depressing Canadian lit fic".
Also . . . what's wrong with depressing Canadian lit fic? Sometimes that's exactly what you're in the mood to read.
Is all I'm saying.
But then a few people posted in the comments section talking about how much they didn't like Canadian writing. One person said that he/she was waiting for the day "when the writers in Canada finally produced something worth reading" and another commented that "the reason many Canadians don't want to read Canadian authors is because people feel down and depressed after doing so . . ." and that "living in the cold is no excuse for depressing writing. It's as if a Cdn. writer who isn't perpetually depressed and grumpy doesn't qualify for grants. "Another said "why would anyone slog through the extreme dullness of most Canadian fiction?"
So I decided to respond to these posters. You can read my responses over at the newspaper's site but basically I just said something along the lines of "uh, I know a lot of Canadian authors, and many of them write happy upbeat stuff. Also there's more Canadian fiction out there than just this supposedly depressing lit fic, and how can you judge all us authors based on reading only a very select few?"
I then added a list of awesome Canadian authors I knew, who write in many different genres and styles. This is that list (and I apologise for it not being entirely comprehensive, it was a spur of the moment response):
Guy Gavriel Kay
Robert J Sawyer
Danielle Younge-Ullman
Arthur Slade
RJ Anderson
Caitlin Sweet
Rob Weston
Kelley Armstrong
Vincent Lam
Peter Watts
Julie Czerneda
Robert Munsch
Gordon Korman
Erin Bow
Robert Wiersema
(I should add that this list came after I asked whether a particular poster had actually read any of the authors interviewed for the article and was used to augment that list of authors - that's why you'll see a lack of say Lesley and Tish's names in the list, as well as big wigs like Margaret Atwood etc)
But I realised in answering these absurd generalisations about Canadian authors that there was another point to be made. And so I made it. In a follow up post:
"Having now responded twice to people posting in the comments section about the state of Canadian lit and what kinds of books Canadians write, I felt a need to post an actual post on what these posters represent.
You see, the idea that there is only one genre in Canadian writing (depressing lit fic) is very frustrating to me as I am very familiar with many Canadian authors who write many different genres (myself included), but I think it might be very well worth having a conversation as to WHY that's the image Canadian writing has with its own people. Why when there are Canadian authors who write every genre and style imaginable, does Canadian writing get pigeonholed as only one thing? And maybe this conversation can help answer the question of this article as to the supportive nature of Canada of its writers. Possibly this reputation suggests that Canada tends to be more supportive of a certain kind of writer, and less so of others, if people only consider Canadian authors to write one kind of thing.
I would never say that Canada doesn't support authors, and I myself have benefited from its generous support, but that isn't to say that there can't be room for improvement and, further, that maybe we should take a serious look at the nature of that support when the reputation of our writers does not accurately reflect the diversity of our writers.
For example, in a list created by one of Canada's largest national papers there was a remarkable lack of genre and children's writers. There was also a remarkable lack of ethnic diversity. Certainly not done on purpose, but interesting to note it having been done nonetheless."
And now . . . through the marvel of blogging . . . I expand on that thought . . .
The question I think isn't if Canada is supportive of writers - Canada is one of the most supportive countries of authors. In fact, we are a country where one only tends to get famous once one leaves it (ie: like with actors, musicians etc), unless one is an author. Authors are lauded in this country and can become bonafide superstars here. And I think that's wonderful.
But in a casual article for the Globe and Mail we see how the support tends to be distributed, even if it is totally by accident: a lack of children's, genre, and minority authors.
And this is reflected on a larger scale as well.
We see the work of our children's authors ignored in favour of this Canadian lit fic. A perfect example can be found this past year when the TD Canadian Children's Literature Awards - which hands out several monetary awards with the top being $25 000 - was almost completely ignored by the mainstream media in favour of the Scotiabank Giller Awards which honours literary fiction (with a larger award, $50 000 - but when you factor in the other prizes given out at the TD event, the amount spent on both genres is about equal). When it comes to the Giller awards, every year the nominees are interviewed separately in televised specials, then sometimes even in a group special, AND THEN the evening was televised itself. Oh. And both events? Happened on the same night. I can honestly tell you I have no idea why one gets all the attention and the other none. If the money wasn't the same, maybe . . . but . . . it's not even that.
Okay. I can tell you. It's because Adult Lit Fic is seen as more worthy of attention than Children' Fic.
We see genre authors time and time again seek agents outside this country because selling genre to Canadian publishers is very difficult. We see how genre fiction (SF/Fantasy) has had to create its own series of awards here in Canada because otherwise such authors with international acclaim don't get recognised.
We see minority authors constantly struggling not only to be heard, but also to be considered worth being read as simply an author first, visible minority second (and yes, while I notice the lack in the article in the paper, I do also notice a lack in my own list, something which I will work hard to remedy). And the same of course goes for sexual diversity.
Now. I'm not saying there isn't support here in Canada for all these kinds of authors, as Lesley herself said in the comments section to that article, the Forest of Reading Awards is a marvelous way to bring authors to children, and Canadian Children's Book Centre sent me on a book tour to the other side of this country, so clearly there is support for children's fiction for example.
But perception matters. Visibility matters. On a much bigger scale, seeing what is happening in countries half way around the world compels us to action far more than just hearing about it. We need to SEE children's lit and genre and minority authors. We need to see them respected and not considered a sub-section of writing, but a worthy (and not needing a qualifier) form of writing. No "this is good . . . for a [insert kid's, fantasy etc ] book".
No.
We need "this is a good book". Full stop.
As a slight tangent to my point - we also need to stop defining Canadian literature as books set in Canada. Because even if Canadian authors set their work someplace else, they still bring their history of growing up Canadian, their unique perspective, to their writing. I consider myself a Canadian writer though and through and have only one identifiable Canadian character in my novels (so far). This doesn't mean I don't write with my Canadian upbringing informing every part of my work. Especially that whole Canadian sense of humour thing.
My point is . . . Canadian writing is seriously fantastic. And the diversity in the writing is seriously fantastic. And we need to change our reputation, not with the rest of the world, which is actually a pretty wonderful reputation. But with Canadians.
While we're at it . . . can we also change the reputation that a literary piece of fiction that might not be all happy go lucky can't still be highly entertaining and wonderful thing to read? Because I like a good literary work as much as the next person, and there is some beautiful stuff out there that shouldn't just be shoved to the side as "typical depressing Canadian lit fic".
Also . . . what's wrong with depressing Canadian lit fic? Sometimes that's exactly what you're in the mood to read.
Is all I'm saying.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Corsets & Clockwork Anthology ARC!
Now this is just the most perfect Valentine's Day gift ever. Today I opened my mailbox and found the ARC for Corsets & Clockwork, the YA Steampunk Romance anthology I contributed a story for!
It looks great, and is quite substantial. Added bonus, my good friend Lesley Livingston has her name on the cover!
So here's the ARC:
And here's the beginning of my story "The Clockwork Corset":
And of course because I know you're all as excited about this as I am, the link to buy it at Amazon :) .
It looks great, and is quite substantial. Added bonus, my good friend Lesley Livingston has her name on the cover!
So here's the ARC:
And here's the beginning of my story "The Clockwork Corset":
And of course because I know you're all as excited about this as I am, the link to buy it at Amazon :) .
Monday, February 07, 2011
The Genre Pigeon Hole
From @Charlesatan: Fear of getting typcasted/ghettoed in one genre.
So this is a question that I see often on writing forum boards, and asked at conferences etc. What do you do when you write many different genres?
It's a complicated question, and now that an author these days must become a brand in and of herself, has become even more so.
I suppose there once was a time an author could sit in her garret, write marvelous prose, send it to her publisher and there's an end. But that time has long passed for most of us (there are of course exceptions to every rule). We live in an age where authors have to be accessible, especially writing in the children's/teen market, where social networking is expected and an online presence is essential. And with it goes a persona. An easily identifiable, "Oh you know Jane Smith, she writes books about exotic birds."
In some cases, it's rather easy to create a brand. There are certain authors out there who have an interest in a particular genre, so much so that they are happy to continuously mine that genre for new and exciting material.
But considering the "question" at the beginning of this blog had the word "fear" in it, I suppose the author to address in this blog post is the one who enjoys writing in many different genres, in many different styles.
I consider myself one such author actually. Possibly it comes from the fact that I get easily distracted by shiny objects, and so constantly need to switch things up. Possibly it comes from being a fan of neat ideas, and neat ideas aren't the property of just one genre. Possibly too it comes from a game I used to play when I was younger, which was to emulate in a piece of writing an author I was reading at the moment, to see if I could write like that author, how closely I could mimic her. Not to copy, not to claim the style as my own, but just for the fun of trying.
Actually I can go on a bit of a tangent here . . . when I was writing ALEX the first thing I had to do was figure out voice. Being a bit of a chameleon as I've said I was, it was kind of hard to find what was the "real" me. Finally, after some false starts, I just took a step back and asked myself, "How would you just tell this story out loud to someone?" And that's where I started from, hence the breaking of the 4th wall etc that you'll find in ALEX.
Anyway . . .
I also really love almost all genres of fiction out there as a writer. Some I like more than others, but I can usually find merit and something to enjoy in most any of them. And so I never really had an affinity for one genre, one genre didn't get me through high school when times were tough, one genre didn't get me more excited than the other. I suppose the one thing I liked in general was a sense of humour and of the ridiculous, but even then . . .
So when it comes to my own writing, when it comes to that blank slate of: "So what are we going to write about today?" . . . well it can be rather intimidating. Because, for me, it could be ANYTHING.
I don't like talking about unsold projects but let me just say that the two on submission are nothing like ALEX and TIMOTHY, nor is THE FRIDAY SOCIETY like them. I think I always have an underlying theme of strong women in my work, so that does tie them all together (and hopefully a sense of humour), yet if you read my adult novel . . . it's almost all men.
In any event, sorry, rambling. This question wasn't about "what do you like to write" but about the fear of getting pigeon holed, and I will say that I do have that fear. Because I don't like the idea of having to just write one thing for the rest of my life.
But what do you do about one's brand?
This is where I believe you need to make some concessions. You need to pause when you are working on a particular project, and be the author of just that project. You need to understand that when it gets published you have to spend time building a fan base, writing sequels, focusing on one thing. You can't be too scattered, though of course you're allowed to work on other things in the background. But not every project can have equal weight at the same time. You have to trust that eventually you will move onto that second and third project. That life doesn't have a timeline and you don't have to rush. I really believe it's about taking and giving the time required for each new book.
I also think there's some strategy to choosing one project and making that a clear goal for now. The more successful you are as a brand, the more people buy your books, the more freedom you can have down the line. At this point, JK Rowling could write any genre and still be an instant bestseller.
But it still is a risk writing in different genres, you may never find your audience if you constantly confuse them and there are other ways to handle it. Publish under your name with one genre, under a pen name in another. Or maybe, if you're really lucky, foster a reputation of being an author who doesn't fit in one category. These days the latter is very difficult to accomplish, but not impossible.
I think too you need to make the choice to work possibly harder than some others might have to. It's likely harder to write in different genres, harder to get published, harder to become successful. It will probably take more work. But if you feel that passionately about it, it's probably worth the effort.
I once saw Helen Mirren interviewed on stage at the National Theatre in London. Someone in the audience asked her what her advice was to young actors, and she replied with, "Don't let yourself be pigeon holed." At the time I thought to myself, "Easy for you to say, you're Helen Mirren. You get your pick of scripts. We just have to take whatever is offered to us." And there is that sense when you're starting out at writing too. A sense of beggars can't be choosers.
But while we're in that early phase of little choice, we can still set a path for the future. So long as we take baby steps to get there. As I've already said, you must be focused. There's one thing to say you like writing many different genres, it's another to use it as an excuse as to why you can't finish writing a book. Once you choose the book you want to write/get published, that becomes the focus. As a business person you must think about what happens after it gets published, is this a single tome, or is it a series. Can you commit to doing a series at all? Make a game plan.
For me it's to be a writer of many different kinds of books, but to give focus to whatever book(s) take off. This means if a book of mine comes out that suddenly has this crazy upwards trajectory, well, I'll have to put other projects aside to make sure that book doesn't suddenly lose momentum and come crashing down to earth. I also concluded early on that while most of what I write has series potential, I wouldn't accept that as a standard truth. I didn't need to be the author of trilogies. I could write series of 4 or 5 or 6. I could write duologies. I could write standalone novels. But whatever I wrote it would get the full attention it deserved.
I guess what I'm trying to say in all this is you make the choice. But it can't come from a place of ego: "I'm super special, I write lots of different things, no one can tie me down to one genre!" Because invariably you will have to compromise. You might have to write a sequel to a book when you wanted to start a brand new one for example. Nor can it come from a place of indecision/boredom: "I don't know how to write this next bit so instead I think I'm going to write this other book!" Because most of the time (not all of the time, but most) this means you never actually finish writing a book.
It has to come from a place of: "I like to write many different things. But it's difficult to be such an author. So I am going to have a tough road ahead, and I am going to have to plan extra carefully, be extra professional, and probably put in even more work to keep juggling all those different genres."
I hope this sort of answers the question. It's not an easy one to answer, and to be honest, I'm still at the beginning of this road and I have no idea if my game plan will work for me. I also want to say that there is nothing wrong with finding a genre that you adore and sticking with it until the day you die. After all, think of all the different books by different authors that get published in just one genre. There is so much to mine on one topic alone, so many different exciting stories to tell.
It's up to you. But whatever you do, keep an open mind, and put in the work.
So this is a question that I see often on writing forum boards, and asked at conferences etc. What do you do when you write many different genres?
It's a complicated question, and now that an author these days must become a brand in and of herself, has become even more so.
I suppose there once was a time an author could sit in her garret, write marvelous prose, send it to her publisher and there's an end. But that time has long passed for most of us (there are of course exceptions to every rule). We live in an age where authors have to be accessible, especially writing in the children's/teen market, where social networking is expected and an online presence is essential. And with it goes a persona. An easily identifiable, "Oh you know Jane Smith, she writes books about exotic birds."
In some cases, it's rather easy to create a brand. There are certain authors out there who have an interest in a particular genre, so much so that they are happy to continuously mine that genre for new and exciting material.
But considering the "question" at the beginning of this blog had the word "fear" in it, I suppose the author to address in this blog post is the one who enjoys writing in many different genres, in many different styles.
I consider myself one such author actually. Possibly it comes from the fact that I get easily distracted by shiny objects, and so constantly need to switch things up. Possibly it comes from being a fan of neat ideas, and neat ideas aren't the property of just one genre. Possibly too it comes from a game I used to play when I was younger, which was to emulate in a piece of writing an author I was reading at the moment, to see if I could write like that author, how closely I could mimic her. Not to copy, not to claim the style as my own, but just for the fun of trying.
Actually I can go on a bit of a tangent here . . . when I was writing ALEX the first thing I had to do was figure out voice. Being a bit of a chameleon as I've said I was, it was kind of hard to find what was the "real" me. Finally, after some false starts, I just took a step back and asked myself, "How would you just tell this story out loud to someone?" And that's where I started from, hence the breaking of the 4th wall etc that you'll find in ALEX.
Anyway . . .
I also really love almost all genres of fiction out there as a writer. Some I like more than others, but I can usually find merit and something to enjoy in most any of them. And so I never really had an affinity for one genre, one genre didn't get me through high school when times were tough, one genre didn't get me more excited than the other. I suppose the one thing I liked in general was a sense of humour and of the ridiculous, but even then . . .
So when it comes to my own writing, when it comes to that blank slate of: "So what are we going to write about today?" . . . well it can be rather intimidating. Because, for me, it could be ANYTHING.
I don't like talking about unsold projects but let me just say that the two on submission are nothing like ALEX and TIMOTHY, nor is THE FRIDAY SOCIETY like them. I think I always have an underlying theme of strong women in my work, so that does tie them all together (and hopefully a sense of humour), yet if you read my adult novel . . . it's almost all men.
In any event, sorry, rambling. This question wasn't about "what do you like to write" but about the fear of getting pigeon holed, and I will say that I do have that fear. Because I don't like the idea of having to just write one thing for the rest of my life.
But what do you do about one's brand?
This is where I believe you need to make some concessions. You need to pause when you are working on a particular project, and be the author of just that project. You need to understand that when it gets published you have to spend time building a fan base, writing sequels, focusing on one thing. You can't be too scattered, though of course you're allowed to work on other things in the background. But not every project can have equal weight at the same time. You have to trust that eventually you will move onto that second and third project. That life doesn't have a timeline and you don't have to rush. I really believe it's about taking and giving the time required for each new book.
I also think there's some strategy to choosing one project and making that a clear goal for now. The more successful you are as a brand, the more people buy your books, the more freedom you can have down the line. At this point, JK Rowling could write any genre and still be an instant bestseller.
But it still is a risk writing in different genres, you may never find your audience if you constantly confuse them and there are other ways to handle it. Publish under your name with one genre, under a pen name in another. Or maybe, if you're really lucky, foster a reputation of being an author who doesn't fit in one category. These days the latter is very difficult to accomplish, but not impossible.
I think too you need to make the choice to work possibly harder than some others might have to. It's likely harder to write in different genres, harder to get published, harder to become successful. It will probably take more work. But if you feel that passionately about it, it's probably worth the effort.
I once saw Helen Mirren interviewed on stage at the National Theatre in London. Someone in the audience asked her what her advice was to young actors, and she replied with, "Don't let yourself be pigeon holed." At the time I thought to myself, "Easy for you to say, you're Helen Mirren. You get your pick of scripts. We just have to take whatever is offered to us." And there is that sense when you're starting out at writing too. A sense of beggars can't be choosers.
But while we're in that early phase of little choice, we can still set a path for the future. So long as we take baby steps to get there. As I've already said, you must be focused. There's one thing to say you like writing many different genres, it's another to use it as an excuse as to why you can't finish writing a book. Once you choose the book you want to write/get published, that becomes the focus. As a business person you must think about what happens after it gets published, is this a single tome, or is it a series. Can you commit to doing a series at all? Make a game plan.
For me it's to be a writer of many different kinds of books, but to give focus to whatever book(s) take off. This means if a book of mine comes out that suddenly has this crazy upwards trajectory, well, I'll have to put other projects aside to make sure that book doesn't suddenly lose momentum and come crashing down to earth. I also concluded early on that while most of what I write has series potential, I wouldn't accept that as a standard truth. I didn't need to be the author of trilogies. I could write series of 4 or 5 or 6. I could write duologies. I could write standalone novels. But whatever I wrote it would get the full attention it deserved.
I guess what I'm trying to say in all this is you make the choice. But it can't come from a place of ego: "I'm super special, I write lots of different things, no one can tie me down to one genre!" Because invariably you will have to compromise. You might have to write a sequel to a book when you wanted to start a brand new one for example. Nor can it come from a place of indecision/boredom: "I don't know how to write this next bit so instead I think I'm going to write this other book!" Because most of the time (not all of the time, but most) this means you never actually finish writing a book.
It has to come from a place of: "I like to write many different things. But it's difficult to be such an author. So I am going to have a tough road ahead, and I am going to have to plan extra carefully, be extra professional, and probably put in even more work to keep juggling all those different genres."
I hope this sort of answers the question. It's not an easy one to answer, and to be honest, I'm still at the beginning of this road and I have no idea if my game plan will work for me. I also want to say that there is nothing wrong with finding a genre that you adore and sticking with it until the day you die. After all, think of all the different books by different authors that get published in just one genre. There is so much to mine on one topic alone, so many different exciting stories to tell.
It's up to you. But whatever you do, keep an open mind, and put in the work.
Friday, February 04, 2011
Some answers!
I got a lot of really good questions from my request in my previous blog entry (don't be confused by the solitary question on that one, my Twitter followers came up with a lot). Many I think will require a full blog post to answer each, which is awesome as that means I have several blogs now planned for the future!
But today I thought I'd answer the ones requiring slightly less space. So, here we go!
From @smiley_b: A question I like seeing authors answer is "what books have you read that made you say 'wish I'd written that!' (if any)" ?
It doesn't happen to me that often. But when I read the first book in the HUNGER GAMES series I definitely had that thought. For the most part though the books I love tend not to be the kind of books I'd write, so I never wish I could have. If that makes sense. So the Harry Potter series for example - I love so much about it, but at the same time I know I never would have written something like that. And anything by Douglas Adams, as much as he inspires so much of my writing, it's still very much him.
I think a part of it also comes from the fact that I am so happy I get to experience the book as a reader, and not as the writer, that I don't desire to be the writer of it. It's a whole other kind of experience being the creator of something as opposed to the consumer. It's the same thing with acting. There are so many films/plays I claim I wish I could have been a part of, but then when I think about it more I realise, "But then I wouldn't have got to watch them and appreciate them the way I do as an audience member."
Hopefully this makes sense.
From @charlesatan (who made numerous suggestions, and most of which I need to spend full blogs on): Current goals and how you plan to accomplish them.
My very current goal is to finish writing THE FRIDAY SOCIETY. It's due to my editor very very soon. I plan on accomplishing this by . . . writing it. On that note, I should mention that I am now being published with Dial, not Dutton - they are both imprints of Penguin but my editor recently moved to Dial. Just fyi.
When the first draft is done, I'm planning on returning to the project I was writing last summer while I wait for edits on TFS. And my agent and I recently had a chat about a submission game plan for some other already completed work of mine.
In the summer I'm acting in a Fringe show at the Toronto Fringe, and that requires me to also write a monologue that is due this month. Rehearsals I imagine will start up late spring for that. Really excited about it. Hopefully in general the acting work picks up, I do have an audition for a theatre company tomorrow as a matter of fact. Which means I need to dust of ye old comic monologue.
I also have two anthologies coming out (CORSETS & CLOCKWORK and THE GIRL WHO WAS ON FIRE), so I have some promotional stuff coming down the pipeline, giveaways, blog posts etc.
Conventions/Conferences are starting up again too, and I'll be attending at least two in April (Ad Astra and Canadian Steampunk Exhibition), probably some in the summer as well. And as always there are school visits (probably one of my favourite parts of being an author).
So . . . I'm pretty busy as you can see.
From @RoryHartshorne: Here's a writing topic for your blog, if this one floats your boat: is it Thomas's or Thomas' etc argument. That would help many of us in this pickle!
This is actually quite tricky, and both are technically correct. It depends which style guide you use. I've always been a Thomas's girl myself, but recently had such a choice corrected by an editor. I think Thomas' is becoming the more popular choice, but still, I guess I'm an old fashioned kind of girl.
From @FannishSunny: do you listen to music when you write? Does it influence the pacing, mood of a piece?
It depends. I know YA authors are known for having playlists etc for their novels, but I tend to find music extremely distracting. For some reason I really have to listen to it, it can't just be background for me, so I find myself not writing, just listening. But every once in a while, yes, I do listen to music. Especially if I am feeling particularly blocked. I like to choose music that reflects setting of my books more than mood. So music from the time period, or the country etc.
From Bethany Mattingly (in the blog post comments section): Favorite Adam Lambert song?
I actually really quite like "Whataya Want From Me?", and his music is fun in general. But my fav songs, I have to admit, would have to be his covers of "Mad World" and "Feeling Good" on American Idol.
But today I thought I'd answer the ones requiring slightly less space. So, here we go!
From @smiley_b: A question I like seeing authors answer is "what books have you read that made you say 'wish I'd written that!' (if any)" ?
It doesn't happen to me that often. But when I read the first book in the HUNGER GAMES series I definitely had that thought. For the most part though the books I love tend not to be the kind of books I'd write, so I never wish I could have. If that makes sense. So the Harry Potter series for example - I love so much about it, but at the same time I know I never would have written something like that. And anything by Douglas Adams, as much as he inspires so much of my writing, it's still very much him.
I think a part of it also comes from the fact that I am so happy I get to experience the book as a reader, and not as the writer, that I don't desire to be the writer of it. It's a whole other kind of experience being the creator of something as opposed to the consumer. It's the same thing with acting. There are so many films/plays I claim I wish I could have been a part of, but then when I think about it more I realise, "But then I wouldn't have got to watch them and appreciate them the way I do as an audience member."
Hopefully this makes sense.
From @charlesatan (who made numerous suggestions, and most of which I need to spend full blogs on): Current goals and how you plan to accomplish them.
My very current goal is to finish writing THE FRIDAY SOCIETY. It's due to my editor very very soon. I plan on accomplishing this by . . . writing it. On that note, I should mention that I am now being published with Dial, not Dutton - they are both imprints of Penguin but my editor recently moved to Dial. Just fyi.
When the first draft is done, I'm planning on returning to the project I was writing last summer while I wait for edits on TFS. And my agent and I recently had a chat about a submission game plan for some other already completed work of mine.
In the summer I'm acting in a Fringe show at the Toronto Fringe, and that requires me to also write a monologue that is due this month. Rehearsals I imagine will start up late spring for that. Really excited about it. Hopefully in general the acting work picks up, I do have an audition for a theatre company tomorrow as a matter of fact. Which means I need to dust of ye old comic monologue.
I also have two anthologies coming out (CORSETS & CLOCKWORK and THE GIRL WHO WAS ON FIRE), so I have some promotional stuff coming down the pipeline, giveaways, blog posts etc.
Conventions/Conferences are starting up again too, and I'll be attending at least two in April (Ad Astra and Canadian Steampunk Exhibition), probably some in the summer as well. And as always there are school visits (probably one of my favourite parts of being an author).
So . . . I'm pretty busy as you can see.
From @RoryHartshorne: Here's a writing topic for your blog, if this one floats your boat: is it Thomas's or Thomas' etc argument. That would help many of us in this pickle!
This is actually quite tricky, and both are technically correct. It depends which style guide you use. I've always been a Thomas's girl myself, but recently had such a choice corrected by an editor. I think Thomas' is becoming the more popular choice, but still, I guess I'm an old fashioned kind of girl.
From @FannishSunny: do you listen to music when you write? Does it influence the pacing, mood of a piece?
It depends. I know YA authors are known for having playlists etc for their novels, but I tend to find music extremely distracting. For some reason I really have to listen to it, it can't just be background for me, so I find myself not writing, just listening. But every once in a while, yes, I do listen to music. Especially if I am feeling particularly blocked. I like to choose music that reflects setting of my books more than mood. So music from the time period, or the country etc.
From Bethany Mattingly (in the blog post comments section): Favorite Adam Lambert song?
I actually really quite like "Whataya Want From Me?", and his music is fun in general. But my fav songs, I have to admit, would have to be his covers of "Mad World" and "Feeling Good" on American Idol.
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