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There is a voice in my head that tells me I can't. It is a persistent voice, alternately whisper-soft and bitchy-loud. I can't write. I can't do this. I can't do that.
I need to get out of this rut asap, because like it or not, I can do this.
I am my own harshest critic.
There is only up.
***
I wrote today. Mon dieu! It is a good feeling, having the idea down on paper (well, screen - but you get the idea). A short story, set in the urban fantasy universe I have been building.
At the meantime, I have been reading about the White Rajahs. Admittedly, the book is quite old: 1960. The views are outdated. I have been cutting through the grain, sieving the facts from the chaff. Imagine the 19th century right up to the 1940s - a lot of daring-dos and adventure. The steampunk part of me goes "Woot" at the mention of iron-clad ships. The history part of me goes "Remember, those were difficult times, even for the British Empire!" There was imperialism, there was arrogant snobbery, and there was racism. Yet, at the end, I kept thinking: "Those were difficult times!" [EDIT: 'Difficult times' does not excuse the fact that there was rampant racism or the fact that colonialism did take place]
Are we beyond those times now? Are we still - metaphorically - stuck in it? Rhetorical questions there, of course.
I need to get out of this rut asap, because like it or not, I can do this.
I am my own harshest critic.
There is only up.
***
I wrote today. Mon dieu! It is a good feeling, having the idea down on paper (well, screen - but you get the idea). A short story, set in the urban fantasy universe I have been building.
At the meantime, I have been reading about the White Rajahs. Admittedly, the book is quite old: 1960. The views are outdated. I have been cutting through the grain, sieving the facts from the chaff. Imagine the 19th century right up to the 1940s - a lot of daring-dos and adventure. The steampunk part of me goes "Woot" at the mention of iron-clad ships. The history part of me goes "Remember, those were difficult times, even for the British Empire!" There was imperialism, there was arrogant snobbery, and there was racism. Yet, at the end, I kept thinking: "Those were difficult times!" [EDIT: 'Difficult times' does not excuse the fact that there was rampant racism or the fact that colonialism did take place]
Are we beyond those times now? Are we still - metaphorically - stuck in it? Rhetorical questions there, of course.
Why I wrote Oysters, Pearls and Magic.
Mar. 31st, 2010 12:34 pmNote: I wrote this last year
The story idea for Of Oysters, Pearls And Magic came in the middle of the night like a gentle insistent voice. A whisper in my ear for me to write.
( Read more... )
The story idea for Of Oysters, Pearls And Magic came in the middle of the night like a gentle insistent voice. A whisper in my ear for me to write.
( Read more... )
Common themes/motifs in my writing.
Mar. 15th, 2010 11:06 amCommon themes:
flight, phoenix, light, transformation/transfiguration, race, culture, biculturalism, feminism, gender, rootlessness, rootedness, belonging, wolf/shifter.
EDIT: trees, plants, gardening, coming-of-age.
flight, phoenix, light, transformation/transfiguration, race, culture, biculturalism, feminism, gender, rootlessness, rootedness, belonging, wolf/shifter.
EDIT: trees, plants, gardening, coming-of-age.
Actually working on the new novella/book now. Chapter Ten now. I like watching my characters grow up, mature. And take new directions (not the writer's directions).
Thinking about MammothFail/RaceFail 2.0. Now, I have not read Patricia Wrede's The Thirteenth Child. It is speculative fiction... but it is also abhorrent, whereby the writer has dismissed the presence of Native Americans, effectively erasing them off the map. Okay, speculative fiction - but let me see: what would happen if I write a tale where all the white peoples are erased off the planet? I can almost hear the screams of white fans going "Racist!" Now, that's the same situation with Wrede's book.
You cannot write off a race of people, just like that. It is literary genocide, to put it bluntly.
I am all for envisioning new futures. Erasing someone's race and ethnicity is not part of my envisioning. It is bone-deep wrong.
And Bujold's comments. People of color fen, non-white fen have been around, even before the advent of the Internet. Attendance at conventions? I remember being one of the handful of non-white folks. But yes, we are present. These esteemed writers need to realize that people of color fen are also reading their books. Is this a malaise in the whole sff/speculative fiction industry? Yes.
Sometimes, just sometimes, it makes me afraid to dip my toes into sff writing and fandom.
Now, there are my personal comments. Your mileage might vary.
Thinking about MammothFail/RaceFail 2.0. Now, I have not read Patricia Wrede's The Thirteenth Child. It is speculative fiction... but it is also abhorrent, whereby the writer has dismissed the presence of Native Americans, effectively erasing them off the map. Okay, speculative fiction - but let me see: what would happen if I write a tale where all the white peoples are erased off the planet? I can almost hear the screams of white fans going "Racist!" Now, that's the same situation with Wrede's book.
You cannot write off a race of people, just like that. It is literary genocide, to put it bluntly.
I am all for envisioning new futures. Erasing someone's race and ethnicity is not part of my envisioning. It is bone-deep wrong.
And Bujold's comments. People of color fen, non-white fen have been around, even before the advent of the Internet. Attendance at conventions? I remember being one of the handful of non-white folks. But yes, we are present. These esteemed writers need to realize that people of color fen are also reading their books. Is this a malaise in the whole sff/speculative fiction industry? Yes.
Sometimes, just sometimes, it makes me afraid to dip my toes into sff writing and fandom.
Now, there are my personal comments. Your mileage might vary.
