Wherein I ramble about technique, process, etc.
I love my writing group! Last week we went on a retreat, taking over a farm in western Pennsylvania (near Gettysburg), where we spent 5 days doing nothing but writing and hanging out. I have to tell you, I’m not the sort of person who hangs out with a bunch of people easily for 5 hours, let alone 5 days, but this was worth gold.
I am utterly in love with this video by Janelle Monae, which has been blowing up my friends’ lists all over the blogosphere: I bought the album, which you should do too if you like this song. The whole thing kicks ass. The cyberpunkish theme continues throughout the album, with nods to Philip K. Dick, Asimov’s Laws of Robotics, anime, and more. I also love the way she weaves in the old stuff — James Brown and Little Richard most obviously, but Parliament Funkadelic, The Brother From Another Planet, and Sun-Ra too. Also, that “doo doo doo” thing she does?
In which Nora fangirls; Revisipalooza; SFWA Bulletin interview KEEP READING
The folks at Orbit asked me to do an interview that will hopefully be published in the back of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. After doing it, I realized I forgot to mention something in answer to the “what are your influences” question: video games. I say this while sitting down to play Persona 4, which I bought before Christmas but wouldn’t let myself play until I finished Book 2. It’s exactly the kind of game I like: deeply immersive, long enough to feel worth the monetary investment (P3 took me about 200 hours), visually pleasing, with really engaging characters, and
Taking inspiration from games KEEP READING
I have a phenomenal agent. Here’s how phenomenal she is: as if she wasn’t busy enough, she’s running Epic Fantasy Week (actually 2 weeks) on her blog! And she asked me to provide a post, which I did, here. Go check it out! And be sure to backtrack to catch posts by Lynn Flewelling, Carol Berg, and more!
Ten Epic Fantasy Themes We Don’t See Enough KEEP READING
Was trying to think of something to write for a blog post, and all I can come up with are reactions to stuff other people have written. Pathetic! What kind of writer am I? Must try harder. Anyway, one reaction is to this article, written by the ever-thought-provoking “coffeeandink”, though quoting another gentleman: Also, fantasy and sci-fi does frequently explore issues of racism, disability, addiction, etcetera, but through analogies, metaphors or substitutes. A story about a half-elf who feels as though she’s not fully accepted by either humans or elves can convey similar feelings as a literary novel about a
Saaaay. Why AREN’T there brown elves? KEEP READING
So, this weekend I scrapped what I’d done on BrightGod and started over. Again. The first version died at 1500 words. This one was almost 5000. Pew pew pew, as they say in video game land. Poof. I’d like to think it’s a sign of my growth as a writer that this doesn’t bother me anymore.
BrightGod progress (sorta). Thoughts on voice. KEEP READING