Missing My Own Ball

Oh my gosh, well, color me silly. I totally missed that my story“Talking Animals” went up on Every Day Fiction!

It’ll only take you a couple of minutes to read it. So go read it!

Now that you have read it.

This is one of my very favorite pieces I have ever written. It fell out almost completely perfect, and referenced a lot of my favorite books. I really enjoyed thinking about a twisted version of anthropomorphic animal stories, since those were always my favorite books as a child. I also enjoyed blurring the lines between fantasy and reality as I wrote about the ways the rats–are they real? are they not? you don’t know!–destroyed the other animals.

The final line was originally “and cheered for NIMH.” I love that line still, but after enough comments about the specificity of the reference, I decided it needed to be “the rats.”

This post, and my bibliography and other fun stuff, can be viewed at spencerellsworth.com

Wrap-UP

This was meant to be a post for the end of the Clarion Write-a-Thon. Ha. BUT. I've been writing like crazy.

First, my soft underbelly: I post fanfiction related to James Roberts' Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye comic series (NO SHUT UP IT's ART OF THE HIGHEST CALIBER) at Transfans.co.uk under the name bumblemusprime. Get the comic series, then read my sticky fan tribute!

I swore off fanfic in 1994. See, after reading Mossflower to pieces, I wrote my own Redwall novel, and, with no Internet to guide me, sent it to Brian Jacques. He sent back a note saying "Your story is well written, but you need to think of your own ideas and characters!"

I vowed to heed him; sorry, Brian Jacques, but the MTMTE series is that good. Vow broken.

PS: Brian I not-so-humbly submit that my novel, at the age of fourteen, was fourteen badgers' worth better than The Bellmaker. You phoned it in on that one.

Ahem.

I reached my Write-a-Thon goal earlier this week. I completed a short novel at 51,000 words, which is pretty good for me, considering my typical novel runs around 150,000 words. Life goal achieved: be brief!

I cooked on this novel. On high heat. Broil, lots of salt. Extended food metaphor here.

When I cook my prose quickly, I don't cut and rewrite. A crucial character needs a whole new plot and arc, but I just wanted to get through to the end and so I limped him along as a passive whiny brat.

I learn from writing badly, in theory. Well, I learn but it's hard to say what at this point... which also comes from writing quickly, because one ends in a stunned daze, a few pounds overweight, sucking chocolate and coffee like a babe at the teat. Usually I can see the cracks and the poor judgment and the curdled milk in the cake at the end of a hot, hard session (METAPHORICAL, you pervs)(the cake is a lie, too).

I'm not sure that I improve by writing fast. I produce, though! Afterward I'm a bit too dazed to really find the good heart of a piece. Herein lies a great critique of NaNoWriMo: that in its heart, each NaNo is a bucket of diarrhea. Whaddya think, dear readers who are writers? When you charge ahead, heedlessly vomiting words, saving any self-analysis for revision, do you learn? Or do you, yes you, right there in the corner, excise and revise?

There is a comment section--use it! The ghost of Brian Jacques is watching.

Going Dark

I am going dark for a bit on social media.

“No!” you gasp, gasping for more gasps, “why, the horror?”

Because the world doesn’t deserve any more sentences as bad as that one. Among other things. I’ve got a project I’d really like to finish. I needta update my Clarion West Write-A-Thon goals to reflect completion of this project, a space opera, rather than the historical novel I was working on, which I’m setting aside to percolate for a bit.

So I’m taking a week off, and hoping just to write through the week.

Wish me luck, and chocolate.

What It Means To Give A Platform to Hate Speech

So, I'm a writer, yes, (with a story forthcoming in F&SF!) and I've finally achieved some measure of "success," as we gauge such things. I publish short stories. Some of them are reprinted or podcast. I hang out with a lot of people in this field and enjoy their company and their respect.

I'm not a fan of self-publishing or nontraditional approaches. It works for some people, but I want my work to be a part of the professional sf field as much as I want an audience.

At least I did until this weekend.

Vox Day, the neo-Nazi who was removed from SFWA for hate speech, has been nominated for a Hugo. This is due, at least in part, to conservative blogger and writer Larry Correia's recommendation.

Correia's confrontational and dismissive of his opponents. I don't like his politics or his tone. But he's absolutely right that there's no "ballot stuffing" in the Hugos. People widely campaign to win these popularity contests. I thought Lev Grossman was a poor choice for the Campbell in 2011, when a writer as original and refreshing as Saladin Ahmed was on the bill. For that matter, Correia was too. But Grossman, who made the transfer to sf from a long career in mainstream fiction, just plain had more friends. That's how the award works.

So Larry has a platform. He promotes work that he thinks needs exposure in the Hugos, and wants a greater voice for conservatives in the mostly-liberal organization. Some of his recommendations are right-on. Toni Weisskopf at Baen is overdue for a nomination as long-form editor, whether you like Baen's quirks or hate them. Don't mistake this, though, as simply a promotion of work based entirely on quality. Larry is promoting a slate of work that reflects conservative and conservative-friendly work.

He can do what he wants. But he sure isn't doing his field, his people, or his allies any favors. When Larry recommended Vox Day, he included the works of a known eugenicist, spreader of hate speech and misogynist. I'm not going to repeat Day's disgusting words--Bleeding Cool repeats plenty of them above.

And the simple face is that if Larry had respect for his community, he would have drawn the line at including Day. He would promote genuine dialogue between liberals and conservatives, not liberals and neo-Nazis.

Instead, it's probably more important to him that he irk John Scalzi, who drummed Day out of SFWA for his hate speech, and is well-known as a liberal. And this under the pretension that this is about "quality of story."

Let's wake up. It's 2014. Realpolitik, people. No one votes by quality of work in a vacuum. We've all read our friends' stories first. I'd like to see more Native American writers represented in sf, by hell, because I work on a reservation, and I think Native voices are an important part of the most imaginative of fiction genres. It would be stupid for me to pretend otherwise. I will read everything I can and vote for the best work, but no human being is without bias entirely.

 

We are a community. We need to think about who we are giving a platform to by supporting their work. What happens when a scumbag like Day is given a platform, and given support by, a majority of people in this community?

This community is built on the beauty of the imagination. Everyone has a right to imagine the future, to imagine faraway lands, and everyone can access the beauty of the imagination. Day's platform and Correia and his fans' support for Day says that certain imaginations are not welcome.

(Triggers coming up)

 

Day is recycling and prettifying every abusive man's "stupid cunt" and "fucking bitch" toward women. And many women who look at the sf field will see it as just another domain of abusive men and those who support them. They will take their voices and their imagination elsewhere

Day is recycling and prettifying every racist's "dumb Indian" and "black thug." And many Native Americans and African-Americans who look at the sf field will see it as just another organization that gives racism a voice. They will take their voices and their imagination elsewhere.

Correia doesn't seem to get that just because he can recommend Day and he can rub John Scalzi's face in it, he has a responsibility to his community not to. He hasn't stopped to think that maybe, if more conservative voices need exposure, he shouldn't alienate minority and women's voices in the process. Because he's characterized his opponents as whiny liberal wusses, he's not going to bother to engage, he's just going to provoke the blanket opposition.

 

Just because you have civil rights, doesn't mean you negate your civil responsibilities.

My NorWesCon schedule

I'm sorry for neglecting you, blog! I will show you some love. For now, my Norwescon schedule:


Fantasy in Comics
Fri 1PM - 2PM Cascade 5
Comics have great potential for fantasy as a visual medium. Fantasy comics range from traditional fantasy like Prince Valiant to the more unique Bone, and reinterpretations like Fables and Conan. Here's a look at some of the great work that has been done and what's being published currently, from comics to graphic novels, and how fantasy comics have evolved over time. 
Jeff Grubb (M), Clinton J. Boomer, Spencer Ellsworth, Duane Wilkins

Comics and Cultural Appropriation 
Fri 3-4 PM Cascade 5
How accurate are comics are portraying different cultures? Does the medium limit or enhance an artist's or writer's ability to genuinely show other races and cultures? Our panelists will discuss how comics such as Habibi and Scalped represent other cultures and how comics can pay homage to other cultures without marginalizing them. 
Dennis R. Upkins (M), Clinton J. Boomer, Spencer Ellsworth, G. Willow Wilson

Lies My Writing Teacher Told Me
Fri 5-6 PM Cascade 2
Much of what we think we know about publishing is wrong--or rather, it's not true anymore. This panel aims to dispel common myths and radically update everyone's understanding of etiquette, norms, and plausible paths to success in this fast-changing industry. 
Dean Wells (M), Susan DeFreitas, Spencer Ellsworth, Diana Pharaoh Francis

The New Big Two
Fri 6-7 Cascade 2
How has DC's treatment of creators affected their business and fans? What does Disney have in store for Marvel comics? Hear our panelists discuss upcoming news on the biggest publishers in American comics. 
Ashley Cook (M), Spencer Ellsworth

Comics for Young Adults and Teens
Sat 11-12 AM/PM Cascade 6
Our panelists will discuss a range of comics that are age-appropriate for a younger audience, including graphic novels like Bone as well as popular titles like Adventure Time. 
Spencer Ellsworth (M), Lola Watson, G. Willow Wilson

Reading: Spencer Ellsworth
Sat 7 PM- 7:30 PM Cascade 1
Something new! Rated PG
Spencer Ellsworth

Massage Your Sore Butt, Last Year

I kicked 2013's bootie.

Hence the title of this blog post.

It was a stunningly productive year and one full of huge changes.

Most importantly, this thing happened:

I have three kids now instead of just two. This is in an interesting development. It means that there is no more "you deal with that one, I'll deal with this one." If our kids are split into two categories, the categories are Baby and Not-Baby.

My three-year-old and six-year-old are cute, but when they bawl I want to tell them to fix their own damn problems. When the baby cries she sticks her lip out and big baby tears appear and she must be held and lovie loved. This is the main difference.

The baby's name is Brigitta, although I call her Betty after my grandmother, who always hated the idea of Betty being a proper name and not just a nickname. All solved.

Also, this year...

- I sold two stories.

- I wrote a novel! From start to finish. I began it in March, desperately writing fifteen minutes a day. It's a total piece of crap. But it has a beginning, middle, end.

- I recorded and mixed and released Pawnbroker's new album. BUY IT IT'S REALLY GOOD. Seriously. We dumped our brains and sexies into it.

- I bought a house! This was a big first for us. We've been saving in order to buy inside Bellingham city limits (can't do zero down in any liveable places around here). We had a great realtor, a former builder, who was also an old friend. It was a massive financial juggle with only one huge expensive last-minute extra issue. We just got in before Christmas. Wowee.

- I actually lost a little weight. I've been about ten pounds up from comfortable for years, and I am now back at comfortable.

- I determined that I wanted to change Primary Job, and have begun the transition...

- I quit writing for IGMS, and started writing for Bleeding Cool.

There were more things. My only disappointment was in the lack of publication, but most of that is due to lack of submission. A Hugo or Nebula wouldn't hurt.

By far the greatest side effect of this list, besides the cute baby squees, is this: writing feels fun again. For the last few years I've had to shackle myself to my desk. This year I looked forward to just about everything I sat down to do.

I am not sure why. I came out of a long depression that began in 2011, for one. I was teaching so much (and really enjoying it) that I got the reverse of teacher burnout; I had to write to process everything I was doing.

Now, I would like to point to this as a model productivity year. All year long I worked a full-time and a part-time job and I was a full-time parent (that includes time spent behind a locked door, pretending I wasn't there, btw). I am fairly amazed that I got all this sheeeeyit done.

If I do, though, I'm afraid I'll hate myself as soon as I hit a lower period. So rather than making this year the standard, I shall call it Extreme High Tide and hope the tide is high enough that I can get some more stories out the door soon.

That is why I follow my longstanding practice of NO DAMN RESOLUTIONS. I hate those things.

How about you? How was your year, and how is your relationship with Productivity getting on?