When conventions are fantasies...or about fantasy.
There are science fiction/fantasy conventions and then there are science fiction/fantasy conventions. Many SF conventions offer a fan track, where fans of novels, writers, movies, TV series or games can gather to meet some of the real-life people behind their entertainment. Often there are numerous fan activities that can involve everything from a costume contest, a masquerade, dance and just good ole fun dressed as your favourite Jedi warrior.
Then there are professional SF conventions. World Fantasy Convention (WFC) is just what is sounds like: a meeting of enthusiasts from around the world (but mostly the English speaking world) who come to discuss the genre, hobnob and award the bright new stars. The world fantasy award is given every year for best novel, novelette, novella, short story, other work, art, etc. at the convention. There is the usual art show and panels on aspects of fantasy.
How it differs from other conventions is that there is no fan track. It is mostly professionals and a few fans but no one wears a costume. Authors, editors, publishers, artists and a few others come together once a year, usually in the US but every third year or so is in an exotic foreign land. This year it's in Saratoga Springs, NY. Next year in Calgary, AB.
I have usually tried to go every second year, which means I should be going this year but Ireland is calling so we'll see what happens. I go to schmooze (I'm a soft-core schmoozer) and party and try to further my career. Schmoozing can be a very in-your-face "you gonna look at my book, I'll send you my book" kinda way or a very low key thing. I tend rarely to push the editors as I just find it too rude. That's the Canadian in me I guess.
But at one WFC I was at a writer/editor's party and talking with several people. Gardner Dozois of Asimov's was there and somehow we all got talking about submissions and submitting clothing. Now the booze was really flowing so it was hard to remember how we got to that conversation but it was good for a few laughs.
When I next sent a story to Asimov's, where I had only ever received the photocopied rejections before, I went out to a toy store and bought a cheap set of doll clothes (Barbie sized). I took the bra/bathing suit top and stuck it in the envelope with my story. In my letter to Gardner I mentioned the meeting and conversation at WFC and said, Here's a piece of my clothing for consideration. I guess it shrunk in the wash.
Well, it didn't get me an acceptance on my story but, it did get me out of the slush pile. From that point on Gardner always read my stories and sent personal rejections. He never did buy any, but my story "Hold Back the Night" that I call my literary lesbian, erotic vampire tale, which doesn't have an iota of SF in it, received an honorable mention in the Year's Best SF from Gardner. It made me the Bikini Islands on the map I suppose. Small and not that noticeable. And all because of a funny conversation.
So, the parties at a WFC can be quite worthwhile.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
The Great Wheel of Publishing
First, I've just received word that my poem "Graven Image" will appear in The Prairie Journal (out of Alberta) but I'm not sure when. And my story "Stocking Stuffers" has been approved for the Cleis Press, Christmas anthology Naughty or Nice". I've also received a mostly positive comment on a poem at Abyss & Apex. If I rewrite one line satisfactorily, then they may take it. This is a bit more work than it may sound as the poem is a villanelle and the line is repeated working with different stanzas.
Now, on to the great wheel of publishing. This wheel is large and ungainly, held together with sweat, tears, slush pile mansucripts, spit, unbought or returned books and elbow grease. It lumbers along, turning ever so slowly, sometimes looking more as if it will tumble over then keep rolling. But roll it does, usually, sometimes losing an author, or a novel, some staff or advertising revenue. It does not turn smoothly but continues until the gap of lost material becomes so big that the wheel must be overhauled.
Such is the case with various publishers along the long road of years. Ten years ago I was trying to get copyediting work with US publishers. This Herculean task met many difficulties. Publishers and the editors in charge are over-busy, always reading and procuring manuscripts and then going through the myriad phases of production. Send a letter and if it isn't imperative to answer (we want your manuscript, pay our invoice) it never gets answered, not even if you include a SASE and you're looking for employment. The next stage is to phone and hope you get the right editor in the right department. Should you call and only get their answering machine, presume they won't answer. And if you live on the west coast and have a three-hour time difference it will take early hours and a crystal ball to figure out the best time and day to try and catch and editor. Give up on Fridays altogether.
Should you get through these first layers of the publishing house inferno, you will most likely get a copyediting test. Once that's done you send it back. I did two over two-three years with Tor, where they subsequently lost the test both times. Then said oh well you have to go through St. Martins as they're our boss. And Ace gave me the test; I sent it back and heard nothing. When I queried twice they said, oh we can't hire Canadians. I didn't know that when I sent you a test. Great, I've had a lot of practice.
With Harper Collins, I passed the test. Then they sent me disks because they used a specific computer-based editing system. (This was about ten years ago and I'm not sure Word's track changes feature was that developed then.) So, I received the disks but then had to get a new computer because I didn't have the memory capacity. At that time the guy who was going to train me was on holidays for a month. When he got back, he quit. So they were then trying to find someone else. In that time, they also bought out Avon books.
What ensued was two years of frustration and nary a job out of it. The editor I was dealing with was transferred to a different dept. then fired. Others came and went. I was given various names of people and would call every month. Each time I had to explain the situation who I had talked to, where it had changed, what area of copyediting I specialized in (SF/spec fiction) etc. Each time, it was a different person, a new department, a new system. Two years of calling every month after being told I would be hired as a freelancer and I never got one job out of it.
Over the years I have edited for a few US publishers and Canadian publishers but the sheer frustration of getting New York publishers was enough to stop anyone. You really do have to live there. The longest stint I had copyediting with one publisher was three years or so with Byron Preiss book packagers (now gone the way of the dodo). And I got my first job because I was at the World Fantasy Convention standing in the lineup for the hotel. The guy in front told me he had just got a promotion to editor and I said, hey do you need any copyeditors. He said send a resume when you get back but before I could he called because he had a rush job. Keith DeCandido gave me my first real break in copyediting. He quit before the company imploded and I'd quite before that because getting paid was becoming difficult. He now writes novels. I now think of writing my novel, still copyedit and still write.
Now, on to the great wheel of publishing. This wheel is large and ungainly, held together with sweat, tears, slush pile mansucripts, spit, unbought or returned books and elbow grease. It lumbers along, turning ever so slowly, sometimes looking more as if it will tumble over then keep rolling. But roll it does, usually, sometimes losing an author, or a novel, some staff or advertising revenue. It does not turn smoothly but continues until the gap of lost material becomes so big that the wheel must be overhauled.
Such is the case with various publishers along the long road of years. Ten years ago I was trying to get copyediting work with US publishers. This Herculean task met many difficulties. Publishers and the editors in charge are over-busy, always reading and procuring manuscripts and then going through the myriad phases of production. Send a letter and if it isn't imperative to answer (we want your manuscript, pay our invoice) it never gets answered, not even if you include a SASE and you're looking for employment. The next stage is to phone and hope you get the right editor in the right department. Should you call and only get their answering machine, presume they won't answer. And if you live on the west coast and have a three-hour time difference it will take early hours and a crystal ball to figure out the best time and day to try and catch and editor. Give up on Fridays altogether.
Should you get through these first layers of the publishing house inferno, you will most likely get a copyediting test. Once that's done you send it back. I did two over two-three years with Tor, where they subsequently lost the test both times. Then said oh well you have to go through St. Martins as they're our boss. And Ace gave me the test; I sent it back and heard nothing. When I queried twice they said, oh we can't hire Canadians. I didn't know that when I sent you a test. Great, I've had a lot of practice.
With Harper Collins, I passed the test. Then they sent me disks because they used a specific computer-based editing system. (This was about ten years ago and I'm not sure Word's track changes feature was that developed then.) So, I received the disks but then had to get a new computer because I didn't have the memory capacity. At that time the guy who was going to train me was on holidays for a month. When he got back, he quit. So they were then trying to find someone else. In that time, they also bought out Avon books.
What ensued was two years of frustration and nary a job out of it. The editor I was dealing with was transferred to a different dept. then fired. Others came and went. I was given various names of people and would call every month. Each time I had to explain the situation who I had talked to, where it had changed, what area of copyediting I specialized in (SF/spec fiction) etc. Each time, it was a different person, a new department, a new system. Two years of calling every month after being told I would be hired as a freelancer and I never got one job out of it.
Over the years I have edited for a few US publishers and Canadian publishers but the sheer frustration of getting New York publishers was enough to stop anyone. You really do have to live there. The longest stint I had copyediting with one publisher was three years or so with Byron Preiss book packagers (now gone the way of the dodo). And I got my first job because I was at the World Fantasy Convention standing in the lineup for the hotel. The guy in front told me he had just got a promotion to editor and I said, hey do you need any copyeditors. He said send a resume when you get back but before I could he called because he had a rush job. Keith DeCandido gave me my first real break in copyediting. He quit before the company imploded and I'd quite before that because getting paid was becoming difficult. He now writes novels. I now think of writing my novel, still copyedit and still write.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
The Joys of Driving
I used to love driving and driving long distances. Then I got involved in festivals in Seattle and would drive down every Sunday for three-four months of the year, for many many years. And of course I drove in the city, every day, including two years of going over the Knight St. Bridge in rush hour.
That will cure anyone's love of driving. As I said to one friend, everyone's an asshole in rush hour. Even me. If you follow the rules, people cut you off, they butt in completely refusing to believe there was ever a courtesy of the road. And after a while you start to get tired of it taking forever to get anywhere and you don't let the lane butters in. You speed up to get around the people going below the speed limit. You get away from the tail gaters and the people turning left without signaling till the last minute (if they do at all) and suddenly, you're an asshole too.
I still try to drive by all the rules. Except one. Yes, I speed but I keep it within 10km (or miles) of the speed limit. On long drives on the highway I'll let it get up to 20km but I stay in that range. And I do slow down to 30km in school zones and playgrounds. On my way to New West every morning, just entering the city on 8th St. there's a playground. Ninety percent of the time I am the only one and I mean only one who slows down. It's appalling.
I once was driving along Victoria Dr. which has three playgrounds between Broadway and Venables. A cop had just given someone a ticket for going too fast and was walking back across the street when a car sped by him. He yelled out, SLOW DOWN! I've seen people slow down in Calgary but they don't do it in greater Vancouver. I see single person cars using the HOV lanes as if they have more right than the rest of us who also are solo driver. I've been cut off right in front of my bumper and then had the guy give me the finger. I've stopped for pedestrians in a crosswalk, as is the law and had people swear at me.
And I've seen recently the two different people driving with their dogs on their laps. On their laps. Would they drive with children on their laps? I got to follow a braindead bimbo today who had her rearview mirror turned sideways and was putting on makeup while she was driving. Admittedly I will put on lipstick in the car but when it's stopped, at a light. Not when I'm driving. I'm also not doing my eyelashes, my mascara, my face powder and who knows what else like this idiot was doing. And let's just not get started on the myriad cell phone users. If you're reading this you're probably going, yeah, so what, I drive and talk on the phone, but I pay attention.
I have news for you. You're not paying as much attention as you think you are. People drive slower because they're dialing, they will veer about in the lane, they won't signal, they'll generally drive worse. I've been behind enough of these callers to know. Dialing a number is really a very bad idea because you're looking down and not focusing on driving. Until we get rubber cars or 0 accidents, driving will take 100% of your attention for all those other little human errors that can happen.When I worked for Nokia, they gave everyone a phone during their employment and they gave headsets as they could be libel if someone used a phone in a car while driving and got in an accident. They only way I would take a call was if I had my headset on. The only way I would make a call was if I had my headset on and dialed when stopped at a light.
Let's look at signaling. It isn't an option. It's the law. For a very good reason. It telegraphs what you're planning to do, helping people decide what they're going to do around you, such as slow down so they don't plow into you, or change lanes which keeps the traffic flow going, or not turn or to turn. I signal even if there is no one there because you never know when someone is going to round the corner or suddenly appear. At three in the morning outside my place? Yes I signal as I turn the corner. It's dark and there could be pedestrians too. This way they can see what you're doing.
And I don't change lanes through an intersection, also illegal. And if I can be speeding down the highway and signal then guess what, I'm a better driver than some hotshot zipping in and out and not signaling, because if you have to cut corners and shave off rules to do this it means you're becoming unsafe. And that's why so many of the hotshots end up dead or killing others because they think, oh I'm better than that last guy it happened to. I'm more aware, faster, cooler. They get too cocky and it's true that pride goeth before a fall...or a crash.
Why, you may ask, don't I take the bus. Well let's see, Translink wants to make money, not actually make transportation an efficient and economical alternative. To go to New West five days as week would cost me something like $6/day. Times five and that's $30 a week. I don't spend that much in gas for my car. Sure I have insurance and such but I have my car for other things too. And it takes forever. Oh and women are getting their heads bashed in. So yeah, I'm not going to do that. If the city/Translink ever gets their collect head out of their asses and realizes that public transportation is part of the infrastructure and would save on street maintenance, gridlock, short tempers, pollution, etc. then we might have a viable alternative to driving as lone individuals in our cars.
In the meantime, I'm going to be downsizing and see about a hybrid car if I can afford it for fuel economy and efficiency.
That will cure anyone's love of driving. As I said to one friend, everyone's an asshole in rush hour. Even me. If you follow the rules, people cut you off, they butt in completely refusing to believe there was ever a courtesy of the road. And after a while you start to get tired of it taking forever to get anywhere and you don't let the lane butters in. You speed up to get around the people going below the speed limit. You get away from the tail gaters and the people turning left without signaling till the last minute (if they do at all) and suddenly, you're an asshole too.
I still try to drive by all the rules. Except one. Yes, I speed but I keep it within 10km (or miles) of the speed limit. On long drives on the highway I'll let it get up to 20km but I stay in that range. And I do slow down to 30km in school zones and playgrounds. On my way to New West every morning, just entering the city on 8th St. there's a playground. Ninety percent of the time I am the only one and I mean only one who slows down. It's appalling.
I once was driving along Victoria Dr. which has three playgrounds between Broadway and Venables. A cop had just given someone a ticket for going too fast and was walking back across the street when a car sped by him. He yelled out, SLOW DOWN! I've seen people slow down in Calgary but they don't do it in greater Vancouver. I see single person cars using the HOV lanes as if they have more right than the rest of us who also are solo driver. I've been cut off right in front of my bumper and then had the guy give me the finger. I've stopped for pedestrians in a crosswalk, as is the law and had people swear at me.
And I've seen recently the two different people driving with their dogs on their laps. On their laps. Would they drive with children on their laps? I got to follow a braindead bimbo today who had her rearview mirror turned sideways and was putting on makeup while she was driving. Admittedly I will put on lipstick in the car but when it's stopped, at a light. Not when I'm driving. I'm also not doing my eyelashes, my mascara, my face powder and who knows what else like this idiot was doing. And let's just not get started on the myriad cell phone users. If you're reading this you're probably going, yeah, so what, I drive and talk on the phone, but I pay attention.
I have news for you. You're not paying as much attention as you think you are. People drive slower because they're dialing, they will veer about in the lane, they won't signal, they'll generally drive worse. I've been behind enough of these callers to know. Dialing a number is really a very bad idea because you're looking down and not focusing on driving. Until we get rubber cars or 0 accidents, driving will take 100% of your attention for all those other little human errors that can happen.When I worked for Nokia, they gave everyone a phone during their employment and they gave headsets as they could be libel if someone used a phone in a car while driving and got in an accident. They only way I would take a call was if I had my headset on. The only way I would make a call was if I had my headset on and dialed when stopped at a light.
Let's look at signaling. It isn't an option. It's the law. For a very good reason. It telegraphs what you're planning to do, helping people decide what they're going to do around you, such as slow down so they don't plow into you, or change lanes which keeps the traffic flow going, or not turn or to turn. I signal even if there is no one there because you never know when someone is going to round the corner or suddenly appear. At three in the morning outside my place? Yes I signal as I turn the corner. It's dark and there could be pedestrians too. This way they can see what you're doing.
And I don't change lanes through an intersection, also illegal. And if I can be speeding down the highway and signal then guess what, I'm a better driver than some hotshot zipping in and out and not signaling, because if you have to cut corners and shave off rules to do this it means you're becoming unsafe. And that's why so many of the hotshots end up dead or killing others because they think, oh I'm better than that last guy it happened to. I'm more aware, faster, cooler. They get too cocky and it's true that pride goeth before a fall...or a crash.
Why, you may ask, don't I take the bus. Well let's see, Translink wants to make money, not actually make transportation an efficient and economical alternative. To go to New West five days as week would cost me something like $6/day. Times five and that's $30 a week. I don't spend that much in gas for my car. Sure I have insurance and such but I have my car for other things too. And it takes forever. Oh and women are getting their heads bashed in. So yeah, I'm not going to do that. If the city/Translink ever gets their collect head out of their asses and realizes that public transportation is part of the infrastructure and would save on street maintenance, gridlock, short tempers, pollution, etc. then we might have a viable alternative to driving as lone individuals in our cars.
In the meantime, I'm going to be downsizing and see about a hybrid car if I can afford it for fuel economy and efficiency.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
The Difference Between China and South Africa
Years ago South Africa's human rights record was deplorable. Blacks were treated worse than second class citizens, were imprisoned, tortured and killed for whatever reason struck the white minority. It had been going on for a very long time.
Eventually the collective conscience of the world woke up to some degree and they started hitting where it hurt: in not taking merchandise from S. Africa.It started first in 1959 in Great Britain forming into the anti-apartheid movement. A boycott against fruit, cigarettes and other goods imported from S. Africa was called and eventually by 1970 S. Africa was being ousted from any international sporting federation. In 1988 various stars held a concert/protest at Wembley Stadium in England demanding Nelson Mandela's release. British banks and companies began to sell off and get rid of S. African subsidiaries and exports. http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/aam/aamhist.html
I'm no economist but the boycotts plus the shaking of the finger of shame at S. Africa seemed to have an effect. Our liquor stores didn't carry S. African wines and I'm sure other items were boycotted. But it took thirty-five years until the first truly egalitarian elections in 1994. Thirty-five years.
But S. Africa did change. Their goods have been accepted again into other countries when their human rights level improved. Now, what about China.
We could mention the Tienanmen Square uprising of 1989 as a violation of human rights that saw anywhere between 200 (what China put out) and 3,000 (what the Red Cross and Chinese student associations listed) killed because they protested the government's nondemocratic ways. We could also mention the Chinese occupation of free-ruling Tibet in 1950. Who could stand against a fraction of the Chinese population (8,000 in the Tibetan army against 40,000 Chinese)?
http://www.tibet.com/WhitePaper/white2.html
Now let's see, about thirty-five years to get S. Africa to overturn its apartheid policy. 1950-2007. That's fifty-seven years of occupation for the Chinese in Tibet. The Tibetan government and the Dalai Lama live in exile. And what's been done to bring the Chinese to task for these human rights violations? A blind eye. They get to host the 2008 summer Olympics. S. Africa is kicked out of all sports organizations and China is awarded.
Why? I'm no political scientist but it seems it's just not politically or economically expedient for world governments to say anything about these violations (as it took forever in Rwanda or Afghanistan or a host of other places). No one is willing to invade China because they're a super power. They're big geographically and population wise, and of course there's that firepower aspect.
But why are there no economic sanctions against this country? With 1/5 of the world's population, can the world manage to boycott China? Yes, they could. Other countries would pour in to fill the gap cause by the lack of Chinese goods. It might be more expensive but what price, freedom? Obviously it doesn't matter that much as long as it's not your freedom. And is not a country or a person complicit by not condemning the deeds they usually say are abhorrent if they support the countries that perpetuate those deeds?
Too bad human rights are seen as only worthwhile to defend when the politics and the economy support them. Some day, hopefully soon, maybe Tibet will get back their rights, their land, their culture and their religion.
Eventually the collective conscience of the world woke up to some degree and they started hitting where it hurt: in not taking merchandise from S. Africa.It started first in 1959 in Great Britain forming into the anti-apartheid movement. A boycott against fruit, cigarettes and other goods imported from S. Africa was called and eventually by 1970 S. Africa was being ousted from any international sporting federation. In 1988 various stars held a concert/protest at Wembley Stadium in England demanding Nelson Mandela's release. British banks and companies began to sell off and get rid of S. African subsidiaries and exports. http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/aam/aamhist.html
I'm no economist but the boycotts plus the shaking of the finger of shame at S. Africa seemed to have an effect. Our liquor stores didn't carry S. African wines and I'm sure other items were boycotted. But it took thirty-five years until the first truly egalitarian elections in 1994. Thirty-five years.
But S. Africa did change. Their goods have been accepted again into other countries when their human rights level improved. Now, what about China.
We could mention the Tienanmen Square uprising of 1989 as a violation of human rights that saw anywhere between 200 (what China put out) and 3,000 (what the Red Cross and Chinese student associations listed) killed because they protested the government's nondemocratic ways. We could also mention the Chinese occupation of free-ruling Tibet in 1950. Who could stand against a fraction of the Chinese population (8,000 in the Tibetan army against 40,000 Chinese)?
http://www.tibet.com/WhitePaper/white2.html
Now let's see, about thirty-five years to get S. Africa to overturn its apartheid policy. 1950-2007. That's fifty-seven years of occupation for the Chinese in Tibet. The Tibetan government and the Dalai Lama live in exile. And what's been done to bring the Chinese to task for these human rights violations? A blind eye. They get to host the 2008 summer Olympics. S. Africa is kicked out of all sports organizations and China is awarded.
Why? I'm no political scientist but it seems it's just not politically or economically expedient for world governments to say anything about these violations (as it took forever in Rwanda or Afghanistan or a host of other places). No one is willing to invade China because they're a super power. They're big geographically and population wise, and of course there's that firepower aspect.
But why are there no economic sanctions against this country? With 1/5 of the world's population, can the world manage to boycott China? Yes, they could. Other countries would pour in to fill the gap cause by the lack of Chinese goods. It might be more expensive but what price, freedom? Obviously it doesn't matter that much as long as it's not your freedom. And is not a country or a person complicit by not condemning the deeds they usually say are abhorrent if they support the countries that perpetuate those deeds?
Too bad human rights are seen as only worthwhile to defend when the politics and the economy support them. Some day, hopefully soon, maybe Tibet will get back their rights, their land, their culture and their religion.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Clarion Daze II
Of people, we had a range, no one yet that famous in their careers. There were a few needy princesses, the quiet shy ones, the nerdy ones, the confident ones, grass roots cowgirls and nature lovers and I think at that time, only one of each sex who were parents. There was also the name dropper, the obnoxious person who never read peoples' stories and barely wrote anything the whole time. Clarion critiques are set up thusly.
If your story is being critiqued, someone will start to the left or right of you and it will go around the circle with everyone making comments. You don't say anything until the end. On the brutally bad days, many people would say the exact same thing and we started to say, if you're saying the same thing just say "ditto." It could get annoying. So the name dropper who stopped reading stories always positioned himself about half way around from the person getting critiqued. He'd listen to what everyone said and then expound like he was god and knew all the answers. We even had a meeting, of course too nice to say it directly to his face, but saying everyone should be reading all the stories. Name dropper even condescended to come and tell me that he thought I had potential. Lovely of him, considering he wasn't an instructor.
I was quite prolific during the six-week stint and wrote at least a story a week. Few wrote more than me; maybe just one person. Some couldn't write at all, getting writer's block or freezing up in fear of the critiquing. If you went in with any sort of ego you were bound to have it completely deflated. I went with little, knowing I had a lot to learn. I had always said that if we were all standing on a ladder I was probably near the bottom of the ladder. I climbed more rungs than the rest and maybe hadn't even passed the rest of them but I made large improvements to my writing.
I should mention that computers were still fairly rare and expensive. Of the class only about seven people had computers. Hillary Rettig was so fast on her typewriter that she had to use a manual. Yes, typewriters. I was so envious of those who had computers and could write and re-write without having to put a new sheet of paper in every time. It meant for very long nights of writing and rewriting should you make too many errors on a page. I came out of Clarion and bough my first computer secondhand from Kij then.
Of our writers, Octavia Butler died a few years ago. Connie Willis has won more Hugos and Nebulas than almost any other writer. She even had back then and I doubt she remembers any of us except maybe a few bright stars. Tappan King, I don't know what happened to him: if he's still an editor he's not a name that shows up in most coventions, or Locus or other internal newsletters. Ursula was always a star. I wrote to her for a while as she was interested in what we were doing but I stopped bothering her after a few years. Samuel Delaney has since had huge flaky writer issues, not even showing up for some venues so we're lucky he was there for our workshop. He has written a few things since then but not much. Ed Bryant writes for Locus and we became friends.
Of the people in the workshop; Janet has published one or two things but she doesn't submit that much. I don't know if Clelie ever published stories but she's a consummate poet. Our Clarion year spawned a lot of editors. Gordon Van Gelder was first part of St. Martins Press and now edits Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine. Michael Stearns still edits for Harcourt Brace and went from California to NY. I lost track of him. Kathleen Alcala was editing for some university I believe in Seattle but I'm not sure. Kij Johnson edited for Tor, then Dark Horse Comics, Microsoft and other places. I did copyediting and now also edit for Aberrant Dreams, and once for Twilight Tales.
Of our group in publishing, well Kij is the most prolific and awarded writer and has written two published novels so far. Kathleen Alcala published a collection of short stories in the magic realism style. Kij and I were surprised when we googled Dean Shomshack and found he was a multiple GURPS and other gaming supplements author. We remembered him as the revenant man from one of his stories. I think one or two other people sold a story or two. Richard Terra died recently, at a fairly young age. So I guess in that sense I haven't done too bad, still publishing a poem or story here or there. Unlike other Clarion years who spawned a lot of big name authors, we went more under the wire in editing. I don't know what happened to half of the people in our class. Kathryn Drennan probably published a lot but she was a Hollywood screenwriter married to J. Michael Straczynski. No idea if they're still married or where she went.
Was Clarion worth it? I'm still not sure. Some days it seems it was. Other days, it seems I learned more since then. Who can tell? I edit, I write and Clarion did help me forumlate a novel, which I never sold. Some day soon, I hope, I'll get back to writing one of my novels. No one is ever going to discover me without my own hard work. So it goes. Clarion. Unforgettable times if nothing else.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Clarion Daze I
Clarion is a six-week intensive writing workshop for writers of SF or fantasy. It started some time in the 80s and there was (may still be) Clarion East and Clarion West, which happens in Seattle.
I was accepted into Clarion (you had to submit several pieces of writing) more years ago than I care to think about. I went down to Clarion with one of two other Canadians (and Vancouverites) that year, Janet Waters and Clelie Rich. We were the three Canucks out of twenty-one people.
People ranged in age from the youngest who I think was just out of high school to a couple of people in their forties. We were about two-thirds women to one-third men. Most people stayed in the dorms on Capitol Hill. Our six weeks consisted of going into the classes every day and critiquing stories, back to the dorms to write and read stories for the next day, sleep if you could fit it in and on Fridays there was a party for the guest instructor of the week. I ended up surviving on about four hours sleep a night for six weeks.
Clarion was set up with five authors, one per week and one editor. Our year we had Ed Bryant (short story writer, mostly, and one-time protege of Harlan Ellison), the extremely intelligent and diverse Ursula Le Guin, Octavia Butler, Connie Willis, editor Tappan King and Samuel Delaney. This is close to the order in which they taught but I'm not completely sure anymore.
The first week, Ed set the tone by saying, "We're taking bets to see who sleeps with each other." It seems marriages went up like firecrackers at Clarion workshops where the stress/closeness caused people to cozy up with those they may not normally have thought twice about. I'm not sure if Ed intended it but perhaps it put a damper on what might have happened. All I know is that there were only two people who did sleep together and they were pretty discreet. Most of the others to this day wouldn't even be able to guess.
Suffice to say we had to take our frustrations out in other ways and there were some monumental water fights that had the halls of the dorms soaked and a few people put into the showers. I still have a Princess Leia like picture of me sporting a realistic water gun. We've even took it to the campus but had to be careful that we didn't look like we had real guns on the street (this was pre-9/11 by years).
By our second week, we were somehow into slugs. Ursula Le Guin had made some comment about them, Octavia Butler had a phobia of them and there were slug races (this was the summer) in Seattle. Yes, the Pacific Northwest boasts the gigantic banana slug, which can get to at least one and a half feet in length (the biggest ones I ever saw--gross!)Long slimy monstrosities that range in colour from brown with spots, anemic white, pale yellow with new-shoot green, blackish and bright yellow with brown spots, just like a banana. I ended up drawing Cyril the cyber slug, complete with mohawk, earrings, mirrorshades and a bolted, metal body. He became the image on our Clarion T-shirts, along with all the best/worst bits from our stories.
Of people, we had a range, no one yet that famous in their careers. There were a few needy princesses, the quiet shy ones, the nerdy ones, the confident ones, grass roots cowgirls and nature lovers and I think at that time, only one of each sex who were parents.There was also the name dropper, the obnoxious person who never read peoples' stories and barely wrote anything the whole time. Clarion critiques are set up thus.
(Tomorrow--Part II)
I was accepted into Clarion (you had to submit several pieces of writing) more years ago than I care to think about. I went down to Clarion with one of two other Canadians (and Vancouverites) that year, Janet Waters and Clelie Rich. We were the three Canucks out of twenty-one people.
People ranged in age from the youngest who I think was just out of high school to a couple of people in their forties. We were about two-thirds women to one-third men. Most people stayed in the dorms on Capitol Hill. Our six weeks consisted of going into the classes every day and critiquing stories, back to the dorms to write and read stories for the next day, sleep if you could fit it in and on Fridays there was a party for the guest instructor of the week. I ended up surviving on about four hours sleep a night for six weeks.
Clarion was set up with five authors, one per week and one editor. Our year we had Ed Bryant (short story writer, mostly, and one-time protege of Harlan Ellison), the extremely intelligent and diverse Ursula Le Guin, Octavia Butler, Connie Willis, editor Tappan King and Samuel Delaney. This is close to the order in which they taught but I'm not completely sure anymore.
The first week, Ed set the tone by saying, "We're taking bets to see who sleeps with each other." It seems marriages went up like firecrackers at Clarion workshops where the stress/closeness caused people to cozy up with those they may not normally have thought twice about. I'm not sure if Ed intended it but perhaps it put a damper on what might have happened. All I know is that there were only two people who did sleep together and they were pretty discreet. Most of the others to this day wouldn't even be able to guess.
Suffice to say we had to take our frustrations out in other ways and there were some monumental water fights that had the halls of the dorms soaked and a few people put into the showers. I still have a Princess Leia like picture of me sporting a realistic water gun. We've even took it to the campus but had to be careful that we didn't look like we had real guns on the street (this was pre-9/11 by years).
By our second week, we were somehow into slugs. Ursula Le Guin had made some comment about them, Octavia Butler had a phobia of them and there were slug races (this was the summer) in Seattle. Yes, the Pacific Northwest boasts the gigantic banana slug, which can get to at least one and a half feet in length (the biggest ones I ever saw--gross!)Long slimy monstrosities that range in colour from brown with spots, anemic white, pale yellow with new-shoot green, blackish and bright yellow with brown spots, just like a banana. I ended up drawing Cyril the cyber slug, complete with mohawk, earrings, mirrorshades and a bolted, metal body. He became the image on our Clarion T-shirts, along with all the best/worst bits from our stories.
Of people, we had a range, no one yet that famous in their careers. There were a few needy princesses, the quiet shy ones, the nerdy ones, the confident ones, grass roots cowgirls and nature lovers and I think at that time, only one of each sex who were parents.There was also the name dropper, the obnoxious person who never read peoples' stories and barely wrote anything the whole time. Clarion critiques are set up thus.
(Tomorrow--Part II)
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Mentoring Brilliant Minds
Today was the culmination of my mentorship through the Vancouver School Board. I'd found that the VSB had this program when I was looking at teaching a night class in bellydance.
I remember writing when I was about twelve. Some bad poems and maybe a few good ones,which I still have. I was far enough ahead by high school (grades 10-12 in Alberta) that I was allowed to take a Communications class instead of Shakespeare (Yay!). It consisted of writing mostly, creative writing. Poems, stories, novels. Like my mentee who was twelve when we started,I began to write a novel, all by hand. This was before computers, just barely, but they were expensive and big then.
I still have that early, partially written novel. It would probably equal about fifty pages. Growing up on Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allen Poe, Frank Herbert and Robert Heinlien, there was a healthy dose of the Most Dangerous Game in my book. Though I don't think I got that far into the story.
My mentee, Diana, was inspired partially by Harry Potter. It's this generation's answer to Lord of the Rings, not that they don't love that story too. When we started, her writing was already at university level with a few problems that many first writers do. She had about 100 pages of a fantasy novel. We worked through some exercises and eventually she decided to concentrate on a new book that was about two girls emailing each other in different countries, as part of their school project.
Through this project I learned how savvy thirteen-year-olds are. You get removed by more than a few years and you forget. Great insights, adult minds and the great adventures of moving into adulthood. I was impressed and Diana made me think of scope again, in people and in writing. And I mentored because if my class had gone farther in high school and I'd had more support, at home, and from teachers, I probably would have fostered ahead much faster. If I can help some kids and steer them a little closer to their dreams, why not? Everyone should have dreams and reach for them.
At the mentorship ceremony today they said there were 95 kids throughout the Vancouver schools and 77 mentors (some mentors took more than one kid). I watched these little blooming stars as young as six do amazing things. A seven-year-old girl sing like a Broadway star. A boy of equally young age, play like Mozart. Writers, sculptors, chemists, computer programmers, and many other interests. The kids were amazing. Of course they're the most gifted in their subjects but I think they all truly were thrilled that they had mentors. And the mentors ranged from just out of high school to grandmothers.
Diana gave me a very sweet card with flowers and chocolates, and each kid got up with their mentor to say what they liked about the program and their mentors. It was very touching. It was a time investment but it's a nice feeling to nurture, especially if you don't have a child. Even if you do, someone who can guide who shares their passion.
I'll have to see how time works out next year and whether I'll mentor again. I told Diana I'm still here to help her with her book (she'd like to have it at a publisher's by the time she's fourteen). But it was most gratifying seeing the end projects and the bright stars who have yet to hit supernova.
I remember writing when I was about twelve. Some bad poems and maybe a few good ones,which I still have. I was far enough ahead by high school (grades 10-12 in Alberta) that I was allowed to take a Communications class instead of Shakespeare (Yay!). It consisted of writing mostly, creative writing. Poems, stories, novels. Like my mentee who was twelve when we started,I began to write a novel, all by hand. This was before computers, just barely, but they were expensive and big then.
I still have that early, partially written novel. It would probably equal about fifty pages. Growing up on Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allen Poe, Frank Herbert and Robert Heinlien, there was a healthy dose of the Most Dangerous Game in my book. Though I don't think I got that far into the story.
My mentee, Diana, was inspired partially by Harry Potter. It's this generation's answer to Lord of the Rings, not that they don't love that story too. When we started, her writing was already at university level with a few problems that many first writers do. She had about 100 pages of a fantasy novel. We worked through some exercises and eventually she decided to concentrate on a new book that was about two girls emailing each other in different countries, as part of their school project.
Through this project I learned how savvy thirteen-year-olds are. You get removed by more than a few years and you forget. Great insights, adult minds and the great adventures of moving into adulthood. I was impressed and Diana made me think of scope again, in people and in writing. And I mentored because if my class had gone farther in high school and I'd had more support, at home, and from teachers, I probably would have fostered ahead much faster. If I can help some kids and steer them a little closer to their dreams, why not? Everyone should have dreams and reach for them.
At the mentorship ceremony today they said there were 95 kids throughout the Vancouver schools and 77 mentors (some mentors took more than one kid). I watched these little blooming stars as young as six do amazing things. A seven-year-old girl sing like a Broadway star. A boy of equally young age, play like Mozart. Writers, sculptors, chemists, computer programmers, and many other interests. The kids were amazing. Of course they're the most gifted in their subjects but I think they all truly were thrilled that they had mentors. And the mentors ranged from just out of high school to grandmothers.
Diana gave me a very sweet card with flowers and chocolates, and each kid got up with their mentor to say what they liked about the program and their mentors. It was very touching. It was a time investment but it's a nice feeling to nurture, especially if you don't have a child. Even if you do, someone who can guide who shares their passion.
I'll have to see how time works out next year and whether I'll mentor again. I told Diana I'm still here to help her with her book (she'd like to have it at a publisher's by the time she's fourteen). But it was most gratifying seeing the end projects and the bright stars who have yet to hit supernova.
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