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>Dreaming Again

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Almost ten years ago Jack Dann and Janeen Webb announced that they were going to compile an anthology of Australian Speculative Fiction, called Dreaming Down-Under. It was an invitation only anthology, but I figured I had nothing to lose so I approached them with a story, which was accepted. Dreaming Down-Under went on to be reprinted in two paperback volumes and win World Best Fantasy.

Last year Jack emailed those authors who had appeared in DDU to say that they were compiling a new anthology to be called Dreaming Again and asked us to submit. I’d been at a convention room party where we got into a discussion about religion and this triggered the idea for a story I called Purgatgory. The premise was that religious fervour was a viral infection which affected brain function and only about 10% of people were immune to it. This was the story accepted for Dreaming Again.

Jack said: When Janeen Webb and I edited Dreaming Down-Under, we had no idea that it would make such and impact, and it’s been exciting doing the sequel Dreaming Again, after a lapse of ten years. It’s been a joy to showcase the talent we have in Australia. The reviews of Dreaming Again have been (so far!) fabulous. Good news, Dreaming Again has gone into a second printing.

Purgatory was an ‘idea’ story. To make this kind of story work I needed strong characters. The narrator, a research scientist is motivated not by ambition or a craving for fame, but by love. Here are the first few paragraphs.

I loved long weekends. Not because I took time off, but because it meant the rest of my team left me alone to work without interruption. Not this long weekend. This time I was going to put my future on the line to prove our antiviral worked and I was going to break the Code of Research Ethics by administering it to my partner, Nathan.

I’d come in early Saturday morning to combine the antiviral with a primitive head-cold virus that I’d synthesized, modifying it to create the perfect carrying agent for my antiviral. The head-cold was designed to strike rapidly and be highly contagious. Dating from last century, I doubted anyone would have immunity.

And I was going to infect Nathan against his will. I felt only a twinge of guilt.

And from there it gets out of her control …

>Characterisation – 2

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>Becoming a Writer

>When people ask “How long have you been writing?” I’m stumped. There are too many answers.

It happened in stages, not all at once. I did not spring forth with “WRITER” stamped on my brow.

Some of the essential ingredients (in my case):

Imagination. There was never a time when I did not make up stories. It’s how I got to sleep at night when my brain was too busy. I’d tell myself a story, act it out in my mind (sometimes playing all the parts) and somewhere I’d fall asleep. I still do that, though now it’s usually part of something I’m writing.

Reading. I read voraciously from an early age, and learned most of what I know about grammar and sentence structure from reading fiction, from Jane Austen to Roger Zelazny. Lots of non-fiction, too. Curiosity is very helpful for someone who needs to make up whole worlds.

Decision. Dave mentioned this in his post on Monday. There is a moment of decision which for many writers happens when one reads a book and thinks, “I can write better than this.” That happened for me. I don’t remember the book I was reading (it wasn’t memorable), but I do remember the moment and it was indeed a turning point for me.

Technical Tools. In high school I decided to write a Star Trek novel. It was Unspeakably Bad, but it was a gift to my future, because in the process I taught myself how to type. I improved on this skill in college when I got a part-time job typing technical stuff and thereby learned to use a word processor.

Other Writers. I moved in with a writer friend who needed a roommate. She talked me into joining her critique group. I wrote a story and showed it to them. It was Unspeakably Bad, but they were kind and encouraging to me, and I started writing more stuff. The writers in this group also introduced me to other professional writers in the area, great contacts for a fledgling career.

I’ve had good luck with critique groups, mostly. It’s extremely helpful to have knowledgeable first readers, and it’s also important stay connected with one’s peers in the industry. They’re the support group that every writer needs at the inevitable moment when the writer must be told, “No, you’re not crazy.”

Education. I learned about the publishing industry. The critique group pointed me in the right direction for submitting my work to professional markets. I read books and magazines about how to get published (not so much how to write). Later on I attended professional workshops, which also focused mainly on the industry and how it works. Invaluable.

Sales. After writing and mailing out a lot of short stories, some of which were Unspeakably Bad, I began to sell a few. One was bought by a magazine editor who later became my teacher and mentor in workshops for professional writers. Another was bought by an anthology editor who asked if I had anything else he could look at, and eventually bought a novel from me, my first book sale.

Mistakes. Oh, yes, the painful part. Everyone screws up some time or another, and I’ve made my share of boners. You learn from them, and go on. (Maybe that editor will someday forgive me for the late-night phone call…oops!)

The Most Crucial, Super-Secret Ingredient for Becoming a Successful Writer. Anticlimactic, I know, but in the final accounting the most essential part of writing is simply writing, as much and as often as possible. I’ve done that for as long as I’ve known how. Not always with the intention of becoming published—that came later on—but always telling stories. I do it every day. Here’s a great post by Barbara Bretton about the importance of writing on a regular basis.

A writer is never finished practicing and honing her craft. There’s always room for improvement, and always another story to tell.

—Pati Nagle

>All is not lost, grammar-wise

>I love this post from Andy Borowitz. Of the many blog pieces that have gone viral, I hope everyone who love language sees this. The Palin takeoff is priceless:

In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect Barack Obama has broken with a tradition established over the past eight years through his controversial use of complete sentences, political observers say.
Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama’s appearance on CBS’s 60 Minutes on Sunday witnessed the president-elect’s unorthodox verbal tic, which had Mr. Obama employing grammatically correct sentences virtually every time he opened his mouth.
But Mr. Obama’s decision to use complete sentences in his public pronouncements carries with it certain risks, since after the last eight years many Americans may find his odd speaking style jarring.
According to presidential historian Davis Logsdon of the University of Minnesota, some Americans might find it “alienating” to have a president who speaks English as if it were his first language.
“Every time Obama opens his mouth, his subjects and verbs are in agreement,” says Mr. Logsdon. “If he keeps it up, he is running the risk of sounding like an elitist.”
The historian said that if Mr. Obama insists on using complete sentences in his speeches, the public may find itself saying, “Okay, subject, predicate, subject predicate — we get it, stop showing off.”
The president-elect’s stubborn insistence on using complete sentences has already attracted a rebuke from one of his harshest critics, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.
“Talking with complete sentences there and also too talking in a way that ordinary Americans like Joe the Plumber and Tito the Builder can’t really do there, I think needing to do that isn’t tapping into what Americans are needing also,” she said.

Andy Borowitz is a comedian and writer whose work appears in The New Yorker and The New York Times, and at his award-winning humor site, BorowitzReport.com.

And now I shall go and write a few sentences complete with subject and predicate and, one hopes, a minimum of adverbs!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

>When life is too much with us

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>Writers on Show

>One of the scariest things that happens when you first get published is …

No, it’s not the realization that your book will be out there on the bookshop shelves, all on its own, just waiting for someone to pick it up and buy it. Although that is scary enough.

It’s having to promote your books and yourself. I don’t know about you, but I’m happiest pottering around the house, hiding in the backroom huddled over the computer, writing glorious fantasy adventures in my trackie daks (for those who don’t know Australian slang, trackie daks are track pants).

Put a keyboard in front of me and I’m eloquent, funny even. But put me on a panel and ask me to be spontaneously funny … that must be one of the lower levels of hell.

When I sold my first fantasy trilogy nearly 10 years ago, I was confronted with the horrible discovery that my publishers were going to launch my book by flying me to Sydney to do radio interviews, panels workshops and visit bookstores.

In desperation I joined Toastmasters where they helped me overcome my initial fear of speaking in public. But nothing can prepare you for a live radio interview via the ‘phone, where you can’t see the interviewer’s face to pick up clues. And nothing can prepare you for that first workshop where you have to guide creative novices, drawing ideas from them. Here’s a tip for appearing on panels at writers festivals and conventions. If you jam up and can’t think of an answer, turn to the writer next to you and say, ‘What do you think?’

I’ve been doing this for 8 years now and I can go onto a panel cold and think on my feet but I have tripped over those feet on occasions. One time I was telling a joke to illustrate a point, when I forgot the punch line. I could see the punchline coming and knew I’d gone blank. It was horrible. Truly cringe worthy. Luckily, no one but me remembers. And that’s what you have to keep in mind. You might recall every slip you’ve made in public but others won’t.

As long as you are genuine you’ll make a connection with your audience and that’s what’s important.

Cheers, Rowena

>Where to now, dear Henery?

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