Month: January 2010

Post-apocalyptic overload

~ Scott W. Baker ~ 3 Comments

I watched some television last night.  (I tried to write while I did it, but it was tough).  One movie and onething off TIVO.

The movie was 9.  Not the musical, the animated-but-not-for-children movie.  It’s about nine Barbie-sized burlap robots fighting for survival after the apocalypse.  Well done with good voice talent (Elijah Wood, John C. Riley among others).  Very dark with a bit of uplift at the end, but hardly what I would call optimism.  I enjoyed it, I guess, but wouldn’t put it on a recommendation list.  However, if you found Avatar derivative, 9 might be the prescription you need.

I also watched the series finale of Dollhouse.  (Why does Joss Whedon even bother dealing with FOX anymore?)  It was way out there compared to the rest of the show, set five years later, after the Brain-pocalypse.  A whole lot happened in a small amount of time.  It probably should have been two hours, or an hour and a half at least.  But when your contract’s up…

It really was the definition of starting in the middle of the action.  You know how shows open with scenes from previous episodes?  Well the scenes at the start of this one were apparently from an episode that never aired, may never have been filmed.  I found that especially brilliant, but I bet it lost a lot of people.  They made references to “butchers” and “dumbshows” (I think that was the term…don’t remember) without defining them, but their meaning was easily apparent.  There was a lot of cyberpunk flavor to it, too.

The plot wasn’t all that creative but it didn’t have to be.  The characters’ new situations were interesting enough (particularly Topher and Alpha). I dare say it was the best episode, but there were some other good ones.

I’m dying for the next Whedon idea to hit the screen.  The man thinks out there.

Dollhouse never really caught on in spite of Eluza Dushku’s excellent acting and…other talents.  I suspect here “other talents” are part of the show’s failure, driving female viewers away from a show about what is essentially a slave operation.  Echo actually turns out to be a very empowered female, but the damage was done in advertising.  Much like Firefly (rest in peace, old friend) which was done in by lack of advertising.  The film 9 was doomed from the start, too dark for kids and too cartoon for mainstream audiences, but it still pains me that both of these were basically failures but Twilight breaks the bank.  *sigh*  Still, it’s nice to find a few gems in the rough.

Trapped in the snow…yay!

~ Scott W. Baker ~ 1 Comment

The snow came midday Friday.  The ice and sleet came down later.  Now the roads are covered in snow that is protected by a nice candy shell.  The sun is working hard, but it’ll be a few days before I get out to go anywhere.  I dare predict there won’t be any school tomorrow.  Aw shucks.  🙂

This has good and bad influences on my writing.  It’s good because I am home, where most of my writing takes place.  It’s bad because of what else is at home: mountains of dishes and laundry that need to be done, video games that beg to be played to compensate for being trapped, a daughter that wants to be entertained every minute, and a ncie comfy bed with an electric blanket.  All things call to me at once; my daughter calls with her not-so-little voice, the chores call with my wife’s voice, the games and bed seem to speak with my voice.

The keyboard beckons to me, too, and I’ve been trying to answer that call.  I’ve tried to plow through a difficult transition in my current story and maybe I can get some momentum going again today.

What I have accomplished is getting some older stories back in circulation.  They’ve been lying dormant for no good reason.  I sent one to Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine and the other to Clarkesworld.  The mail isn’t running, so electronic submissions were the way to go.  (Thank God we still have power!)  Both markets have quick turnarounds so I may get them back out again before I’m back in school…unless one of them gets picked up.  ASIM holds stories they want to buy for up to three months in a story pool, waiting to be selected for an issue.  If the three months pass without selection, they release it.  So even if they want to buy the story it might not sell.  Still, the whole process is about as long as other magazines’ slush process.

So I have five stories out, technically.  ASIM, Clarkesworld, Weird Tales, my WotF finalist, and my WotF Q1 entry.

I also have two stories up at OWW.  The funny one needs to have a character cut out; she doesn’t really add to the story.  I had plans for her when it was supposed to be a novel, and I may put her back if I resurrect that project, but for now she’s got to go.  The other story needs a better defined arc of growth for the main character.  It’s supposed to be that he finally views the value of a personal life over his professional one, but not until it’s too late.  It comes across, but necessarily as growth as it stands.  I’m hoping for a few more comments (2 reviews each, so far) before I start repairing them.

Well, that cleaning voice just walked in the room and requested my presence in the kitchen.  I can work a few hours before writing.  I hope.

More reviews from WotF XXV

~ Scott W. Baker ~ Leave a comment

I finally got around to reading a couple more stories out of WotF volume XXV.  A few months back I posted reviews of three stories: Emery Huang’s Gold Award story “Gardens of Tian Zi”, Jordan Lapp’s “After the Final Sunset, Again”, and Gra Linnaea’s “Life in Steam”.  All three were enjoyable, “After…” probably being my favorite of the three.  Still, I had a feeling I wouldn’t have selected any of them as the Gold Award winner if I was asked (which of course I wasn’t).  So my search continues.

It seemed only sensible to read the other first place quarterly winners, those being the only ones that were actually up for the gold.  That led me to Mathew S. Rotundo’s “Gone Black” and Donald Mead’s “The Shadow Man”.

Let me start this pair of mini-reviews by saying these, too, were nicely executed stories that I enjoyed and couldn’t wait to turn the pages.  Still, “Gone Black” felt a touch disappointing.  I always felt a step removed from everything: the action, the character, the setting.  Like I was watching it from inside the automated cars from Jurassic Park, everything was there, but there was plexiglass and bars between us.  This wasn’t completely bad since the “prisoner” was indeed separated from everything, but I don’t think I was supposed to sympathise with the prisoner that way.  Maybe I felt a lack of intimate insight.  Or maybe some technique early in the story set me that way and I never shook it.  Maybe it was me (like a slush reader having a bad day).  Whatever it was, it overshadowed the story for me and left me feeling unsatisfied.

The alien wasn’t terribly imaginative or developed.  Most of the development went into the setting’s situation, a quarantined space outpost in a war harboring a POW and incubating a sense of paranoia among its crew.  This was effective, though a sense of things from before the prisoner arrived could have made the change more effective.  I’m not sure what part of the story made this a first place winner.  Again, it wasn’t a bad story.  I enjoyed it, cared about the main character, even sympathized with the mob and the prisoner.  I just wanted another degree out of it, in all those things.  Every person turned out to be who they were expected to be… It’s like my mother’s spaghetti: I enjoy it, I eat every bite, even get seconds, but I don’t particularly crave it.

Then there was “The Shadow Man”.  That was a story I would order off the menu.  It was a great twist on a phenomenon I was already intrigued by, the permanent shadows of people captured by the atomic bomb in Hiroshima.  Factor in a little yakuza, a little haunting, a twist ending…quite excellent.

Actually, the twist ending was a bit much for me.  It did answer some questions that had nagged me from the middle of the story,  but they were questions I had already had to dismiss in order to remain in the story.  (A bit vague, to be sure, but I’m avoiding spoilers where I can.)  While it answered questions, I don’t think it was hinted at enough through the story.  I think the story could have ended without the twist and lost little (other than the author’s vision).  I was also confused as to why the POV had to switch to Four Fingers in the middle of the story.  The shift wasn’t that bad and was executed cleanly, but when I spend half the story in one head, I expect to remain there for the duration.  An earlier switch could have made it less jarring.

Still, “The Shadow Man” had nicely carved characters (I especially liked the Rice King), an interesting premise, and well-conceived plot arc.  So far, I think it would have been my choice for Gold.  For what it’s worth; it’s all a matter of taste and mine seems to lack some of the sophistication of true SF connoisseurs.

I haven’t found a bad story in the book yet.  Nor have I found one that left me scratching my head and wondering if I’m an idiot the way some stories in best-of anthologies tend to.  That’s what I really like about WotF anthologies, the stories are good reading for the common reader.  No PhDs or MENSA required.  Just nice, down-to-earth speculative entertainment.  Ahh.

Now if I could just get my story in one.

I now return to pretending to wait patiently for Joni’s call.

Why am I still awake?

~ Scott W. Baker ~ Leave a comment

I am going to be tired tomorrow.  And now I’m blogging?  Idiot!

I did a little fresh writing on my current story today and a lot more remodeling with the stuff I already had.  Still not the progress I wanted.  Rumor has it we’ll get snow Thursday night, so maybe I’ll have a lot of writing time Friday?

I reread my Adams-esque comedy story and put a spitshine on it.  It was originally supposed to be a novel but makes a pretty darn good short.  It may have some elements that don’t quite fit the story length, though.  I tossed it up at OWW to see what people say.  If you’re a member there and need a good laugh, go read it.  (Still not revealing titles here so you’ll have to look it up through my name.)  I can’t guarantee laughs, but I think it’s funny.

Okay, now to bed.  Night all.

Seeking traction

~ Scott W. Baker ~ Leave a comment

I did get around to a little writing yesterday, but it was all of the revision variety.  I’m in the process of retrofitting an early draft so it has more direction.  My goal is to finish retrofitting tonight and finish the draft by Sunday (since I can’t guarantee much weekday time).  Still a substantial project.

Gotta give the Bitty-Boo her bath.  More later.

Not laurels again

~ Scott W. Baker ~ Leave a comment

I’ve been here before.  For whatever reason, when I feel like my writing career is starting to actually resemble a career more than a hobby, I try to rest on my laurels.  Dumb, pointless, counter-productivething to do.  I need to be writing.  Heck, why would feeling like a real witer make me want to stop writing?  Is it fear of success?  (Possibly.)  Is it laziness?  (Probably a little.)  But the drive to write seems strongest when I’m discouraged, not encouraged.

Not necessarily true.  I didn’t write much last summer — nothing brand new — because I was in a funk about missing out on Clarion West.  Childish thing to do (sensing a pattern here?), but that was me, sulking.  Nevertheless, I hit streaks of no production when I feel good about writing.

A little psychoanalysis suggests a couple possible explanations.  Writing is hard and often unpleasant, so this good feeling about writing doesn’t want to risk being tainted by the negative feelings that accompany writing a difficult passage.  Or Maybe I just fear that the next thing I write won’t be as good as the last thing I wrote.

I am allowing myself the afternoon off to finish my childish procrastination, but I resume writing tonight.  I write better at night anyway (stock excuse #23).  I’ve been sick and I deserve a little recreation time (stock excuse #31) and I only get so many chances a week to have some fun (stock excuse #3).  Excuses or not, I’m chilling for a few hours.  I’ll update tomorrow as to whether I made any progress.

And no, I’m not pulling the words-a-week I’m supposed to be aiming for, paltry as that sum was (3000 I think?).  I need to do better.

What The Font?

~ Scott W. Baker ~ 5 Comments

I recently posted that changing from Courier New to just plain Courier saved me five pages of manuscript for my CW application.  Apparently I was wrong about that.

I just got my CW confirmation stating I had sent them a 36-page short story (title withheld because it’s still in WotF judging).  That’s right, 36!  According to them, I gained a page.  And it was a PDF so it shouldn’t be a formatting issue.  Was the page counter on my Word having an off night?  Or had the French Onion Dip gotten to my head so I couldn’t tell the difference between a 6 and a 0?

I’m pretty mad about it.  At who?  I don’t know, but I’m mad.  The email says that screeners ill only read through page 30 (like they can stop, right?…yeah baby…er…hmmm).

OH SNAP!  I sent the wrong !@#&**! file!  Shiznit!  I literally JUST figured that out.

Now what?  Well for starters, I finish this blog post in stream-of-consciousness mode.  Do I contact them like the pansy amateur I am and plea to my own ignorance?  Or do I suck it up and bite the bullet?  Aggghh!  Am I sabotaging myself on purpose?  What kind of idiot sends an important file without reading over it to make sure it was the right version?

Oso is a dumbass.

I’m going to see whatthe dumbass can get done.  If nothing, so be it.

************************

UPDATE: I just finished writing my pitiful, beggy email asking that they replace my story with the 30-pager.  Then I started to really reearch why my page count was so different.  The answer: different computers.  I could send the other file and still have it come out 35 or more pages.  Why?  No clue.  Version of Word?  Mac vs. PC?  IIt doesn’t matter that much in the long run, I guess.  I accept my fate.  Hey, if the story has a weak part, it’s the ending.  So maybe this is good.

Or maybe I’ll go crawl into a bottle of rum for the night.

Bottom line, no beggy email is going out…I bet the first page is a stupid coversheet.  Damn, the formatting is wrong.  I am an idiot.  Oh well, there’s always San Diego…

Who New?

~ Scott W. Baker ~ 3 Comments

The stomach virus seems to be gone (a few symptoms remain but we won’t go into detail).  I stayed home again today because my muscles are sore (we don’t have to detail why) and my voice is gone (I’ll just say “acid” and leave it at that).  Sorry if this disturbs you.  I had to explain it to someone.

Sitting at home, I decided to contemplate my Clarion West application, specifically the story.  It was 35 pages and they want 30.  Back in high school, manipulating page numbers was all about margins and font size.Nothing says amateur hour like non-standard margins or an 11 font size (instead of 12).  So I didn’t go there.  I could play with fonts a bit, though.  It’s not cool to use a varying font size, like Times-New Roman, but I thought I might be able to use another standard format font (per online recommendations) and squeeze it closer to the page count.

It turns out I had my story in Courier New.  Sounds like just a better Courier, doesn’t it?  Well it ain’t.  The typeface is significantly larger than Courier.  How much?  A simple switch to Courier moved this 35 page story to…wait for it…30 pages.  So I guess I’m ready to apply.

Bizarre.  I don’t usually deal with number of pages, just word count, so I really had no idea the difference was so considerable.  Anyway, I guess I’ll get my CW app out today, after a quick trip to the store for some Aleve and some Lipton’s Noodle Soup.

UPDATE:

This got me wondering about what else I didn’t know.  A quick check suggests that editors want 1-inch margins all around.  I knew that.  However MS Word apparently defaults to 1.25 inch margins on the left and right.

Why didn’t I know this?  I’ve been writing and submitting manuscripts for over a decade!  Why am I just figuring this out now?  This margin thing is the biggest clunker since editors look at page numbers for their estimated word counts (they don’t all trust word processors).  I don’t think it’s a huge deal, especially for electronic submissions which tend to get reformatted anyway, but I suddenly feel like a rank amateur.  I guess it’s just a bit of humbling data to remind me that’s exactly what I still am.

Why do I feel like I’m gonna hurl?

~ Scott W. Baker ~ 2 Comments

I just finished my Clarion application!  (I missed the application invitation when I paid my fee, but someone from the Clarion Foundation was kind enough to point me to the right webpage.)  And now I feel like I’m going to vomit.  Is that related to the application?  Or is it the fact that I was lying on my stomach while I filled it out, after eating microwave Chinese food and a stack of cookies?  Or did I forget my reflux medicine this morning?  Or is it because my daughtehad a stomach flu and now the beast has come for me?

Well the application is done anyway.  If I hurl, I hurl.  I’ll survive either way.

I still need to do the CW app.  Still waiting on my source to advise me thoroughly before I send it.  It will all be out there soon.  Then just more waiting.

I hate waiting.

Why I should do things in advance

~ Scott W. Baker ~ 2 Comments

I decided this afternoon that I’d read over my two strongest pieces and send them to Clarion with my application.  I read.  One story pulled an honorable mention from WotF and the other is my finalist story, only the latter has been shaved down by about 500 words to fit the application guidelines better.  I don’t think the story loses too much from the edit and it’s not worth the gamble to send the full version.  (I’m waiting on some inside information as to whether I need to send the shortened or the full to CW.)  Anyway, the stories have been touched up and are ready to go, I got financial info from my wife for the scholarship application, I paid my application fee…

…and now I have to wait for an invitation code before I do anything.

I have the application receipt, but that’s not what they want.  Last year it took only a couple hours to get the code.  We’ll see for this year.  I had to do this on a holiday weekend?

It just goes to show what my procrastination will do.  I’ve been planning to apply for forever, I could have paid that fee at any time.  But no, genius that I am, I wait until I’m ready to fill out the application online.  Boo to me.

On the upside, I’m ready to submit…I think.  It’s that second story that has me scratching my head.  I could send “Faerie Belches”, it was pretty good.  Or “Excuse Me” to show that I have a sense of humor.  Or “Chasers”, which is old but still a fine piece.

Gorrammit, now I’m going to have to read “Chasers” and see how it comperes to that other story.  (By the way, due to contest restrictions, I’ve stopped using the titles of any of my unpublished stories on my blog, just in case I enter one in a contest.  WotF is the most notable option, but there are others.)  I’ll let everyone know what I sent after I send it, since that seems the only way I’ll know for sure.