Still out there writing

For a while, I was posting updates on my writing. The last one was in March. Nobody's asked me to post about it again, but despite the silence I venture once again into navel gazing.

I've been busy since March. That story that I was hashing over for weeks and weeks I finally finished. I ended up going to my notebooks and writing it longhand to get it done. It helps me to get away from easy access to the Internet. The next step for that story is typing it into the computer, making a few changes, and sending it out to friends and at least one more objective reader. (If anyone is interested in reading what may be a horrible waste of your time, or possibly my first genius work, feel free to e-mail me.)

So now, where to go from here? I've played with some flash pieces. I'm trying to take Jay Lake's advice (PDF) and write a story of some kind each week. This isn't the way I've worked up to now. I seem to be a slow writer, I work in fits and starts. I'm attempting to do more to see if that's just how I write, or if that's me being lazy.

My big problem at the moment is I've created this great fantasy setting. It's unusual and, with any luck, it's a fun place to read about. But I'm finding that I don't know what story to tell there. I keep starting things and then backing off. These false starts add new information and descriptions to the world, but don't get me any closer to having a story about it. I need a character who springs from this place and has a tale to tell. For now, I'll keep playing with the idea and I will hope to bump into a character along the way.

So, how's your writing going?

S&S and cover art

Paul M. Jessup has expanded on my sword & sorcery post with some additional links. He also has a post full of science fiction and fantasy covers from the '60s and '70s. There's some beautiful artwork there.

Sword & Sorcery linkage

I've had sword & sorcery on the mind lately, so let me clear out a few links.

First off, read Paul Jessup's s&s story The Gods Have Left Us at Flashing Swords e-zine. If you like that, follow it up with the excerpt of a new story in the same setting he posted at his blog.

My post the other day about Fafhrd & the Gray Mouser elicited a little talk about sword & sorcery in comics. Professor Hex posted this link about the Thongor comics. Thongor was the character created by Lin Carter. Like most of Carter's characters, it's a tribute to older writers, in this case Robert E. Howard and Edgar Rice Burroughs. You can buy Carter's books from Wildside Press, if you were so inclined. Here are some other Carter links: In Memoriam, personal data, bibliography, an article on H. Rider Haggard by Carter (unfortunately, I had to find it on a Google cache, the original seeming to have disappeared), and Carter's introduction to The Three Impostors by Arthur Machen. By the way, Carter will be better remembered for his editing, especially the Adult Fantasy series that reprinted fantasy classics.

The Gor series by John Norman is probably one of the most (rightly) derided series in all of sword & sorcery. But that's not to say there weren't good moments. Fortunately for us, Sonya Taaffe gives us a look at Assassin of Gor and what's right about it. LiveJournaler Hans the Bold follows up with more detail on the Gor series and where it all went wrong.

If you'd like to know who some of the famed characters of sword & sorcery are, check out this list called Heroes of Dark Fantasy.

And finally, Night Shade Books has released Imaro by Charles Saunders. Imaro was one of the S&S greats that was little spoken of in recent years. This book reprints the first novel in the Imaro series, and I believe Night Shade will be publishing more Imaro books in the future. My first encounter (and the only one until I can pick up this book) was through Andrew Offutt's Swords Against Darkness series, which are a lot of fun. Sword & Sorcery has reviews of Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. Imaro appeared in Vol. 4.

Hope that fills any sword & sorcery jones you may be feeling.

The Prisoner remade?

Oh wow, The Prisoner may get a TV remake in Britain starring Christopher Eccleston (recently of Doctor Who.) This is the kind of thing I get all excited about and really worried about at the same time. The original was such a classic, it doesn't need to be remade. On the other hand, a remake (made well) could be really relevant today. Unfortunately, there's no mention whether Patrick McGoohan (the brains behind the original) will be involved. I'd feel much better if he were.
Here's hoping they do a good job.

We come to praise Ford

The LitBlog Co-op continues Jeffrey Ford week today with a selection of entries by various non-LBC bloggers praising Ford. I can't account for some of the writers up there, but when Jeff Vandermeer, John Klima, Tim Pratt, Meghan McCarron and John Picacio are among the participants, you know it's good.

And if that's too many nice things said about Ford for you, be sure to check out The Mumpsimus where he reveals the dirty secrets of collaborating with the man.

Fafhrd & the Gray Mouser returns to comics

Fascinating article from SciFi Wire about Dark Horse Comics and Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Dark Horse will not only be doing a comic book about Fritz Leiber's sword and sorcery heroes, they will also be reprinting all of the novels and short story collections. That's the best part of the whole thing, to me.

The article also mentions they have movie rights. I actually don't want to see a Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser movie. I just know a movie wouldn't find the right balance, it would be either too campy or too serious. It wouldn't have Leiber's great sense of humor and action.

Also mentioned at the end of the article, Dark Horse is looking for the rights to other Robert E. Howard characters. (They already do a Conan comic book, which I thought was OK, but didn't keep me reading.) I must admit, I would like to see Solomon Kane in comic form.

Harlan Ellison interviewed

AZ Central interviews the "Grand master of fabulism" in advance of Saturday's Nebula event when he will be named Grand Master. He has some interesting things to say in the article, so I hope you click the link. But I couldn't help but chuckle over the image this quote provides:

And, of course, I still watch Judge Judy every day. You know, you can watch everything on television night and day and you will not see real people. But Judy, what it is is small-claims court, and you get the cadences of the voices of average people. You can see, sadly, how ignorant most people are these days.

I get a quaint image of the aging Ellison in a comfy chair, eagerly awaiting Judge Judy every afternoon.

I really wish Ellison was writing more these days. I haven't read a new story from him in ages.

Ford at the Litblog Co-op

Take time this week to visit The LitBlog Co-op where Jeffrey Ford's The Girl in the Glass will be the topic of conversation. Gwenda Bond has already posted some initial thoughts on the book. Also, some time this week, Ed Champion will be posting a podcast interview with Ford.

Jeffrey Ford wins an Edgar award

Jeffrey Ford's novel "The Girl in the Glass" won the Edgar for Best Paperback Original. Congratulation Jeff, it's well deserved. The more attention the book gets, the better.

Also, next week, check out the Lit Blog Co-op for more on the Girl in the Glass. Ford will be blogging at the site and there will be a podcast interview with him as well.

Novel features pulp novelists

Professor Hex pointed out something to me recently: "The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril: A Novel." Now, for that name alone, the novel should be interesting. But the fascinating part comes in the description of the novel:

Ravaged by the devastation of the Great Depression, America turned to the pulp novels for relief, for hope, for heroes.

And the pulps delivered in spades.

The science fiction story, the hard-boiled detective, the superhero were all born on these cheap yellow pages, found behind blood-drenched covers dripping with sex and violence. Return now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, enter at your own risk into the dark and dank lair known as The White Horse Tavern, and meet Walter Gibson, the mind behind The Shadow, and Lester Dent, creator of Doc Savage, as they challenge one another to discover what is real and what is pulp.

For Gibson, writing a new novel about The Shadow every month is a way to evade his own dark past. For his rival, Lester Dent, creating Doc Savage is an attempt to bring the light of better days to desperate millions. In their lives and loves Gibson and Dent are as different from one another as the heroes they’ve created. But now the hideous murder of the fringe pulp writer H.P. Lovecraft — victim of a mysterious death that literally makes the skin crawl — will set these two men on a collision course with each other, and face to face with a terrifying and very real evil that could have sprung from the pages of their own pulps.

From the palaces and battlefields of warlord-plagued China to the seedy waterfronts of Providence; from frozen seas and cursed islands to the labyrinthine tunnels and secret temples of New York’s Chinatown, Dent and Gibson will find themselves in a dangerous race to stop a madman destined to create a new empire of pure evil. Together with the young pulp writer L. Ron Hubbard, a mysterious stranger, and a sexy psychic with a chicken, they will finally step out from behind their creations to take part in a heroic journey far greater than any story they have imagined. Their quest will force Gibson to look beyond the shadows and discover the true evil that lurks in the hearts of men, while Dent will learn that the nature of a true hero is not found in a fictional superman, but in the faith of the woman who challenges death itself to love him.

A novel that features pulp writers as heroes. Perfect! This is going on my "to buy soon" list. (The novel comes out in May.) In the meantime, check out PaulMalmont.com, where the author offers a lost chapter (though you'll have to crack a code first) and a nice collection of links about pulps and writers of the time. Also, if you hae a podcast, no matter how small, Malmont would like to be involved. Check out his Web site for details.

This seems to be the latest in a trend that may even become a genre unto itself: Novels featuring authors as characters fighting fictional menaces. Off the top of my head, similar books include Move Underground by Nick Mamatas and The List of 7 by Mark Frost. I know there was also a novel that featured H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith fighting an ancient evil. Can anyone think of any others?

Writing update

I'm getting back on the horse with my writing. I still haven't rewritten the story I was working on previously. But it's still there waiting to be attacked. In the meantime, I've been writing a spontaneous story in one notebook and putting the pieces of another story together on my computer. I've also been journaling in notebooks and practicing some parts of my writing. So I'm back on track with writing every day, though my output is still not real stories. The writing keeps me happy though, so I'll keep it up.

Fear for 'The Stars My Destination'

Alfred Bester's classic "The Stars My Destination" is headed for film, kicking and screaming no doubt. This is a great novel, one which I will have to reread before the movie is released. It has plenty of amazing visuals that would be amazing on film with today's technology. But this is Hollywood we're talking about, and no doubt they'll screw up the story so much the visuals won't matter. I hope I'm wrong about that.

Found elsewhere

At one time, I wrote much about giant squid here. I've since fallen off that wagon, though I still find them intensely interesting. If you're still looking for news about giant squid, or squid in general, check out Squid, a blog with all the latest news, merchandise and general weirdness about squids. Well worth your time.

Jeffrey Ford's new collection going out

According to Jonathan Strahan, Jeffrey Ford's new collection, The Empire of Ice Cream, has started shipping. He posted the table of contents (also available at the book's site):

Introduction - Jonathan Carroll.

1. The Annals of Eelin-Ok
2. Jupiter’s Skull
3. A Night in the Tropics
4. The Empire of Ice Cream
5. The Beautiful Gelreesh
6. Boatman’s Holiday
7. Botch Town
8. A Man of Light
9. The Green Word
10. Giant Land
11. Coffins on the River
12. Summer Afternoon
13. The Weight of Words
14. The Trentino Kid

I've read all the stories except "Botch Town," which is new to the collection, "Coffins on the River" (from Polyphony #3) and "Summer Afternoon" (apparently from "Say ... Is this a Cat?"). Based on that, I'd say this is a great collection. Getting "Empire of Ice Cream" and "The Weight of Words" alone would be worth the price of the book. So order now! In the meantime, check out Ford's blog at 14theDitch.

Apologies

Sorry for the absence. I just haven't felt like it lately. Plus, I haven't done much with my writing, so I'm pretty ashamed of that. And besides that, March is absolutely the worst month of the year. It's not quite spring yet, but I'm horribly tired of winter (even a warm winter like this one). It teases you with bits of warmth before taking it away again. Then there's the wedding being planned and worries about my house going up for sale. Too much on my mind. (Not that these are good excuses for the writing failures.)

I've been reading lately, despite the unchanging nature of the box to the left. (Blogger was giving me problems changing the template.) After "Engines of God," I read "Snakes and Earrings" by Hitomi Kanehara, "With Respect to the Japanese" by Bill Condon, and am currently reading "Rashomon and other stories" by Ryunosuke Akutagawa. If you're looking for some good reading, check out storySouth's notable short stories of 2005. They've lined up some of the best short fiction found online over the last year. Strange Horizons and SciFiction get special attention for their work. Also, Elizabeth Bear has posted the first chapter of her upcoming book "Blood and Iron" online.

Hopefully, I'll start doing more in the next few days. See you soon.

Write how you need to write

Meg McCarron takes issue with the writing every day edict. What she has to say is smart and gives an alternative for those who don't like writing every day.

Personally, I think each person needs to try out different methods and find out what works for them. That's what I've been doing. I find that I can keep myself to a "write every day" schedule if I'm working on a story. It's between those stories, or weeks like now when I should be revising a story, that I find I skip days and have a hard time concentrating.

Each writer is different and each one needs to explore how they write. What's important is that you are dedicated to it, whether you write once a day, once a week or for a full month at a time nonstop when you've come up with an idea. Whatever works for you, as long as you are serious, that's the only rule.

Odds and ends

What a lousy weekend. Don Knotts, Darren McGavin and Octavia Butler died. They were all good at their respective crafts and each was important to me in some way. Unfortunately, I've not read much Butler, although I have at least two of her books on my shelves. I guess it's about time I corrected that oversight. (And if you're interested in Butler, be sure to check out the Bat Segundo Show interview.)

In my writing life, I've actually gotten a little bit done. I've pieced together all the parts of my current short story. It doesn't add up to a first draft. There are holes in the narrative, there are parts that I wrote at least three times and there are plenty of parts that just don't work. The worst thing is that the ending is not earned, either for the character interaction or the supernatural aspect. I need to add foreshadowing and character work. So writing and revisions continue.

This may be the most true truest post on writing ever.

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Cave chambers of New England

Professor Hex linked to a fascinating article about the Upton Cave:

"The caves -- ranging from Putnam County in New York’s Hudson River Valley to southern Maine -- bear many similarities to "beehive" chambers built in Ireland by ancient Celtic tribes, said Barbara Toomey, the Massachusetts coordinator for the New England Antiquities Research Association.

Here's another site about "America's Stonehenge." According to that site, there are 62 of these chambers in Connecticut, and yet I've never heard of one of them.

They give the example of the Gungywamp in Groton.
Besides containing beehive chambers and petroglyphs, the Gungywamp site has a double circle of stones near its center, just north of two stone chambers. Two concentric circles of large quarried stonesó21 large slabs laid end to endóare at the center of the site. Extensive fire burning on some of the slabs is apparent which leads many to believe it was an ancient altar. Nearby there are several large pillar stones and one boulder slab that have been carefully positioned along astronomical site lines.

I may have to take a road trip one of these days. Fortunately for me, I can learn more about it through The Gungywamp Society.

iBooks bankrupt

Publisher iBooks has gone bankrupt, according to Johnathan Strahan, among others. The company has apparently been on the skids since the tragic death of founder Byron Preiss. For Strahan, this means his anthologies, Science Fiction: Best of 2005 and Fantasy: Best of 2005, are left in limbo.

I think it's a tragedy. In the last few years, iBooks has reprinted some of the great works of science fiction. On my bookshelf next to me, I can find Roger Zelazny's Damnation Alley and the first two Wild Cards anthologies thanks to iBooks. They are also responsible for republication of Cordwainer Smith's Nostrilia and Robert Silverberg's Nightwings. I'm sorry to see them go.

Masters of Science Fiction

ABC has given the green light to Masters of Science Fiction, according to Sci Fi Wire. The show, produced by the same people who made Masters of Horror (which I've only heard good things about), will adapt classic science fiction stories into TV movies. They've already named Harlan Ellison, Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury stories among those they adapt. ABC has agreed to four episodes, but the company plans on doing six.

Now I wonder who they'll get for directors. Masters of Horror combined great horror short stories with famed horror directors. Who are the classic science fiction directors?