Thog Rules! Writing mistakes that give me hope. . .

When in Germany I found out about Ansible, the most popular fandom e-newsletter for fantasy and science fiction. Sure, some of it makes little sense to people not in the world of fandom, but some sections are hilarious. My favourite section is Thog's Masterclass, which is basically a collection of disastrously bad lines that somehow snuck into the published version of what are often very good books by great authors. I LOVE it. If this kind of thing can get published, maybe some of my writing will get into print!

What is Thog's Masterclass? Go here, go 'ctrl+f', enter in Thog and READ

Search for Thog's Masterclass in the Ansible newsletter! So bad its great!

For those too lazy to search, a Thog's Masterclass special compilation

Also, there some hilarious happenings in the publishing or fandom world that are recounted in the newsletter, with some hilarious quotes by and about famous authors.

Fandom and other web finds: pointy latex ears NOT necessary

Have you ever looked into science fiction or fantasy fandom? When I was researching my favourite authors, I found loads of material on their appearances at different conventions. Sometimes their speeches are transcribed on the web, sometimes a whole discussion panel of authors is transcribed or condensed, and in one place I found 40 minute cybercast by LM Bujold and many other great authors at the 2004 National Book Festival. http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/04/cybercasts/index.html

I first discovered this wealth of book related material when I was an exchange student in Germany, where books in English cost and arm and a leg. It took me about four months before I was reading in German, so before then I was DESPERATE for reading matter, and found all sorts of insane and fascinating material on the web. No, you do not need to put on fake pointy ears or Bajoran earrings or something to enjoy the world of fandom. If I lived in a bigger city, I would try to hit up some conventions myself and meet some of my favourite authors. Until then, sometimes the material on an author's site can be a great way to distract myself before the publication of their next book. www.RobinMcKinley.com has stuff on it that is frankly more entertaining than some of the author's books, and I think her books are great.

Apart from the fandom stuff I found the first few chapters of many novels, some whole entire novels, and many, many interviews of authors. For free writing, I recommend the Baen Free Library http://www.baen.com/library. Some of the books are the first books in good series. Some of the books are not so good. But hey, free is free. The introduction to the Baen Free Library was actually interesting (or maybe in my media-desperate state I just thought it was at the time).

Lois McMaster Bujold has a lot of free chapters on the web on the Baen site, and one free novella. I can't say how much I love her work. Just start reading it, and I won't have to. She has won the most Nebulas and Hugos since Asimov, if that helps. It is all adult stuff, though I wish I had found it sooner. The mix of humour and action, philosphy and drama is perfect. Her characterization is so good that people keep asking her if she has psychology training. She has two series, and one stand alone novel. However, each of her novels can stand alone, though they are still best read as a series. In her (Science Fiction) Vorkosigan series, start with Shards of Honor or Cordelia's Honor (which is a compendium of Shards of Honor and the next book in the series, Barrayar). The Warrior's Apprentice is the third book in the series, but also a good place to start, because the torch is passed to a new main character. Note that Young Miles has the third and fourth books in the series, and the novella that occurs in between. The Curse of Chalion is the first of the more serious fantasy series. The Spirit Ring is fantasy, and stands alone. http://www.dendarii.com/ebooks.html

Review: Meg Cabot / Jenny Carroll YA series

I was quite stressed this last month, and looking for some total fluff to get me past exam time. I fell upon a treasure trove of light reads after picking up The Princess Diaries. I had wondered if it was as fluffy as the cover looked, and it actually isn't. The author does a quite an apt job of describing the realities of being a teenager learning about friendships, dating, your parents dating, and what you owe to your family versus what you owe to yourself. Even the princess gimmick isn't total cotton candy fare, and has the reader consider that the usual ideas of the life of a princess are probably FAR from reality. Apart from some good ideas on how to write from the point of view of a teenager, I also had a few great laughs, so plowed throught he first four in the series. There are several more Princess novels and some other associated books, as well as the movies.
1) Princess Diaries,
2) Princess in the Spotlight
3) Princess in Love
4) Princess in Waiting

At the same time I started reading two other series by the same writer, which were originally written under the name Jenny Carroll.

The first series, 1-800-WHERE-R-U, is now a TV show, 1-800-MISSING, with a suspicous number of Canadian actors, including Catriona Scorsone and Gloria Reuben. Maybe it is filmed up here. Anyways, from the little I saw of the show, it isn't much like the first four books in the series at all. The first four books in the series are funny, quirky and full of action (with some girl ass-kicking that is much more realistic than that found on Buffy: Vampire Slayer). The books go beyond just entertainment by adressing issues including duty and patriotism vs. personal rights, corruption, paramilitary activity, racism, gangs, and social strata. Of the three series I liked this one best because of the issues raised. Only four are currently published, and the series might be ended.
1) When Lightning Strikes
2) Code Name Cassandra
3) Safe House
4) Sanctuary

The Mediator series is similar to the 1-800-WHERE-R-U series in ass kicking content and a bit of supernatural ability, and also raises some world issues. I liked the take on how a teenage girl might deal with a new step family. So far I have read the 2nd, 4th and 5th books of the series listed in order below. The 6th book was recently published.
1) Shadowland
2) Ninth Key
3) Reunion
4) Darkest Hour
5) Haunted: a tale of the Mediator (published with the author as Meg Cabot)
6) Twilight: a tale of the Mediator (published with authorship attributed to Meg Cabot)

Inconsequentialities

Yesterday I bought a hot bathing suit. Anyways, I assume that a small bikini in 4 shades of green that has four things I have to tie to make it stay on should be hot. It had better be hot. . . I can't think of anything else that covered so little skin and cost me so much. I also got a nice haircut and a wicked straightener/style job at the same time as my friend, so I was looking as well as feeling hot.

Yesterday continued on well, and I managed to be taken to the birthday party of someone I thought I didn't know, and it turns out it was someone I had intended to get to know a while back. This was also surprise to a friend of the birthday girl, this guy that I have been compared to, usually unfavourably, by my parents since I was seven. His parents are close family friends. I was pleased to screw him over in some drinking game directly after he told me that I was going to be the one who lost bad and would needed to be carried home. Lately though I have got along with him better, and envy him a lot less. I guess it means I'm evolving, when I seem to get past being enemies with people, and put a stop on making new ones.

After the party we all went out dancing, and I danced like a crazy girl for three hours. I have corroberation on the crazy part . . . that's what most of the guys I dance with say. My roommate assures me it is just because most of the girls in the clubs are too busy trying to fit in and don't just go for it. My favourite people to dance with are people who don't give a fuck (assuming they usually keep their elbows to themselves), and I hope that some people get a similar kick out of me. What's the point of dancing if you can't just have fun without thinking too hard? If I wanted to think harder, I would take more ballroom/salsa/swing classes.

Books glorious books . . . Why and What I plan to review here.

Right, after eating and cooking, I spend much of my waking life reading and writing. I have always meant to make a note of all the books I read, and have drawn up an excel spreadsheet to keep track of which books I have read, own in hardcover or paperback (and which language I own them in), how I have rated them, who I have gifted them to, and so on. Unfortunately I usually go from finishing one book to reading another without putting it on the spreadsheet. I think I might give up the pretense of keeping track of the hundreds of books I read a year, and just annotate the really remarkable ones, and the ones I have in my library.

BUT I really do want to be able to look back and see what I have read, and how much of each type of book . . . I have the feeling that I go in weird cycles and reread my favourite books in times of stress. That could also be because during exam times, I cut myself off from the library and only have in-house stuff to consume. Sort of like a book diet, but as with most diets, success is minimal. Anyways, I plan to review the books I read here, on my blog. Hopefully I'll admit to most of the crap books I read as well as the more worthy items. Maybe it will inspire me to read more quality reads, and more of the classics that I have been meaning to get to . . . some of which I even own. My current roommate has sadly been the only one to read my copies of Vanity Fair and The World According to Garp. It's not that I don't think I would appreciate the books . . . but they look like a pretty steep committment during the school terms, and also I own them. No due date and they are less likely to be snagged on a whim for ten minutes entertainment, which is usually how I start an multi-hour reading binge.

It should be noted that my idea of an embarassing book to be found reading is not standard. Several of my favourite authors are young adult authors, and as far as I am concerned they write some of the best stuff anyone can read. Diana Wynne Jones, my favourite YA writer, has a huge following of adult fans (many of whom notice that not only is her stuff deeper and more original than JK Rowling, but she has been writing it for 30 years). Her take on writing adult books is that she has to dumb things down for adults . . . children are often more perceptive, and think about the characters and pick up on tones and clues faster than adults do. I must agree that the current trend in general fiction seems to be SPELLING EVERYTHING OUT, which is why I love DWJ and Lois McMaster Bujold. They have a theory that the reader will be able to fill in all sorts of blanks, and that the reader will bring in a lot to their reading experience . . . a writer might write on a blank page, but the reader doesn't come to the book with a blank mind. I hope that my writing will eventually show the same respect for the reader. Most importantly, I hope that I eventually have readers . . . but hell, aim high and you might miss, but you won't be shooting yourself in the foot. My favourite reads are NOT predictable, and make me feel I have learned something about people and life.

One of the reasons that I read so much Young Adult stuff is that as far as I can tell, most of the plotlines I work on are young adult oriented. Hell, a lot of the most interesting and complicated adventures in your life happen when you lack real responsibilities, hormonal control, and common sense. Something suggests to me that the age of 13 to 21 is ripe for this. Besides, I don't know a whole lot about what it feels like to be 40, and I would prefer to keep the non-fantasy elements of my books as plausible as possible.

Food glorious food!

I was reading one of my roommate's old Vogues today, and in between hundreds of adds I found something beautiful. (I never buy fashion or gossip mags, I swear. Bringing home the the US magazine I found on the bus last week doesn't count). Anyways, this example of beauty was found in the People are talking about FOOD section. The description of some of the gorgeous handmade foods (especially the best pizza the food writer ever found) made me want to throw myself down on the ground and roll about, or jump up and down and screech in food avarice. These are the same symptoms I get when in thrall of an extreme sushi craving. I'm not chubby enough anymore to make rolling around on the ground all that fun, and I have neighbours below, so I'm trying to write it out of my system. But clearly something more vigorous is needed.

Much of the time when I develop a sudden food desire, I can go make something that will either quench it or get close enough . . . but when it is sushi, or some of the delicacies mentioned here, I know that it just wont work, and I am in bittersweet agony or envy of the person who got to eat such a beauteous thing. The only cure is to go to the Yokohama (should it be sushi-enduced, seeing as the Yokahama in Vic, next to the corner of Blanshard and Broughton, simply ROCKS) or find some elaborate way to distract myself. and I have FOUND it.

It's sunny here, and I don't know of any good places to sunbathe nearby, so I figured out how to get onto the apartment building roof. There's this ladder that starts in the back garden just above head height, but I can get onto it by sorta walking up the building. I have just solicited a string bikini top from my roommate, and I'll throw my genetics study stuff into my backpack and go hike it on up there. Basta! Distraction created.

Cut and Paste is still my favourite . . .

Well, I went to make a little comment on Droo's page http://exitsection.blogspot.com/2005/03/supreme-court-to-hear-case-on-ten.html
. . and it wasn't so little. Here it is.

I was turned off by that case about the ten commandments as well. It reminded me of when I was 6 and I asked if I could edit the God bit out of my Brownie pledge (to God, the Queen and my country etc.). I can still remember how insulted I felt when I was told that I had to just say it anyways, whether I believed in or understood anything about God. I like to be honest, and I wanted my pledge to be honest so it could mean something to me.

How are people who don't see themselves included in Christianity supposed to feel about a legal system that is claimed to be morally founded in the Christian ten commandments? Will this encourage them to put their faith in the laws of their country as being valid and just? Will they feel equal under these laws, and want to abide by them? I have problems believing in the justness of a system that is not inclusive of all the people involved.

I am the daughter of an Atheist, but was still encouraged to make up my own mind about religions. Long before my entry into Brownies another kid in the sandbox told me that I couldn't go to Heaven unless I believed in God and Jesus as my saviour. I was confused. I thought that good people went to heaven, if there was one. I was told that a murderer who repented and believed would go to heaven, whereas no matter how good I was, if I didn't believe, I couldn't get in. I was shocked. I still am. A public system that favours one religion puts a bad taste in my mouth.

An improvement on mass emails, I hope

Welcome, one and . . . well, probably just one, because probably just one friend will be polite enough to read this. Hi Keltie.
So, I feel like ending this post now so I can check if I will be able to see it. . . but I feel impelled to say something meaningful first. Uh, Watch This Space, something will eventually come to me.

I was inspired into this blog effort by a few things . . . in part by a post from some dude I don't know (friend of Keltie's it appears, blogname of Droo) who has some interesting stuff about boiling frogs and the ten commandments. I love bantering about important or thought provoking issues in a less formal setting. Also, for friends that I don't see often and basically just keep up with electronically, and always wonder if I have mentioned the beginning/end of my latest brainwave or relationship etc . . . now they can all start from the same page. Mine.

-Lu