phoenix

How not to construct a subplot

I'm fond of saying I start out a plot or subplot letting my characters drive the spaceship from point A to point B, without me much caring whether we go via C, D, X or the square root of pi. I'm coming to the conclusion that that works quite well only for the subplots that enthuse me.

Right now I'm wading through a tangled mess of a politicking-heavy subplot in which I care about only one major character (plus her foil, who is at least interesting to me), so I'm finding it tricky to get through it without narrative clichés. This is not a moment for the obvious response. One solution is to leave out the subplot concerned - arguably one should leave out subplots that the author finds tedious - but in this case it propels and is propelled by the main plot in turn. I strongly suspect this is one of those occasions where I need to take a step back and plan the thread out a lot more carefully than I usually need.

Maybe I'm just not in the mindset to enjoy the story-gloop at the moment - could do with rereading a few quite dry and conniving books to get my head into it, or, alternatively, switching back to Gaia Stealing Things and Making Things Explode till that side of my mentality is satisfied.
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phoenix

My Writing Process 2014

Many thanks to the wonderful Ekaterine Xia for asking me to be part of this blog relay. She can be found online here.


1) What are you working on?

I've been writing in the same space opera universe since 1995, at which point I'd been planning in it for around a year: it never gets tiring. I'm working on two books and thinking about two more - vaguely prodding at a standalone novel bridging the gap between Sailor to a Siren and Rough Diamond that's coming out as a crime thriller, and working in a more serious way on one of Rough Diamond's sequels. I'm also pondering a light re-edit of Rough Diamond and a heavy re-edit of its immediate sequel, which was written as its second half before I realised I had zero chance of finding a publisher for a 200,000 word first novel in the current climate.

2) How does your work differ from others of its genre?

I'm fed up of seeing space settings that are apparently hundreds or thousands of years in the future filled with white characters - it assumes people of colour failed to get on the colony vessels in the first place or, more accurately, often points to a blind spot in the writer or publisher's mentality that assumes only white people have adventures. I have a few white, black and Asian characters but the majority are biracial. My "magic system" is predicated upon sentient magic, which is pretty rare in adult or NA fiction (it can be found occasionally in YA: not sure about the genre split reason, if any).

3) Why do you write what you do?

In terms of the story, I can't not - the longer I spend working with this world and characters the more depth I find. In terms of more abstract decisions over setting and theme, space opera gives me a lot of freedom for the story to come out exactly the way I want it to come out - I can have spaceships, magic, epic sections, thriller sections, anything. Yes, I could have taken these characters into a very different universe and still had a lot of fun with them - for a while I considered resetting Rough Diamond and its sequels as contemporary techno-thrillers - but the space setting is just somewhere I really enjoy working.

4) How does your writing process work?

I'm not one for detailed plans but I will make notes if I'm not sure where I'm going or unsure about which of two storyline decisions to make. Personally I dislike the phrase "pantsing" for writing without a detailed plan - it's rather disrespectful: I write without plans because I start out with the big picture in my head and a lot of the details are immaterial.

I write all my first drafts on paper with a fountain pen, usually in bed or while commuting - I'm a big one for feeling comfy but also for using up dead time. My first typed draft is therefore a first edit. I do at least one edit electronically in Word, at least one subsequent edit on a printout with a red pen and at least one edit via reading the "completed" version on my Kindle and noting errors: editing in a few different font styles gives me a greater chance of catching mistakes, and, in particular, experiencing the book on Kindle gives me a critical reader's eye on the work as opposed to a critical author's.


On 19th May, My Writing Process will pass on to David Craig and Alex Timperley. David is a talented Glaswegian novelist who is currently writing a historical supernatural mystery set in his home city. Alex is a sports writer: as well as writing the occasional bit of nonsense on his blog, he writes about football for fun on the weekends. He is a contributor to Sabotage Times and an editor of Typical City, "the best Manchester City blog on the internet" (according to Alex).
phoenix

Autumnal conditions

The weather took an abrupt downward turn two Mondays ago: temperatures dropped from around 20 or 22 degrees to 16-17. I am already getting the urge to hibernate. As the years pass I am growing less and less able to tolerate the cold, and realising I’m already getting the hit at this stage – bearing that only four years ago I basked in 17 degree temperatures in March – is somewhat worrying. People do perceive temperature differently in spring and autumn, but still.

Hibernating and working are not compatible, though. The job is still enjoyable, probably because each individual bit is persistently interesting, so I rarely notice the quantity of admin I’m doing.

The ankle I sprained at the Brighton Open in April is now significantly better than it was a month ago, thanks largely to seeing three different physios about it in the space of a week, including the first aider at the Essex Open last Sunday who used to fence at my club and was on the Army all-weapon team in the early 1990s. So long as I keep away from pavement edges I should be back to normal within a couple of months, which will be good. I did atrociously at the Hamlet on Saturday, then came second at Essex, though had a minor diva-like meltdown on the piste during the Essex QF, which was very embarrassing afterwards.

I barely touched STAS for a month, partly deliberately, partly due to doing other stuff, then yesterday started making some adjustments based on feedback received, so I can start submitting it. Related aside: writing white boys is hard. Maybe it’s easier in monochromatic settings, IDK: it’s been too long since I wrote in one.
phoenix

(no subject)

Nine Worlds, at least the two days of it that I attended, was marvellous fun. Not perfect, but few things ever are. I'm looking forward to next year already (it's the week before Worldcon, so, busy times). I highly recommend the speakers in the ASOIAF, Books, LGBT and Science/Factual tracks (didn't make it to any Geek Feminism, unfortunately).

I've come to the definite conclusion, though, that if I ever manage to sell any writing I will definitely need elocution lessons, even if they are given by my husband. My speaking voice when trying to read anything aloud is dull and a little lispy. First step to fixing a problem is recognising it, etc.
phoenix

Music Monday(ish): Capercaillie

OK, it's not Monday any more, but I was too tired last night to post this.

I am at the Edinburgh Fringe as backup lighting tech and general assistant for King Cobra Theatre's show The Fifth Duck, and last night, managed to get into Capercaillie's single Festival date. They did this one for the encore.
phoenix

sailing

Second draft of Sailor To A Siren is done. I'm at the frustrating stage where I know what changes I need to make to plug the plot holes (except one, which has two potential solutions between which I cannot currently pick), but can't figure out where to make them, and I can't start a proper edit till I've made them. Grr. Mental space required, but I've no idea when my next free day is - I may or may not be doing sabre at the White Horse on Sunday (it depends on whether my club has been able to cobble together another foilist and epeeist to make up a trio: the epee's what we're short of), and beyond that, July's looking a little busy. Ah, well... complete second draft! Book with no serious gaps in it!
phoenix

To the “classical” music nerds, and just the nerds (of the Doctor Who variety)

*dusts off journal*

OK, I’m back after a long rest. Proper update in a bit (in brief: have a new completed first draft, have a new job, have a vastly improved sabre ranking, feel infinitely better in myself than I did seven months ago, several good things).

As I was trying to plan my Proms schedule, I figured that now would be the right time to invite other people to join in. First stop is the nerdly one – there is going to be a Doctor Who Prom on Saturday 13th July – music created for the series and existing classical music that has appeared in the series (the last Doctor Who Prom included the Mars movement from the Planets, for instance: this one has promised bits of Bizet, Debussy and Bach).

Second stop (first in chronology): First Night on 12th July, if the tickets don’t run out while I’m refreshing the page – the sea interludes from Peter Grimes, both Lutoslawski and Rachmaninoff’s variations on Paganini, and Vaughan Williams’s Sea Symphony.

Third stop: Sunday 1st September – Arvo Pärt, Britten, Berlioz and Saint-Saëns.

To be considered is 16th July: Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto, accompanied on the programme by Nielsen’s 4th Symphony and a by modern composer called David Matthews whose contribution will last twenty minutes. Also 2nd August: Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Piano Concerto, accompanied on the programme by a modern composer called Naresh Sohal whose contribution will last 45 minutes (offputting?) and by Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony.

If you want to come to any of these as a mini-group outing, please let me know by 10th May, and I will book tickets on 11th. I imagine First Night tickets and Doctor Who Prom tickets will go pretty quickly.


In addition:

All the Ring operas are running, on 22nd, 23rd, 26th and 28th July, plus a few other Wagner operas, but not my two favourites (Flying Dutchman and Meistersinger).

The programme is, as usual, packed with assorted Sibelius, Prokofiev, more Britten, more Rachmaninoff, more Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Dvorak, Elgar, Richard Strauss, Shostakovich, two Mahler symphonies (2 and 5), etc., etc.

If you have a burning need to go to any of these and want a music buddy I will be happy to go with you unless I’m in Edinburgh or am at a tournament.
phoenix

(no subject)

Drama in the second Olympic women's epee semi-final. The scores were tied after full time: Shin A Lam of South Korea was selected (randomly) to win if the scores were level after one added minute. With one second to go, the two fencers both hit each other, i.e. still level and the scores weren't counted. Again they both hit each other, again the scores weren't counted, but the clock remained set at one second and not half a second (or less). Then Shin's opponent scored a hit, well over one second (in active time) after the clock went down to one second. Cue a protest and subsequently an appeal against the first refusal. The whole process went on for over an hour, during which time Shin stayed sitting on the piste because if she'd left, she would have conceded defeat.

The facts themselves aren't why I'm posting about it: I'm posting because it was reenacted in Lego.

phoenix

To UK Flisties

Originally posted by obstinatrix at To UK Flisties
Originally posted by de_nugis at To UK Flisties
(Taken most recently from amberdreams, slightly adapted.)

If you're from the UK and you believe in freedom of speech and an uncensored interenet, you really need to sign this petition. There are others floating about, but that particular one is the best way to ensure that your voice gets heard. It's hosted on the directgov website and addresses parliament directly. If it gets more than 100,000 signatures, it becomes eligible for discussion in the House of Commons.

Everyone's been getting so worked up over SOPA -- and rightly so -- that ACTA seems to have slipped under the radar. This is hugely problematic, because ACTA is a similar bill, but it has the potential to be far more damaging than SOPA ever could be.

Some people seem to have this misconception that ACTA is the 'European SOPA', but that simply isn't true. It's a global treaty, and it's already been signed by eight countries, including the US, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore. Europe votes on Thursday. If they vote 'no', the bill will have to be taken back to the drawing board and reformulated, which should buy us some time at the very least.

If you think this doesn't affect you, you're wrong. If ACTA passes, it could well signal the end of the internet as we know it, and that isn't an exaggeration. It's not just about watching movies and television online. If ACTA passes, sites like YouTube, Livejournal, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and even Google and Wikipedia could become impossible to maintain. ACTA would allow ISPs to monitor your net activity and cut off internet access for your entire household if one person is suspected of breaching copyright. Think Big Brother is Watching. I don't think I need to emphasise just how damaging it can be to be without internet access in this day and age, when we rely so heavily on technology.

It's not only bloggers and fandom that would be affected, either. Small businesses, independent film-makers and unsigned musicians who have previously found their niche online would also suffer hugely, and would be at risk of being bullied into submission by Hollywood and multinational corporations under accusations of copyright infringement. All those artists who found fame by uploading covers of songs to YouTube would never have had the opportunity to do so under ACTA, as those cover versions would be prohibited.

I know the internet has its problems, but to my mind it's the single greatest invention to come out of modern times, and it would be an absolute travesty if we were to lose that now. From a personal point of view, I can't even put into words how important this is to me. I've met some of my closest friends through the internet and online fandom, people whom I would likely never have met without it, and it's given me this amazing social support system. I don't want that to end here, and I want to preserve it for future generations so that they can have the same experience and opportunities I've been given through my online interactions.

I know that opinions on the seriousness of copyright infringement and online piracy vary wildly, but that isn't really the point. Internet giants such as Google are opposed to this bill, and it's pretty safe to say that they're not in favour of copyright infringment, as anyone who's ever had a fanvid taken down from YouTube will be painfully aware. Whatever your stance on copyright, this isn't the way to go about dealing with it. This is dangerous legislation that impeaches on some of our most basic human rights, such as the right to privacy and freedom of speech.

So if you're from the UK, please, please sign the petition. If you hail from elsewhere in the world, there may well be similar movements in your own country, but I think the most effective thing anybody can do right now is to keep talking about this. Talk about it on Livejournal, on Twitter, on Tumblr, on Facebook, and anywhere else you can think of. Make sure this issue is never far from people's minds. The internet is an amazingly powerful tool: let's utilise it while we still have the chance.

Please repost and spread the word :)

SAY NO TO ACTA!

Please consider reposting this, especially if you have a large proportion of UK flisties. And please consider spreading the word via other platforms: Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, your own personal network.