Battlestar Conflict

I was overseas when the Battlestar Galactica Miniseries and Season 1.0 first aired. On returning to the U.S., I checked out part of a Season 2.0 episode, wasn't particularly engaged, and left it at that.

On the strength of several recommendations, not the least of which was the fact that the series won both Nebula and Hugo awards for 2005, I got my hands on the miniseries and checked it out.

The Battlestar Galactica Miniseries is like a textbook for creating and maintaining conflict. Every action was both resolving a conflict, and creating fuel for further conflict to come. As a result, dramatic tension never let up for a minute.

Whether the conflict was "galactic" (human vs. Cylon), political (civilian vs. military), ethical (who lives, who dies), interpersonal (Adama vs. Apollo, for example), or internal (Gaius Baltar's journey), there was always a decision to be made and the consequences of either choice were always vital to the viewer and the characters.

That's how you make a great science fiction dramatic presentation! I was inspired to look at my own work, to make sure the forward motion in my writing is always being fed by the flames of conflict.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the series' masters of generating conflict keep up the tension in Season 1.0.

What's wrong with a "god's-eye-view"?

Working through Writing Fiction , I came upon a frank description of the history of the third person omniscient. Some of this history resonates with my very first blog post, "Anansi Boys and the English/American Divide" (March 14, 2006), in which I discussed how American spec fiction writers try to hide the voice of the author in order to aid their readers with suspension of disbelief, while their English counterparts are more willing to let the voice of the author creep in.

Valerie Vogrin begins her lesson on POV by telling us that she's going to offer us a buffet of POV options, so that we can make informed decisions about how we tell our stories, instead of letting patterns unconsciously absorbed by reading choose the POV for us.

Great, I could eat.

When we come to third person omniscient, Vogrin explains that traditional literature was written using this "god's-eye-view" POV, citing Dickens, Tolstoy, and Flaubert as influential authors who used third person omniscient.

Then Vogrin goes on to say,

"Soon thereafter a variety of social changes occurred related to the rise of democracy...,Freud, religious skepticism, feminism...which over time resulted in the (now seemingly paternal, heavy-handed...) omniscient point of view falling out of favor with contemporary writers."

I was shocked when I read this sentence, both because I felt Vogrin's conclusions were overly polarized and, at the same time, that her evaluation accurately describes the state of American literature today .

Now, later on, Vogrin tells us that some postmodern authors, Kundera, for example, were able to use the third person omniscient to good effect "without adopting a biblical tone or throwing thunderbolts."

Wow. Strong statements. Is that what Dickens, Tolstoy, and Flaubert were doing? Drawing on my personal experience reading the works of these authors, the answer is a resounding NO!

Vogrin finishes her instruction by touting the good points of third person omniscient: an ability to deepen conflict by seeing others' points of view; giving the reader an almost painful knowledge of a situation the protagonist cannot know (our engagement in the story grows as we see how the protagonist must act blindly, doing his best, unaware of the information we, the readers, have).

But, she warns, third person omniscient is rarely used today because "it calls attention to the writer- an undesirable thing for writers who want their readers to suspend disbelief willingly."

My purpose in this post is not to disparage Vogrin's lesson on POV. She gave sound, down-to-earth advice that is an accurate reflection of the state of modern American literature- speculative or otherwise.

But I question her assertion that a world after democracy, Freud, religious skepticism, and feminism, need necessarily find third person omniscient a hindrance to the reader's suspension of disbelief.

After all, citizens of the UK vote- women included. Similar relgious, political, philosophical, and psychological changes have occurred in parallel in America and abroad. So can we point to the reactionary-black/white-polarized nature of American culture as the root of this anti-paternal, anti-"god's-eye-view" attitude?

Eastercon 2006

A writer friend of mine in the UK just emailed to tell me what a blast he had at Eastercon 2006 (or, more officially, the 57th Annual British Science Fiction Convention). Eastercon 2006 was held in Glasgow, Scotland.

If you're wondering why all these Anglophone science fiction conventions are being held at the same time, and why they're being held from Friday to Monday, all I can tell you is that Easter Monday is a pretty popular holiday in English and non-English speaking countries around the globe. You've got it- three day weekend- perfect for getting some science fiction authors and fans together and having fun.

You can learn about results of the British Science Fiction Awards, the Masquerade, and how attendees ate the hotel out of butter and ketchup at http://www.connewsletter.co.uk/.

I was especially pleased to note that Geoff Ryman won "Best Novel of 2005" for Air and that Kelly Link was honored with "Best Short Fiction" for "Magic for Beginners."

I applaud British science fiction connoisseurs for their excellent taste!

Take a virtual tour of of Conjure

If, like me, you didn't travel to the Conjure Science Fiction Convention in Brisbane, Australia, you can experience the high points of the convention online on Articulate's Conjure: day by day.

Coverage of the event includes recorded speeches by Cory Doctorow and Bruce Sterling, interviews, and lots of photos, including snapshots from the Arabian Nights Masquerade Ball. You'll find lots of advice for writers from industry insiders, and some good, old-fashioned swordfighting fun!

"The biggest problem for most authors isn't piracy, it's obscurity."
-Tim O'Reilly quoted by Cory Doctorow

Doctorow is Down Under, a guest of honor speaker at the 45th Annual National Science Fiction Convention in Brisbane, Australia. Today in part one of a two part interview with Articulate, Gary Kemble asked Doctorow about his decision to release his books in electronic format- FOR FREE .

I mentioned Doctorow in an earlier post (Adding to the Whuffie, March 16,2006), and the fact that Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom is as famous for its innovative Creative Commons copyright as it is for its entertaining plot and nifty futuristic concepts.

In today's Articulate interview, Doctorow tells us a little bit about why he decided to give his great science fiction books away FOR FREE .

The reasons, in my interpretation of order of importance, are as follows:

1) Science fiction authors get readership by word of mouth. And if you think word of mouth is powerful, just think about spreading the word via online bulletin boards, discussion groups, mailing lists, forwarded emails, googling for something to read.

2) "I didn't see it plausible that it would be possible to effectively restrict the copying of electronic books." (direct quote from Doctorow)

Doctorow is part of a group of spec fiction authors and publishing houses who believe that distributing eBooks online for free may improve readership and book sales in the United States.

Doctorow says that when he made the decision, he didn't know where his income would come from. He saw visions of donations by happy readers, commissioned articles, speaking engagements- clearly that portion of his theory has panned out. But, most importantly, Doctorow says that he had a gut feeling that giving away books would sell books.

So, I looked up the amazon.com sales rank for Doctow's latest book, Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town . Today his sales rank is 206,575 . That puts him on par with books like Steve Martin's Shopgirl (recently made into a film).

So, is Doctorow at the top of the sf best seller list? No.

But he's hardly on the bottom, either.

I compared the sales rank for Doctorow's most recent book to those of his fellow speakers at the conference this weekend. Results are as follows:

Bruce Sterling: 37,462 Visionary in Residence
Sean Williams: 483,198 The Crooked Letter
Kim Wilkins: 443,042 The Autumn Castle

At worst, Doctorow's innovative approach to publishing isn't doing him any harm. And I'm curious to see what the future holds for Doctorow. He has and will always have a special place in the hearts of the technology-loving science fiction audience.

A Brooklyn Story

It turns out I'm in good company as a science fiction writer living in Brooklyn.

Frederik Pohl is one of those huge names in science fiction I've always known, but somehow I had categorized this sf great as an editor, not a writer. We'll call it the sort of mistake you can expect from my creative genius mind.

Pohl was indeed the editor of Galaxy and If magazines, and, according to Wikipedia, he "acquired and edited" books for Bantam in the 1970's. Wikipedia also has a great picture of an old issue of Galaxy . My favorite sf author, Robert Heinlein, is featured on the cover. This was the issue in which "The Puppet Masters" appeared. Too cool!

Pohl was also an active member of the Futurians, an influential, New York-based group of sf writers and editors (the most famous of whom was Issac Asimov) who defined themselves quite literally as forward-thinking.

Now for the part that my brain had amazingly not absorbed: Pohl was also a prolific writer. I'm sure this is no news to you, but I looked through his bibliography to see the extent of what I'd missed.

His most award-winning series was the Gateway series, which apparently relates the story of an alien space base, filled with space ships that human explorers find, but have no idea how to use. People get into these ships and are whisked away to destinations unknown. Wikipedia summarizes, "Some lead to fortune, but others lead to death."

This is enough of a description to make me want to read.

In November 2005, Tor came out with Platinum Pohl : The Collected Best Stories . The stories span his career, from a struggling young writer living in Brooklyn, up to more recent times, when he was already a Hugo and Nebula award winner.

One of the stories in Platinum Pohl is called "The Greening of Bed-Stuy," in which, according to Marc Schogol writing for The Pueblo Chieftan,

"Pohl writes about a slum in his native Brooklyn where attempts to create heaven on earth for the ghetto residents are frustrated by those who, in every sense, make a killing off the existing poverty and suffering."

Platinum Pohl looks like an excellent place for a Pohl newbie to start reading. This morning I reserved the book from the Brooklyn Public Library. A Brooklyn author writing a Brooklyn science fiction story- I wouldn't have wanted to get my hands on the book any other way.

Giving Talk at Writer's Group

This evening I am giving a talk for the Friggin' Write Creative Writer's Group from 7-9 p.m.

I'll be discussing the process I use to get from finished manuscript to published story, including market selection, manuscript preparation and submission, submission tracking, and how to proceed after acceptance or rejection.

Into the Shadow World

This weekend I got my first taste of the Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny. Nine Princes in Amber was dedicated to main character Corwin's initiation into the fantasy realm of Amber. See, the book (and thus the series) starts out with the tone of a typical sf or spy/thriller 1970's novel. There is nothing magical- simply an amnesiac who wakes up in a hospital, certain only that someone tried to kill him and someone else is keeping him heavily sedated and locked up. A large portion of the book is dedicated to Corwin remembering who he really is- and in the process, understanding that Amber is the real world, and the world we all know to be "real" is just a shadow.

Zelazny uses Corwin's amnesia to make him, like the reader, an initiate into the fantasy world. This technique is used in many fantasy novels. Compare Harry Potter, raised outside the wizarding community, introduced to magic along with the reader. This threshold crossing element is also critical to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - emphasis on the wardrobe , the link that takes the Pevensie children from their reality into Narnia. To me, the most magical part of the story has always been this threshold transition. And if the inclusion of wardrobe in the title doesn't convince you of the major part the threshold plays in the structure of the fantasy, take a look at this one sentence plot summary of the recently released film version :

"Four kids travel through a wardrobe to the land of Narnia and learn of their destiny to free it with the guidance of a lion messiah." (from the internet movie database)

The threshold crossing takes up nearly half of this brief summary.

It's interesting to note that many fantasy authors skip the transition from the real world to the fantasy world. Tolkein is an excellent example of this style- possibly because to Tolkein, Middle Earth was quite real. Other authors have taken their cue from Tolkein, and simply assumed our presence in the fantasy world as a convention of the genre. Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series and George R.R. Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice jump to my mind as immediate examples of making no "excuses" for being in the middle of a fantasy story. No connection to the "real" world, or in Zelazny's case, the world as we know it, is necessary.

What do we lose by omitting the threshold? What do we gain?

Three Tears for Crash

Ok, LA screenwriters, what's up with using snow as a shorthand for miracles? I understand it's a rare and precious event in southern California, but for a large part of your audience it's just everyday, annoying February, and the styrofoam gets stuck in the actors' hair.

Why do we put up with styrofoam snow? For movies like Crash .

Crash is not a speculative film. Many of the characters believe they have witnessed miracles (an invisible cape impervious to bullets, the Muslim version of an angel), but the viewer knows that there are real-world explanations for these "miracles." I've brought Crash to this spec fiction journal because its incredible handling of characters has changed the way I look at my writing.

Earlier I described my dissatisfaction with the "bad guy" in Falling Free . Well, Crash has no "bad guys" and no "good guys," either. The film is incredibly human, the characters all antagonists and protagonists to each other. Not only is this an accurate model of the way people interact in the real world, but it creates a gut-wrenching connection between the viewer and the characters on screen. I cried for hours after seeing this film.

Using characters of disparate ethnic an social backgrounds (instead of aliens, bioengineered clones, fairies, or magicians as a spec fiction writer might), the viewer was allowed to "see the story" of each person. A racist cop is also a devoted son crushed by his father's deteriorating health. A locksmith who looks like a "gang member with his pants around his ass" to a wealthy LA housewife is just a husband and father doing his best to shield his family from inner city violence. It is heartbreaking to see how people can live so close together and interact so violently, while understanding each other so little.

Of course, we wouldn't know the stories of any of these people if it we weren't allowed a peek into their private lives, if we didn't have a multiple perspective that let us see into their points of view.

This multiple perspective point of view is a critical ingredient in my novel-length ficton, and in the fantasy and science fiction of some of my favorite authors. George R. R. Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice is an excellente example of a multiple point of view in which the reader is actively "rooting" for every character. The point of view switches so constantly, that chapters are titled with characters' names. The reader may agree or disagree with the decisions made by the characters, but she always understands why the choice was made. I was so emotionally moved by the experience of reading this book, that I'm putting off reading the next in Martin's series for a cheerier time.

I'd love to hear about other fantasy and science fiction books that successfully blend a rotating, multiple perspective narrative to create gut wrenching, human fiction. I'd also love to see more of it being written- our audience responds to this type of narrative on film, and they will respond to it in fiction.

I have long favored the multiple perspective technique, but I hadn't realized why I was writing in this way. Watching Crash and formulating this journal entry, I found the answer. I want to use the exaggerated stage of speculative fiction to show that all people live side-by-side, alone, never completely understanding each other. I want to think about ways that we can change that, and offer examples of how to learn the "stories" of the people we think we know (but don't), of the cultures we think we know (but don't). Understanding is the only way to make "miracles" happen, to avoid conflict and violence.

While I wrote this post it started snowing outside. Not unheard of on an April day in Brooklyn, but I wasn't expecting snow.

Somebody in LA is probably smiling.

Falling for Falling Free

Bruce Van Atta was complaining about a log jam of messages in his corporate email account back in 1988. Why? Because he was a GalacTech Exec in Lois McMaster Bujold's Falling Free .

The Nebula award winning book showed me that corporate ethics were just as much a concern in the 1980's as they are today. It's just that I was too busy learning to ride my bike to pay attention.

For those who are fans of the Miles Vorkosigan series, know that Falling Free is a stand-alone, though it does take place in the same universe that will later host Miles Vorkosigan.

Falling Free was an engaging, page-turning read. I loved the way the engineer protagonist was thrust into a very human and political situation completely out of the realm of his expertise. Leo Graff's transformation is brought about by meeting the quaddies, bioengineered space station workers who are being mistreated and manipulated by GalacTech. The plight of the quaddies thrusts the no-nonsense engineer into the thick of corporate politics. But once Leo commmits himself to helping the quaddies, his engineering problem solving capabilities and nuts and bolts expertise are absoultely vital to saving them.

I had such a great time reading this book, but I do have one complaint. The main antagonist, GalachTech Executive Bruce Van Atta, was a one-dimensional bad guy. He was greedy, lazy, unethical, and even impolite. I would have appreciated a more sympathetic antagonist, doing something he knew was wrong in order to protect something or someone he cared about. The possibilities for Van Atta's motivation were endless. He could have been trying to get home to his wife, keeping GalachTech from firing him and taking away his retirement benefits, covering up an accidental mistake earlier in his career. Throughout the read I felt very strongly that Leo Graff, the quaddies, and their supporters had so much to lose, and that all Van Atta had to lose was his puffed up pride.

That said, if you're looking for an exciting and intelligent science fiction experience, you'll absolutely fall for Falling Free .

Booksigning of The Faery Reel

Yesterday I went to Books of Wonder and listened to five fantasy authors read portions of their contributions to The Faery Reel.

Delia Sherman's reading of "CATNYP" was especially warm and funny, perfectly suited to the candid voice of her first person teenage protagonist. She mentioned The Changeling (release date August 17, 2006), which will take place in the same New York Between of the "CATNYP" tale.

Gregory Frost had some interesting things to tell us about the relationship between the tengu of Japanese folklore and yamabushi monks and their mountain defenses against the samurai.

Jeffrey Ford joked that although his son gave him a hard time about writing a fairy story, he thoroughly enjoyed writing about the Twilmish- a special brand of sand castle fairy that Ford loosely based on childhood memories of the Teenie Weenies comic he used to read in the New York Daily News.

One of the anthology's editors was present. Ellen Datlow discussed the question of targeting to age groups when assembling fairy collections. She also talked about some of her literary influences (she specifically mentioned Ray Bradbury and anthologies culled from the best of Playboy in the 70's), and some of her editorial nitpicks (for example, she hates seeing the same word over and over again, as though it were a verbal place holder when a writer is having trouble getting to the point).

Other authors who read, cheerfully fielded questions, and signed, included Steve Berman, who admitted a fascination with London played a role in creating his story, and Holly Black, who talked about her late-night conversion from education major to fantasy writer.